Transcript of the No-Bullshit Vegan podcast, episode 80

Karina Inkster: You're listening to the No Bullshit Vegan podcast episode 80. Guy Vaknin, owner of plant-based chain Beyond Sushi in New York City, joins me for a conversation on building his vegan business, listening to his customers, and his experiences on Hell's Kitchen and Shark Tank.

 

I'm Karina, your go to, no-BS vegan fitness and nutrition coach. I'm recording this intro on the tail end of a migraine. FYI, I might be a little less coherent than usual. I'm actually wondering, do any of you get full on migraines with auras? Auras are these collections of really bizarre neurological symptoms that some people get before the brain splitting pain starts. This is only my third migraine in 10 years. Thankfully they're not very common for me, but all of them involve these auras. For me, that involves blind spots. Yesterday I was looking at my husband, and I couldn't see half his face (really bizarre), and there's flashing lights in the periphery of my vision. I get a numb arm, and the most bizarre thing of all is I cannot speak. I can't form words or sentences, and it’s really difficult for me to understand language during this aura, which yesterday lasted for about an hour actually, which is way longer than usual. 

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I feel like what's going on in the brain is actually really fascinating. Scientists still have a lot to learn about how migraines work in the first place, but it's super brutal actually dealing with the effects. It's usually a three-day ordeal, and I'm in day two right now. It has been interesting. Does anyone else get auras, crazy neurological symptoms, and kind of feels like you're about to have a stroke? It's insane. Let me know if you do. Anyway, there's something that is really exciting that has been helping to take my mind off the multiple steak knives sawing into my skull right now. This is something that I haven't yet announced, so you are hearing it here first.

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I am super honored to add coach Zoe to my coaching team. She starts working with our clients on October 1st, which is coming up. Our clients are going to have not just one, but two kick ass vegan coaches. Zoe's athletic background spans a wide range of endeavors, including three boxing matches, half-marathons, Muay Thai, multi-day endurance hiking, and distance swimming. Right now Zoe is training for her first triathlon, a thousand plus mile bike ride in the spring of 2021, and eventually a competition of some sort related to her first and true love, which is weights, kettlebells (basically all things strength training). 

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So check this out. Zoe is basically a vegan superhero. She currently sits on the board for PEACE (People Ensuring Animal Care Exists). She is a Vancouver March to Close All slaughterhouses co-organizer. She facilitates events and community relations for numerous local vegan businesses. She founded the Vancouver Vegan Resource Center in the fall of 2018. Zoe has been vegan for nearly 11 years and an animal rights activist for almost the same duration of time. To learn more about the awesomeness that is Zoe, head to our show notes at nobullshitvegan.com/080. 

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We're also accepting applications right now for new clients. If you want two amazing vegan coaches to help you nail your fitness and nutrition goals, do make sure you get your application in ASAP. That’s nobullshitvegan.com/080. Now I'd love to introduce our excellent guest for today, Guy Vaknin, renowned vegan chef and business owner. He's making waves in New York City with his plant-based chain Beyond Sushi. You might recognize him from Fox's Hell's Kitchen or ABC's Shark Tank, and now you'll find him focused on growing his innovative brand in NYC. He has over 13 years of experience as an executive chef, and loves experimenting with new flavour combinations and ingredients. As a proud vegan, he hopes to inspire listeners to eat clean, and leave a lasting impact on our planet. Beyond Sushi has five locations across Manhattan with delivery takeout, an outdoor dining and indoor dining coming soon. By the way, Guy's favourite food is anything from his Moroccan and Israeli background.
 

Hello Guy! Thank you so much for joining me today on the show.
 

Guy Vaknin: For sure. Thank you for having me.
 

Karina Inkster: I'm very excited to speak with you. I feel like I'm kind of on the same page as my listeners, perhaps if they haven't heard of this fantastic character before, so I'm getting to know you along with my listeners. Can you start by giving us a little bit of a background story: where you were born, how you came to New York, like that whole kind of thing?
 

Guy Vaknin: Of course, a very boring story. I was born in a little town (very small: 10,000 residents) in Israel, right by the Gaza strip. My parents came from Morocco; Moroccan background grew up in Israel. My dad moved to the States when I was very young. My parents separated and he opened restaurants here in New York; settled in New York. I grew up in Israel with my mom, coming to visit here once a year, once every two years, just seeing the States and visiting my dad, coming to the restaurants. I finished school in Israel, went into the army, was in an infantry unit stationed in Gaza, ironically right by home. I did three years there. After finishing my military service, two weeks later, I landed in the Big Apple.
 

