Episode 07: Jewan Manuel

Jewan Manuel - Plant Based Papi | Interviewed and composed by Rashad Floyd

My name is Jewan Manuel aka Plant Based Papi, and this is Expressions in BLACK. I was born and raised in Flint, Michigan. My grandparents, they actually owned a Mom and Pop shop called Harden's Grocery and I was able to see that day-to-day connection that they were able to make. My grandmother used to always say that the countertop was her pulpit for her to talk to people and help people because they wanted to see that community built up. The older I get, the more I understand how important that is.

My parents did what they could to provide for us and worked super hard. My Dad was probably working overtime six days a week growing up, so I got to see that and what that looked like. That work ethic helped propel us from where we were and provided opportunities for us that many kids in my neighborhood didn’t get.

After college, I moved to LA and worked a corporate job, and periodically I would visit Portland. It always reminded me of the Midwest and how much I missed just being part of a community. So I promised myself that once I moved here, I would start doing something that represents me as a man and start working for myself. I've worked in customer service and in the food industry since I was 14 years old, and I don't think I've ever seen as much excitement in the industry as I do since working here in Portland.

I moved around Portland, moved to Southeast first, but I'm happy right here in Northeast. I've had opportunities to move to The Pearl and other places in Portland, but I just thought it was important not to go anywhere else. I'm all about that sense of community, especially in the Black community. I like the people around here, I like to be local, I like to say, "What's up," to everybody. I'll always do that, that's how I was raised.

My transition to becoming vegan was dependent upon me being an athlete and having a hard time recovering after my workouts. When I was a college athlete, they would just give us a protein bar and like two protein shakes and say, "Have a good day!” I noticed that I had to change the things I was consuming if I wanted better results.

The name Plant Based Papi came from my friend Jade. We both love the artist Drake and his moniker on Instagram is Champagne Papi. So every time I would be in the kitchen cooking, she was just like, "All right, Plant-based Papi," joking around. That’s how the name was born!

I got started by selling tacos in front of Workshop Vintage in NE Portland. My whole motivation was inspired by wanting to connect with people. I’m smiling, I'm laughing, I'm giving out free tacos half the time, you know just wanting to be a part of something. I would practice making vegan tacos all the time for my friends and they truly enjoyed it. The roasted jackfruit was their favorite! I would chili roast my jackfruit and roast it for a very long time, I think that’s the secret to jackfruit. Cause my whole thing is, I just don't wanna make it a vegan alternative, I wanna make it imitate meat in a sense. I want people to feel as if they're not missing anything. There's a lack of texture that happens when vegan cooking comes around that people don't feel like they get, and I wanted to be able to fill that void. So shredded jackfruit tacos became a hit. Eventually, that line of eight people would turn to a line of 20, which would turn into a line around the block.

As my brand grew, I started getting mentors and asking real questions about the restaurant industry and how to build a business. It was a blessing to find a few people around town that really helped me in that process.

I became passionate about making things that were non-processed. I became passionate about making things that were non-processed. When I started educating myself on vegan food, a lot of it isn't traditionally healthy to be quite honest. So I started thinking about what I can make from scratch. I make my fried chicken out of oyster mushrooms and I have a process of closing out the moisture, serrating them, and then breading them like chicken. For my scallops, I use oyster mushrooms because when you roast them in a little white wine, drawn butter, kelp granules, nori flakes, and let them sit overnight, they take on the texture of scallops. 

One of my specialty items is the truffle mac and cheese taco. A lot of people were like, truffle mac and cheese in a taco? But at that time, I started paying attention to marketing and branding and it sparked my creativity. One of those ideas was throwing a scoop of mac and cheese into a taco shell and instead of a cheese sauce, I made a garlic truffle sauce. And people loved it! As random as it sounds, it got my momentum built up in the city and then I started connecting the dots.

I'm inspired by stories of struggle to success. I think the great thing that we have as human beings is the ability to create whatever we want out of this life. And I'll never forget the belief that people have had in me through my journey, and I carry that with me. When I'm going through difficult times or hard times, I take a moment to pause and realize that people sacrificed for me and believed that I would be successful. It reminds me that I need to go ahead and take on this responsibility to do better.  

I want to be able to be in a position of serving my community and it just so happens that I’m fulfilling my purpose as well. And what's even more important is being represented as a black person in my community, fulfilling purpose with positivity. I  think people don't normalize black people sometimes. It’s like when people say,  “Patronize these businesses during Black History Month.” No, patronize these businesses every month! That's why my moniker is “Just good vegan food.” Because I want to be represented equally and to be seen as more than just a black business.  

One day, a friend of mine who does a big sister program brought a young Black girl into my establishment. The girl asked me, "So you own this spot? And you do everything vegan?" And that was the first time I had that bridge and that connection to the youth; a junior high school student that's able to see a person that looks like her, as dark as her. She’s a dark-skinned girl. I'm a dark-skinned man in a position of owning something and representing something in my community. That is priceless to me.  

Plant Based Papi isn’t about food, it’s about ownership and representation. I am on a mission right now in my community, fulfilling purpose with positivity. I think that’s what drives black creativity, the ability to create whatever we want out of this life.