{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"HappyCow","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.happycow.net\/blog","author_name":"nomadicvegan","author_url":"https:\/\/www.happycow.net\/blog\/author\/nomadicvegan\/","title":"Long Island Teenager Becomes Vegan Culinary Prodigy - HappyCow","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"aa9jZFQCTz\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.happycow.net\/blog\/long-island-teenager-becomes-vegan-culinary-prodigy\/\">Long Island Teenager Becomes Vegan Culinary Prodigy<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.happycow.net\/blog\/long-island-teenager-becomes-vegan-culinary-prodigy\/embed\/#?secret=aa9jZFQCTz\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Long Island Teenager Becomes Vegan Culinary Prodigy&#8221; &#8212; HappyCow\" data-secret=\"aa9jZFQCTz\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/www.happycow.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Jay-Astafa-for-Happy-Cow.jpg","thumbnail_width":600,"thumbnail_height":340,"description":"Jay Astafa was just 15 years old when he became vegan. His family&#8217;s business was a Mom and Pop pizzeria on Long Island, where Jay would help out after school. The only problem was, he quickly became frustrated that there was nothing on the menu for him to eat. So what did Jay do? He veganized the menu himself, of course! He very quickly established himself as an up-and-coming prodigy in the vegan culinary world, and at the age of 23 he now juggles pop-up events, a catering company, and his own brick-and-mortar branch of the family restaurant \u2013 except that this one is fully vegan. I recently had the chance to chat with Jay about his promising career as a vegan chef. Here&#8217;s what he had to say: Q: As the son of a restaurant owner, were you always interested in cooking, or did that not happen until you became vegan? A: I wasn\u2019t always interested in cooking. From 10 to 15, I was training to become an actor. When I became vegan, I became more interested in cooking. I started buying cookbooks and teaching myself to cook. Going vegan and being around the restaurant was what eventually inspired [&hellip;]"}