I thought I was going to come here for a year, work my tail off and save some money, and go travel the world. Life has its own story and dragged me in so many directions. I went to college for computer engineering, and quit that, deciding that wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I brought up this proposition to my mom that I want to go and study cooking at culinary school. She laughed at me, and told me "what, you're just going to be a cook?" Then my dad on the other side said, "Hey, I'm going to have a chef for my business.” He helped me go through culinary school. I was his Executive Chef as soon as I got out of school. Five years later, I opened Beyond Sushi, the first one. That’s my journey, up until Beyond Sushi.
 

Karina Inkster: Of course. Where does veganism factor in? In that story somewhere, did you make a transition yourself? 
 

Guy Vaknin: I grew up in a kibbutz in a small town, and then we moved to a kibbutz for a few years (which is a communal farm). I was very close to through the farming aspect of that situation. I used to wake up every morning and go to the fields. I worked in the carrot fields when I was young, and worked with the cows and chickens. Life isn’t a detachment. I didn't grow up in a city. I was out in the fields and I saw it firsthand: how food is produced back then. It had nothing to do with veganism; I was raised fairly traditional, came to the States, did the whole stunt with my family company (nothing to do with veganism). 
 

Opening Beyond Sushi, the only thing that I had to attach to that is that basically the product I developed. The secret (or not the secret); is that at the beginning, it wasn't even vegan. It was vegetarian. I had egg products, so I am not embarrassed to say that I was very ignorant about veganism.  I think that's where the magic starts, is when you start learning.  I attribute a lot of my knowledge, and everything that I know about veganism, to my persistent customers. As soon as I opened, I had a mob of people telling me that I had to abolish my egg products from the menu. (They) told me all the stories about why everything should be vegan.
 

I took it upon myself to educate myself, 'cause that's what I do. After seeing, and reading, and learning, I decided that it's going to be a good decision for the business. About two months later (that was three weeks after I opened my first location), I decided to take the plunge myself. Since then it's been seven and a half years I've been vegan. I raised two vegan kids from birth. My wife is vegan. My whole life changed; I lost a bunch of pounds as well. It made me a lot more energetic. I feel good about everything I do, including everything I produce now, which is a good thing.
 

Karina Inkster: Absolutely. You're like the poster dude of not messing around, and just getting stuff done when people make suggestions. That's fantastic.
 

Guy Vaknin: This is the business side of it. I’m so thirsty for what people think about what I do, I think it helped me advance. I used to read Yelp seven times a day (not as much anymore because Yelp is not as popular, so now I read Google). Back then I used to read, wait for those comments to come, so I would know what I could do better. 
 

Karina Inkster: That's amazing. Clearly since that first location, you've expanded. You’ve got more locations now, and they're also all vegan.
 

Guy Vaknin: Yes. Everything I cook, I can't even imagine not cooking vegan anymore. The first one was a tiny hole in the wall, 280 square feet restaurant (if you can call it a restaurant or the counter with 12 chairs, three tables.) It was probably the smallest vegan restaurant in New York. Before Corona, I had seven locations operating and a commissary kitchen catering company, and owned the biggest vegan restaurant in New York City. We went from the smallest to the biggest one: 3000 square feet vegan restaurant, fully operating, packed 120 people in. It was a journey, it took a while. 
 

Karina Inkster: Well, congrats. That is amazing. That's incredible. Speaking of Corona, what has happened in your business lately? I know that you're doing catering and things like that. So have you made some big shifts lately?
 

Guy Vaknin: I mean, Corona was definitely a game changer. It came and just smacked the whole industry upside the face, and basically woke us up to new things (for me, at least). It didn't skip me. I got hurt really badly. I started with one employee in that small location at the peak (before Corona happened we had 130 employees); today I have five locations operating, but unfortunately, I had to adjust according to what the market demand is. We try to keep everything intact, but it was just impossible, especially in New York City with the rents and everything else. 
 

Today we have 25 employees, five locations (from 130 to 25 employees). I could say that Corona really smacked me in the face, but I managed to adjust. I changed my menus to more to-go and pick up delivery menus that would sustain us through this time. I'm also looking into the future and when the winter comes here, I feel like it's going to be even harder. No outdoor seating, giving us 25% capacity, but I don't know. It might surge up, it might not. You don't know what's going to happen. I positioned us to be more of a " to go", even though I did the opposite route over the years. I went from to-go to sit down, and now I had to revert back to doing that, unfortunately.
 

