This Festive Fungi “Pot Roast” Is Brimming With Health Benefits

Stephanie Morgan is a chef and founder of Seabirds Kitchen—a vegan restaurant chain in Southern California.

After getting her degree in anthropology from the University of California San Diego, she started on a path of exploring the world of food waste, sustainability, consumption of meat and dairy, and its negative impact on our planet coupled with the rapidly growing population. She opened her first food truck in 2010, and soon appeared as a competitor on The Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race Season 2 in 2011.

Turning out creative plant-based fare, entirely made from scratch, from her food truck turned out to be a wise decision for the budding self-taught chef. She had lines around the block for her delicious Jackfruit Tacos and Beer Battered Avo Tacos. Morgan defied the perception that most people had of vegan fare at the time and the community wanted more.

She opened her first brick-and-mortar in Costa Mesa, CA in 2013 and now runs three Seabirds Kitchen locations in Southern California, where she maintains a focus on local, seasonal, and whole food ingredients, coupled with an imaginative menu. Morgan, aka Mama Bird by her team, balances her time running kitchens and being with family and friends including her daughter and husband.