Innovation occurs in many forms: technology, design, architecture and sometimes, food. Yes, food.
ESSEN Kitchen is on a mission to offer healthy, sustainable, plant-based food that’s affordable in Over-the-Rhine. But that’s only part of their goal. They also want to make an impact on their community.
Mother and daughter duo Patricia Bittner and Lida Bilokur decided to open the restaurant because they saw a gap in the plant-based food scene in Cincinnati not long after moving back into town from Seattle. At the time, there was only one restaurant that they felt fit the bill, but that would eventually closed. Coupled with their environmentalist background and their penchant for mostly plant-based eating (and their understanding that this diet has a positive impact on the environment), they knew there was space for eatery that offered cleaner fare.
“We understand for health reasons it’s good, for the environment it’s great, so we wanted to create a restaurant where plant-based cooking could be explored and improved ... so it would be more appealing to a broader sector of the population," Bittner explained.
However, that's not where Bittner initially started. When she first obtained the building through OTR A.D.O.P.T. (a program that helps responsible owners acquire long-vacant buildings in OTR), she proposed using it for a health food kitchen, offering dishes that would be affordable and healthy.
ESSEN Kitchen currently sits at 1 Findlay Street, just down the block from Findlay Market, where it nearly intersects with McMicken. Inside, a clean, white kitchen — juxtaposed with a black exterior — holds all the tools necessary to produce lunches crafted by Chef Yasel Lopez.
It was kismet that Lopez and Bittner met. Born in Cuba, Lopez spent time learning to cook from his grandmother. He has memories of pulling eggs from the chicken coop and vegetables from the yard. Simple foods made from simple ingredients. He studied food science at the University of Havana.
Lopez had just moved to Cincinnati and almost immediately saw the job posting for a plant-based chef.
He creates complex plant-based dishes by “elevating” what can be done with a vegetable. Bittner noted that Lopez creates whole new flavor profiles, using texture, savory and umami to make a vegetable dish pop. He isn’t trying to mimic a meat dish, but to create flavor profiles that stand out on their own. The options are like architecture in that they're mindfully assembled with an array of color, texture and taste.
“The goal is to create affordable food that’s healthy, beautiful,” Lopez said. And delicious.
“He’s taking flavors ... [and] recombining them in different ways and creating new flavor profiles that people haven’t experienced yet,” Bittner said. “We want plant-based cooking to be equal [or] on-par with other types of cuisine. And so someone who might get a Reuben or hamburger for lunch one day might say, ‘I am going to have this plant-based ESSEN meal.’”
What's on the menu? Box lunches that have a main dish, one or two sides and a dessert or juice, which are on a season rotation (there are also a la carte options). Dishes range from a jerk sandwich, which is made with seared and marinated tofu, to a rosemary and garlic aioli and a mushroom risotto. Currently, ESSEN is open for lunch carryout and will soon start delivery.
It's a decision that is healthy for the body, yes, but one that the trio of ESSEN leaders also see as one that's impactful for the community. For example: When you are buying an ESSEN lunch, you are also supporting local farmers and food suppliers.
That's not all. ESSEN also plans on running a sustainable kitchen, reducing as much waste as possible. Partnering with other local businesses, they're looking to develop new dishes, as well as sell baked goods or juices, such as Off the Vine Juice Bar.