Karina Inkster: It sounds like you're kind of taking it as it comes, and doing the best, given the situation. At least you're still around. The industry itself I'm sure, has been completely smacked in the face. 
 

Guy Vaknin: A lot of people closed in New York City. So many. I’m not just planning to be around, I’m planning to get out of this, and get out of it stronger. I'm actually looking for locations now. Whatever I lost, I want to bring back. I'm not stopping. 
 

Karina Inkster: You seem very in tune with your customers, and their suggestions, and what they want. Would you say that a lot of them are vegan or are a lot of them not vegan? And vegan-curious? What's the demographic of veganism if you will, for your customers?
 

Guy Vaknin: It was a big thing for me from the get go. I looked at vegan food, or vegetarian at the beginning, but then it evolved. I looked at vegan food, and now I look at vegan food as something that is not, in any way, a limitation that that can hold me. We are creating things that are extremely unique, and extremely, extremely special; not just imitating something as it is. We're serving something that is elevated, done right, and executed at a high level. I was a drill sergeant at one point in my position, so I'm a little crazy about things. I can be hard to work for, but it's something that carried us along. 
 

More than 50% of my customers are not even vegan. They’re just there for a good bite. They're experimenting. A lot of them are. The vegan community has supported me, and been our backbone with all the growth. We self-funded everything, by the way. Everything that came into the business was reinvested into the business. I think that with the change and with everybody knowing what plant based and veganism is about, more people are experimenting, even if they don't do it a hundred percent of the time; they do it 50% of the time. They come and enjoy a good meal. If you give them the right product, they'll keep coming back. 
 

Karina Inkster: One hundred percent. I saw a little bit on your website, about how your view is that inspiring food is the best way to spread the message of veganism, which I completely agree with, by the way. Do you have a lot of discussions with people? Obviously the food that you create is a talking point itself, but do you have people who are engaging in veganism-related discussions because of the food?
 

Guy Vaknin: Oh yeah. There are many occasions where people are blowing smoke up my ass. They come to me and say, "Hey, if I could have this every day, I would definitely turn the corner and take a stab at it." That's a great thing. We have fed over 2 million people since we first opened this company. It's a big deal. For me, that's the biggest compliment. The biggest accomplishment I could do is 2 million vegan meals. That’s so much, and that's how you make an impact. People coming back, not just in a small scale, but also in a big scale, right? Of course there are companies out there that do more, and you have all this Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, and all that stuff.
 

As a restaurant, for me, that was one of the biggest achievement that you could do: you do it for a large amount of people. You get the feedback from people who are vegan or not vegan, or are just coming for a great meal. Of course they talk all the time. When I'm in the restaurant, I don't do the chef walks. I stay in the kitchen. I don't talk, I don't do that. I stay where I belong: in the back, making sure that they're holding the standards that I put out. You know, it's hard to manage seven restaurants at the same time. Sometimes there are breakdowns; I’m not going to lie. But generally, we hold a very high standard for what we do.
 

Karina Inkster: That's amazing. Speaking of this high standard, and at the risk of making me incredibly hungry, can you describe one of your favourite dishes that you make? I mean, audio as a form of communication is probably not the greatest form for describing or showing people food, but you're mentioning that you're not just trying to imitate things. You’re innovating, and you have things that are in their own right, amazing dishes.  I would love an example.
 

Guy Vaknin: For sure. From the get-go, in the beginning, I really took that stance that I'm not going to use any imitations. I only use fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, and stuff that was available. I kind of made a science behind it, where I wanted everything to be packaged perfectly:  consistency, the colours, the textures, everything has to be perfect. That's why I chose sushi. Sushi for me, wasn't just "Oh, it's sushi”. It's a perfect vessel; perfect bite, perfect size, that every time you bite it, you get the same consistency of flavours. Our best seller, ever, is the spicy Mango. It has semi ripe mango inside, English cucumber, avocado, black rice on the outside, and a mixture of cabbage, carrots and peppers that are semi pickled. They are infused with toasted cayenne sauce, and have a dollop of that same sauce on top. It's a perfect balance of crunch, sweetness from the mango, and spice from the toasted cayenne.
 

That works amazing. That was our whole signature, and started the whole company from the get go. Other items that we had in the beginning were rice paper wraps. I wanted to put out a wrap that was less on the carbs; easier to eat, not as heavy. We put soba noodles, which are buckwheat noodles inside, which are one hundred percent gluten free, with sesame-infused carrots with ginger and garlic and cilantro, avocado, cashews, and a jalapeno-peanut butter sauce. It comes with Ponzu sauce on the side. All these flavours lying together; that was the initial stuff.
 

