Mark Bittman Leaves The New York Times to Join a Vegan Meal Kit Startup

Ariel Knutson
Ariel Knutson
Arie was the Features Director at Kitchn. She lives in Los Angeles.
published Nov 2, 2015
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Aya Bracket
(Image credit: Aya Bracket)

In September Mark Bittman surprised everyone by leaving The New York Times to take on a new project at a new food company. This past weekend the seasoned cookbook author revealed his new role at a vegan meal kit startup based in Boston.

Bittman left The New York Times to join The Purple Carrot, a plant-based meal kit service like Blue Apron and Hello Fresh. In his new role and as a leader of the company, Bittman will be responsible for recipe development and testing.

Bittman explained his reasoning for making the career switch:

“With this 10-year history I have of advocating for part-time veganism, this company is exactly right. I feel like a lot of people want to eat more plant-based food but don’t know how, and this is a solution. If you do this, you know that two or three nights a week, you’ll be eating plant-based food.”

Although Bittman himself isn’t vegan or necessarily vegetarian, he has long been an advocate for eating less meat and more vegetables for health and sustainability reasons. You might remember a couple years ago when he came out with VB6 (vegan before six), and Emma reviewed his eating philosophy.