From its newest location in Hackensack, N.J., True Food Kitchen hopes to serve the tri-state area food with a purpose: better health for patrons and the planet.
At its 39th location, True Food Kitchen is as dedicated as ever to the tenets of wellness and deliciousness provided in a convenient and accessible way. With former Starbucks senior Executive, Christine Barone, at the helm for the past five years, that mission is spreading across the country from its Phoenix headquarters beyond. “We’re absolutely full steam ahead opening new stores continuing to grow,” she said.
The food at True Food Kitchen, which strives to be sustainable, seasonal, and nutritious, yet cravable, is based on the heath-based research of M.D. Andrew Weil.
As the foundation of True Food’s culinary philosophy, the celebrity doctor developed the Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid, based on research on wellness and longevity across cultures where people live longest. The pyramid, reflected in the True Food menu, prioritized heaping portions of leafy greens, followed by fruits, nuts, healthy fats, legumes, certain proteins, and finally the measured indulgence of foods like chocolate or a glass of red wine. “I think the FDA food pyramid has probably changed three or four times since [Dr. Weil] published [the Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid] and it hasn’t changed at all,” Barone said.
Unlike some eco-conscious diets which strictly adhere to vegetarianism or veganism, as the sole path towards wellness, True Food Kitchen offers a diversity of food and protein, and a flexible approach to health. “I think wellness has to be really accepting, and I think a lot of wellness is not accepting,” Barone said. “Let’s say you decide to eat this way 20% of the time. You actually do feel better and and so I think I think that the other really awesome thing about Dr. Weil and why I was kind of so driven to be able to wake up and do this every morning, is that he’s not going for perfection.”
The menu changes with each season and places a specific importance on fresh unique ingredients, with offerings from grass-fed Steak Tacos and Edamame Dumplings to a Juniper Rose cocktail, with rose-infused gin, lime, grapefruit, and thyme. The True Food Kitchen model also stays away from faux food, meatless alternatives which try to mimic the mouthfeel, appearance, and taste of carnivorous-forward foils.
“Everything’s made in-house from scratch,” Barone said. “And we think it’s really important that as we look at plant-based diets that you can recognize that it’s a brussel sprout or you can recognize that it’s the sweet potato.”
When True Food Kitchen first began to grow, this emphasis caused logistical difficulties. Could the nation’s broadliners including SYSCO and US Foods support True’s needs across the nation? “We do find really unique ingredients that we really have to scour the world to make sure that we can bring them in,” Barone said. “a lot of the things we’re using, I think have become much more mainstream, which as we’ve grown, that has been obviously incredibly helpful.”
When it comes to work night and lunchtime meals, convenience is king. Exhausted diners, hoping to survive the workweek can turn to fast-food or the local burrito joint without a second thought. True Food Kitchen sees itself as a health-conscious and ecologically conscious alternative. This priority became more important than ever over the course of the pandemic, and True Food found a silver-lining. “I think that we got much better at doing off-premise and really built some new routines with our guests,” said Barone. “The more convenient we make it to have this food the more people will eat it.”
After surviving months of rolling lockdowns and dining restrictions, and the continued ripple of staffing and supply-chain pain, Barone is optimistic that the future is bright for True Food Kitchen.
To learn more about True Food Kitchen, visit their website.