The industry and veganism evolved, and there were a lot of things that came out there that were imitations of meat products and dairy products, but they were good enough for me to experiment with them. I felt like in the beginning in 2012, most cheeses tasted like plastic, and most of the meats that were imitating were like bricks. I couldn't get myself to use it. Today with this stuff, and kudos to these companies: Impossible Foods, for instance, look at what they do with that product. For me, as a vegan chef, it opens up so many doors. I use that now. I don't use it as it is. I elevate it. We make our own kebabs that are spiced; we change the texture. We take the Impossible “meat”, smoke it for six hours, and make our Hickory-smoked burger that goes on the menu now.
 

Karina Inkster: Now, I’m hungry: officially! 
 

Guy Vaknin: It's good stuff. It’s good stuff, but it's good stuff for everyone. The initial comment that I got was when I hit that peak of one thousand people a day (what we used to do feed.) A lot of people that came in that weren’t vegan; they didn't have the initial thing that started it. They didn't have anything that they knew. They couldn't get beyond that place of “what- it’s just vegetables and fruits?" We allowed that in, and it took off like fire for me. I keep the core menu that we used to do and all those; fewer sushi rolls with only fruits, vegetables, only grains. We have another sector of the menu that allows me first of all, to go wild, and my customers.

Karina Inkster: Interesting. Once again, listening to the client base. Is it a lot of people on this newer menu, with things like the Impossible and that kind of stuff; are a lot of those people not vegan?

Guy Vaknin: Yes, yes and no. There are. There are the people that used to just eat the rolls who come in for the new stuff. It's always about evolution. I mean, how do you evolve as a restaurant? You can't put a menu up eight years ago and just hope that it’s going to last. Most restaurants don't last a year. After you pass that year, two, three, you have to evolve. Things have to change. You have to hear what is out there. For me personally as the chef, I'm heading this company, it's boring. I have to do stuff. I have to create stuff. If not, why am I waking up in the morning? I always need to edit.  I have this bug. I can't stop myself from creating. That's what makes me happy. It stared me that way, and that's what scares me all the time, you know?
 

Karina Inkster: No, that makes complete sense. Now, I want to hear about your experience with two things. One is Hell's Kitchen, and the other one is Shark Tank. I am assuming that this constant need to innovate and create and all that factored in here, but which one came first: Hell’s Kitchen or Shark Tank? 
 

Guy Vaknin: Hell's Kitchen came first, and Hell's Kitchen was quite the story. Way back then in 2008, I started with a first interview, but in 2010 we did the filming. Actually, they flew me out there and the first time, I didn't get into the show. Then the second time they called me again, told me " come on in, we want you to come back." I said, “okay”. I didn't know about television or the show, or I wasn't as experienced as a cook. I went, and it was an experience. It’s the first time I worked under a chef in my life. The only chef I have ever worked under is Gordon Ramsay, on television. 
 

Karina Inkster: Wow, that’s a cool story! 
 

Guy Vaknin: Yes, but at the same time, I got a great experience. I made it halfway, but I didn't want to make a fool out of myself on television. That wasn't my style. I got booted out because I wasn't as entertaining, I guess. It was a good experience. I learned what standards are from the best. I learned a bit about television, and it helped me afterwards in a lot of other things that I did. That was right after I opened Beyond Sushi. 
 

Karina Inkster:  I didn't realize it was right at the beginning, right before that. I didn’t realize that was the timeline.
 

Guy Vaknin: If it were now, it would have been completely different. I probably wouldn't even go on it. I don't see those competitions as something that does anything to me. It's real cooking, don't get me wrong. Everything that you see on TV, we're cooking for real. I cut my finger, for real. But the competition doesn't do anything. I mean, it doesn't do anything for you as a chef. If I win, if I lose: it’s all opinion. At the end of the day, where I want to win is real life.
 

Karina Inkster: That’s a good way of putting it. Do you think that also presents something similar to stuff like The Biggest Loser? That has painted the fitness industry in a really negative light. Do you think from a viewer's perspective, there's some aspect that it’s supposedly reality TV, but it really doesn't translate into real life?
 

