Chef Lauren Von Der Pool, often known as the “Queen of Green,” is a plant-based chef, author, food artist, and community advocate whose career has included celebrity clients, major entertainment events, and work connected with Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative. Her story began in Washington, D.C., where a near-fatal incident at age 16 led her to rethink both her lifestyle and her relationship with food.
Quick Answer
Lauren Von Der Pool is a Washington, D.C.-raised vegan chef and Le Cordon Bleu graduate known for cooking for clients including Venus and Serena Williams, contributing to the 2022 Met Gala menu, working with Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative, and supporting youth through culinary-focused community programs.
Key Takeaways
- Lauren Von Der Pool grew up in Washington, D.C., not Oklahoma City, and began changing her lifestyle after a near-fatal incident at 16.
- She became a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef and later worked with prominent chefs, celebrity clients, and major entertainment events.
- She was one of the chefs featured in the 2022 Met Gala menu and created vegan deviled “eggs” using Yukon Gold potatoes.
- Her community work includes Fresh City Kids and a six-week summer youth employment program she has described as one of her proudest accomplishments.
- The Jade Mountain “Spices of the Caribbean” program was a 2023 event, while her official site now promotes ongoing wellness and online programming.
Who Is Chef Lauren Von Der Pool? Exploring Her Culinary Journey
Lauren Von Der Pool’s culinary story began in Washington, D.C. According to a 2015 Miami New Times profile, she was 16 when she was stabbed in the head and nearly died. She has described that experience as a major turning point that pushed her to change the environment around her and reconsider what she was eating.
She began spending time at a local health-food store, exchanging volunteer work for produce and experimenting with raw, vegan food at home. She later sold some of her creations around Howard University, where she caught the attention of Westley Howard, founder of Egyptian Magic Healing Skin Cream. He became a mentor and encouraged her to pursue formal culinary training.
Von Der Pool went on to study culinary arts, and her official biography identifies her as a Le Cordon Bleu graduate. Early in her professional career, she worked with Wolfgang Puck and gained experience around major events including the Oscars and Grammys.
Career Highlights: From Culinary School to Celebrity Clients
Von Der Pool built a career that combines plant-based cooking, private-chef work, events, publishing, and food art. Her official website lists clients including Stevie Wonder, Common, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Patti LaBelle, Erykah Badu, and others.
- Le Cordon Bleu: Her official biography confirms that she graduated from the culinary school.
- Wolfgang Puck: Contemporary profiles describe her working with Puck early in her career and gaining experience with large entertainment-industry events.
- Venus and Serena Williams: She worked extensively with the tennis stars, and Venus Williams wrote the foreword to Eat Yourself Sexy: The Goddess Edition.
- Michelle Obama: Von Der Pool later became involved with the former first lady’s childhood-health initiative, Let’s Move.
- Met Gala: In 2022, she joined the group of chefs selected to help shape the gala’s menu.
- Television: She has also appeared on Food Network’s Chopped.
One timeline point deserves clarification. Von Der Pool had White House involvement in 2009, including participation connected with the Green Energy Economy Forum. Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign officially launched on February 9, 2010. References that call Let’s Move a “2009 campaign” mix those two parts of her history together.
Why Go Plant-Based? Lauren’s Inspiring Shift to a Plant-Based Lifestyle
For Von Der Pool, plant-based eating began as a personal lifestyle change after the events of her teenage years. She experimented with raw foods and eventually made vegan cuisine the center of her professional identity. In interviews, she often speaks about food in terms of wellness, creativity, and healing.
That personal philosophy should be separated from medical promises. Current guidance from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics says appropriately planned vegetarian and vegan dietary patterns can be nutritionally adequate for adults and may offer benefits for several cardiometabolic health outcomes. That does not mean every food labeled vegan or plant-based is automatically healthy.
| Evidence-Based Nutrition Context | Community Focus | Lauren’s Culinary Creativity |
|---|---|---|
| A well-planned vegan diet can be nutritionally adequate for adults. | Her work includes youth-focused food and culinary education. | She reworks familiar foods into plant-based versions. |
| Overall food quality matters, not simply whether a food is vegan. | She has described philanthropy as one of the most important parts of her career. | Her dishes combine flavor, texture, color, and artistic presentation. |
| Individual nutritional requirements vary and diets should be planned accordingly. | Fresh City Kids is part of the community mission described on her official biography. | West Indian and international influences appear throughout her cooking. |
Note: Von Der Pool’s descriptions of food as a tool for healing reflect her personal wellness philosophy. They should not be read as a claim that a vegan or raw-food diet can diagnose, treat, or cure a medical condition.
What Are Some Flavorful Plant-Based Dishes by Lauren?
Von Der Pool is known for taking familiar dishes and rebuilding them through a vegan lens. One of the best-documented examples is her contribution to the 2022 Met Gala. Vogue named her among the chefs selected for the event, while the published recipe for her vegan deviled “eggs” used small Yukon Gold potatoes in place of eggs.
The potatoes were cooked, halved, hollowed, and filled with a seasoned plant-based mixture designed to echo the look and flavor profile of traditional deviled eggs. The dish showed exactly how Von Der Pool approaches vegan cooking: the original idea remains recognizable, but the ingredients and presentation are reimagined.
At the 2022 Met Gala, Von Der Pool turned Yukon Gold potatoes into a plant-based version of classic deviled eggs, combining nostalgia with her food-art approach.
Her cooking also draws on West Indian flavors. In an Honest Cooking interview, she discussed dishes such as buss up shut, or paratha roti, with curry potatoes, pepper pot, doubles, and plant-based versions of “saltfish” and bake.
That range explains why her food is difficult to reduce to a single style. She combines vegan technique with Caribbean and international influences while treating presentation as part of the dining experience.
