Derek Sarno

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About Derek Sarno

Derek is the co-founder of Wicked Healthy, LLC, with the mission to drive plant based culinary innovation on a global level. He serves as Chef & Director of Plant-Based Innovation for Tesco PLC, leading the company’s efforts to bring delicious, unpretentious Plant Based foods to market. Derek and his brother are owners and developers of the Wicked Kitchen brand.

Derek is also co-founder of Good Catch Foods, bringing sustainable Plant Based commodity seafood to the market, coming in 2018. Prior to founding Wicked Healthy and partnering with Tesco, Derek served as the Senior Global Executive Chef for Whole Foods Market, and served as Culinary Director for WFM Conscious Leadership Academy.

Derek is a serial entrepreneur, founding several award-winning restaurants and food service companies in the United States. Derek also served as the resident Chef & Farmer at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery and retreat center in upstate New York. During his years at the monastery, Derek grew and cooked all the meals, and learned how to sit quietly. This time helped him become less of a jerk. (His own words.)

Derek is the co-author of the Wicked Healthy Cookbook and the Whole Foods Market Diet cookbook (Fall 2018 release).

Why You Should Listen

Derek Sarno is the Executive Chef and Director of Plant Based Innovation at Tesco. He is also the co-founder of Wicked Healthy, a plant-based food blog that he co-founded with his brother Chad Sarno, and is a co-founder of Good Catch Foods, an innovative company making plant-based seafood. If that wasn’t enough to catch your attention, he also served as the Senior Global Executive Chef of Recipe and Product Development at Whole Foods Market.

I recently got to catch up with Derek and in this conversation we discuss: 

  • The role that spirituality and meditation played in his decision to transition to being a plant-based chef.

  • His work with Tesco and future plans to expand their plant-based offerings.

  • The new mushroom meat company Derek has in the works that will involve working with chicken farmers to convert to mushroom grow houses.

  • Plans for an upcoming docu-series with Woody Harrelson and an online cooking course he'll be launching with his brother, Chad Sarno.

This is truly a one-of-a-kind conversation. Derek’s career is solely based on his mission to create a better world through food and his integrity and inspiring drive shine through this interview.

People/Companies/Resources Mentioned in This Episode