Guy Vaknin: It does not. Chefs don’t act like Gordon Ramsey, and the ones that do usually get booted out of this industry. I mean, I had that in me, in the kitchen. It's not productive. I mean, I could scare a lot of people in the kitchen if I really wanted to, but that's not going to get anywhere. I want them to understand. I will be that hardheaded guy if you don't do your job, but I'm not trying to scare you. I'm just trying to tell you that you need to do your job, and you need to do it at the standards I expect. I get it if it's real, but they cut everything so it's all about the drama, and it's all about entertainment, and it's all about that. Where’s the reality in that? It's not real. That’s my view. When I went, they didn't put the cooking part in it anymore. It's all about what went wrong, or what's the drama. It kills the whole thing. I mean, at the beginning it was great. The first few seasons were real, but afterwards it just got ruined. 
 

Karina Inkster: I’ve watched more fitness related-things than I have cooking related things. It's pretty similar. I mean, it's all about the drama, not really the actual activity that's happening.
 

Guy Vaknin: That's gone. But I understand it at the same time. That's what gives them ratings, right? Whether it's a good rating or not, I don't know. Stable ratings or not, I don’t know either. 
 

Karina Inkster: Well, that's the way of the world, I suppose, in the land of TV.
 

Guy Vaknin: Look what it got us. 
 

Karina Inkster: My God, let's go down a rabbit hole on that one, huh? So what about Shark Tank then; that came later?
 

Guy Vaknin: Shark Tank was not too long ago. Shark Tank was two years ago now. Everybody that I knew said "you should go to Shark Tank; you should go to Shark Tank and pitch them." I always said no, 1) because I knew the ins and outs of my business and 2) I knew that when we would get to it, I would eventually bail out. I have a thing about this. A lot of people think it's not pure business. At the end of the day, the reason I opened my own business is so I can do what I want to do, and I can fulfill my bug of creating and doing my thing, you know?
 

When I went on the show, I pitched that I wanted to open in the West side and West coast of the country. I got the deal and it wasn't easy. It was an hour and change of going back and forth, and getting grilled by billionaires. It's not easy experience in it. Tons of adrenaline. I don't get nervous too much, so it was easier I guess for me. I’m very knowledgeable about numbers. I'm the CFO of the company. I run all the numbers for the company as well. It was easier for me to approach it. It was a good experience. I met a bunch of very wealthy people, heard a lot about how they view the world and what we should do with our company.
 

After seven months of back and forth, due diligence negotiation, I said no, because it wasn't the route that I want the company to go to. It was going to be too corporate, too “ ok, this is what we do. We multiply, we multiply, and we multiply, multiply." Then all my touch is gone. I wake up in the morning for that. That makes me happy. That makes me wake up in the morning. I thank God I'm doing fairly well. I work hard and it's okay. So I still do what I love. I don't want to lose that.
 

Karina Inkster: That's amazing. That's a really good lesson to us all, I think. The allure of, "Oh, the billionaires, the incoming potential funding and all these shiny objects right now” versus….
 

Guy Vaknin: And that may be what they love.
 

Karina Inkster: That’s a good point. You never know. What did you learn? What did you learn about the worldview of people who are at that level?
 

Guy Vaknin: At that top? They’re very good at separating and giving away their responsibilities. They're very much okay with things being okay, which is on the contrary for me. I like to own my responsibility and then give them away. I can't stand that things are just okay. Even though they'll fly, and they can be okay, that doesn't work for me. I'm a control freak. You can say whatever you want, but at the end of the day, that's what feeds my soul. As long as I can do that and think about the future, that's all that matters to me. They are extremely smart, extremely (I don't want to say it's bad), but manipulating. Not in a bad way. They can manipulate their way through conversation, through a contract, not in a bad way. It's a business. It's how things should be in business. You want to gain the best for yourself, and for the company in your view. The sad part is I'm selling my part of the company. It wasn’t my view, or for them to decide.
 

Karina Inkster: That makes sense. That's really interesting though. I mean, both of those are kind of high-level TV experiences, if you will. You got something out of it.
 

Guy Vaknin: They're fun. I can say, "Hey, I did that." The truth is that I don't like that. I don't like the TV part. I should do it more because it's good for my company, but I don’t like it.  I like the kitchen. I like the backside. I don't have a problem talking about it, but forcing it is not fun for me.
 

Karina Inkster: Interesting. Your more recent Shark Tank experience then, did that by itself affect your business? 
 

Guy Vaknin: Oh yeah, for sure. I mean, that show just gave us a boost. First of all, in sales and attention, in social media interest, and interest from other investors. I was always very committed to social media. What we do on social media was one of the biggest ways to get our name, our message out there; our new dishes, our innovation and getting more customers. I always invested in social media. That gave us a boost, like no other.
 

