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Veggies Say Moo
It’s a logical contradiction if ever there was one: a vegetarian nicknamed “Moo Moo.” But silly cow references aside, it’s important to note that almost nothing about the biography or career of Michele “Moo Moo” Rastelli is anything close to what could be considered stereotypical or orthodox.
To begin with, attention must be paid to her food empire. Most self-proclaimed vegetarians are simply happy to abstain from steak and perhaps hand out a pamphlet or two explaining the inherent sin tied in with consuming meat products. But Rastelli, ever the culinary rebel, has taken the art of a lifestyle sans meat and spun it into a highly-profitable business enterprise; not to mention altruistic cuisine endeavor for those seeking better health through better dieting practices.
“I know a lot of people and a lot of my costumers weren’t vegetarian, but they liked eating a healthy meal,” she explains, providing definition for the term flexitarian. “So, I find that a lot of my friends are like that: they don’t follow a strict vegetarian diet, but they eat a vegetarian meal three to five times a week. It doesn’t have such a bad rap as it did in the late-'70s, early-'80s, where vegetarian food was looked at as lettuce or raw vegetables, or food that people just didn’t know how to prepare. I think people are kind of getting exposed to more, and restaurants are getting on board as well with offering more options, so it’s just being exposed a lot more to the general public.”
A sizable portion of this emerging vegetarian exposure has been played in part by Rastelli’s own company, Moo Moo's Vegetarian Cuisine. Conceived in 2005 by the Fraser native, the exclusive line of frozen vegetarian meals has quickly spread to sate a demanding public market hungry for healthier alternatives to the sodium-saturated and high fructose corn syrup drivel that too often chokes the shelves of supermarkets everywhere. The Moo Moo's brand is now carried in 22 states, including Rastelli’s native Michigan — a more than decent showing for an ambitious young chef who weaned her culinary skills at the knee of an Italian grandmother.
“Our grandma made northern Italian cuisine, so we were over at her house a lot,” Rastelli says. “She would make all of her pastas from scratch and things of that nature, so we kind of grew up around home cooked meals and things like that.”
It’s this part of her life that Rastelli has been privileged to share with the millions of pleased costumers who eagerly gravitate towards her food on a daily basis. In the Moo Moo's brand, Rastelli has recognized the need to not only pay heed to taste and texture, but to allot a careful eye to edible color combinations and render the aesthetic qualities of her dishes just as relevant as taste.
“I try to go off something that I think will taste good," explains Rastelli, "but I usually find things from travel and experiences that come up with new recipes, like being in a farmers market — I start gathering, beginning with one ingredient and then adding another and another and things like that. I just feel that I’ll continue to stay progressive, and not get mundane with my vision.” | RDW
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