How Is Lauren Making a Difference in the Community?
Von Der Pool has repeatedly described her community work as one of the most meaningful parts of her career. Rather than focusing only on celebrity clients or major events, she has used culinary education as part of her work with young people.
In the Honest Cooking interview, she described a six-week summer youth employment program as one of her favorite accomplishments. Her official biography also identifies Fresh City Kids as part of the philanthropic work associated with Von Der Pool Healthy Living Services.
- Youth development: Her programming uses food and culinary education as a way to engage young participants.
- Employment focus: She describes the summer initiative specifically as a youth employment program rather than simply a cooking event.
- Personal connection: Von Der Pool has linked this work to her own experiences growing up as an inner-city young person.
- Long-term mission: Her official biography connects Fresh City Kids with food, agricultural awareness, and self-empowerment.
These efforts are especially important to her public story because she has said that helping people who might never attend the Oscars or Met Gala means more to her than simply adding another celebrity event to her résumé.
Books, TV, and Other Career Milestones
Von Der Pool is also an author. One of her best-known books is Eat Yourself Sexy: The Goddess Edition, which combines vegan recipes with her wider approach to food and wellness. Venus Williams wrote the foreword.
Her television experience includes appearances on Food Network’s Chopped. She has also built a public identity that goes beyond the traditional chef role, presenting herself as a food artist, author, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.
Her official website continues to highlight private-chef work, special events, workshops, memberships, and wellness programs, showing how her career has expanded beyond restaurant or catering work alone.
What’s Next for Lauren’s Culinary Events?
The original version of this article described Jade Mountain’s “Spices of the Caribbean” program as Lauren’s next event, but that information is no longer current. The program took place at Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet in St. Lucia from August 26–30, 2023.
The week included plant-based cooking experiences, tastings, farm-focused activities, and dinners built around Caribbean ingredients and international influences. It remains a useful example of Von Der Pool’s culinary style, but it should now be treated as a past event rather than an upcoming one.
As of this August 2026 update, Lauren’s official website promotes a year-round wellness community called The Village along with an upcoming 21-day Online Journey. The site also continues to promote workshops, private engagements, retreats, and special events.
Pro Tip: For future event dates, use Lauren Von Der Pool’s official website or verified social channels rather than older event profiles, because pop-ups, retreats, and culinary programs can change from year to year.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Inspired Lauren to Start Her Culinary Career?
A near-fatal incident when she was 16 helped push Von Der Pool toward a major lifestyle change. She began experimenting with raw vegan food, later sold some of her creations around Howard University, and met Westley Howard, who encouraged her to pursue professional culinary training.
How Does Lauren Stay Motivated in Her Work?
Public interviews do not provide one simple daily motivation formula. What Von Der Pool has emphasized is the importance of community work, creative expansion, pop-up dinners, classes, food art, and helping young people through culinary programs.
What Challenges Has Lauren Faced as a Vegan Chef?
One challenge discussed in profiles of Von Der Pool is the belief that vegan food must be bland or limiting. Her response has been to create highly seasoned, visually elaborate versions of familiar dishes, including the vegan deviled “eggs” served at the 2022 Met Gala.
Who Are Lauren’s Culinary Influences and Mentors?
Westley Howard is identified in published profiles as an important early mentor who encouraged Von Der Pool to attend culinary school. Her professional background also includes working with chefs such as Wolfgang Puck, while her official biography names Marcus Samuelsson among the notable chefs with whom she has worked.
How Does Lauren Define Success in Her Career?
No reliable source reviewed for this article gives a single formal definition of success from Von Der Pool. However, she has said that her community work and six-week youth employment program rank among her proudest accomplishments, which shows how strongly she values impact beyond celebrity cooking.
Did Lauren Von Der Pool Work With Michelle Obama?
Yes. Vogue and Von Der Pool’s official biography both describe her work connected with former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative. The national Let’s Move campaign itself officially launched on February 9, 2010, after Von Der Pool had already participated in White House-related activity in 2009.
What Did Lauren Von Der Pool Make for the 2022 Met Gala?
She created vegan deviled “eggs” made from small Yukon Gold potatoes. The potatoes were cooked, halved, hollowed, and filled with a seasoned vegan mixture that recreated the look and some of the familiar flavor cues of traditional deviled eggs.
Conclusion
Chef Lauren Von Der Pool’s career connects plant-based cooking, food art, celebrity work, publishing, wellness programming, and community service. Her path from Washington, D.C. to Le Cordon Bleu, major entertainment events, the 2022 Met Gala, and youth-focused programs gives her story more depth than a simple “celebrity vegan chef” label suggests.
Her work also shows why accuracy matters when discussing plant-based food. Von Der Pool’s personal ideas about wellness and healing are an important part of her philosophy, but evidence-based nutrition guidance is more measured: properly planned vegetarian and vegan eating patterns can work well for adults, while individual nutritional needs and overall food quality still matter. For her newest events and programs, her official website is the best place to check because older profiles may contain dates that have already passed.
Sources
- Lauren Von Der Pool Official Website — current programs, services, celebrity-client information, and official career overview.
- Obama White House Archives — confirms that Michelle Obama officially launched Let’s Move on February 9, 2010.
- Vogue: Meet the Chefs Behind the 2022 Met Gala Menu — confirms Von Der Pool’s Met Gala role and connection with Let’s Move.
- Miami New Times Profile — early life, Washington, D.C. background, culinary training, celebrity work, and White House chronology.
- Honest Cooking Interview With Lauren Von Der Pool — West Indian food influences, community work, youth employment program, and culinary philosophy.
- Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics — current evidence-based guidance on appropriately planned vegetarian and vegan dietary patterns.