Karina Inkster: So: question about veganism, especially being in New York. I have never been. I would love to visit though, especially once this pandemic is over. I know, horrible right?
 

Guy Vaknin: How is that possible? It's the capital of the world!
 

Karina Inkster: Capital of the world, eh? I'll have to change that and I'll have to come to your restaurant.
 

Guy Vaknin: I would love that. You’d be a guest of honour. 
 

Karina Inkster: The vegan scene is New York is amazing, but where do you see it going better? Where do you see it going in the next five years?
 

Guy Vaknin: We lost a bunch of fellow restaurants in the past few months. But where do I see it? First of all, I see veganism in general, as the future. There is no other way. The ones that are denying it; the same ones that are denying climate change and all this other stuff, will have to jump on the train at one point or not. More places will burn, just like California is. That’s the future. There’s going to be pushback; there are so many diets coming out which are the total opposites of veganism. I feel like New York and veganism in general are only going to grow. It’s only going to expand; one, for the lack of space and price of meat and animal products that it's going to grow, and two: realizing that it's better for you, for the planet, for everybody around you, for the people you love. I mean, I don't see any other way.
 

Karina Inkster: I don't either. I mean, the human race is kind of screwed as it is, just to be super pessimistic for a second. We’d be better off if we went one hundred percent plant based.
 

Guy Vaknin: I mean, it’s about the fact that we are going to annihilate ourselves at one point. How long are we going to stay here? Are we going to do it in the next few years, or are we going to give us a little bit more time before we do it to ourselves, you know?
 

Karina Inkster: Exactly. For people like you, who have kids, that's definitely an important thing to consider.
 

Guy Vaknin: That's why I'm working with my son to create a rocket ship, to take us to another planet. He has a lot of imagination and I just help him grow that. 
 

Karina Inkster: How has it been? Your kids have been vegan from birth, so they're presumably fairly young: six and two. How has that been?
 

Guy Vaknin: I mean, with my kids, we're very open, right? We were very open and we didn't force him. I explained to my son, I'm happy. He looks up to me all the time. He really listens, and absorbs everything I say. I talked to him about it, and I tell him how it is, and tell him, "Okay, you have to kill the chicken if you want to eat it." I've done it as a youngster when I lived in the village. I know what it is. If you had to do it every time you wanted to eat, you wouldn't do it as much. Maybe you would've done it once in a while, but you wouldn't do it as much. If you want to, you can. We have to go through the process, buddy, and I'm very straightforward about. He understands; he’s a smart kid. He understands and he doesn't want it. He just says, "I don't want it”. It's fairly simple. It will get different when he goes to school. Now there is no school, so it's easier, but when he goes to school, he's going to come back with questions. Let’s see how it goes. I don't know yet. We'll see.
 

Karina Inkster: I think you've definitely started on the right foot, clearly. The fact that he is making choices for himself, and thinking about the background of where his food comes from, that's all good stuff (as opposed to," Oh, my parents told me to, so that's why I'm doing it.”) You know, that doesn't work.
 

Guy Vaknin: You have to be truthful. That's the base for me. You have to say the truth. We take him to sanctuaries to meet them (the animals). I volunteered at Woodstock Sanctuary a few times. Now we are out of the city; we moved out of the city in May. There are a lot more farms and so on around, so I can take them out and show them.
 

Karina Inkster: Hey Guy, it was fantastic speaking with you. Is there anything you want to leave our listeners with, like places that they can connect with you?
 

Guy Vaknin: For sure. Instagram and Facebook, @chefguyvaknin; follow me for all of the updates. When you come to the city, definitely come to Beyond Sushi. We have multiple locations all across the city, you just have to look us up. I promise you a food experience that you haven't had before. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook: @beyondsushinyc, and continue the movement. That’s it! 
 

Karina Inkster: I love it. Continue the movement, which is exactly what you're doing with your business, and congrats on your success. I know that recently it's been a little interesting, but you're doing amazing, and it's been fantastic speaking with you.
 

Guy Vaknin: Thank you very much, again. 
 

Karina Inkster: Guy, thank you again for speaking with me today, and I seriously cannot wait to someday visit your incredible restaurant locations. Check out our show notes at nobullshitvegan.com/080 to connect with Guy on social media. Also, do yourself a favour and check out the beyond sushi menus on their site, just to see what's possible with amazing plant based foods. Thank you so much for listening!