Second Act Jerri Hastey

It was about 15 years ago when Kansas native Jerri Hastey became a vegetarian (inspired by the oh-so-lovely sights along Interstate 5 near Kettleman City). But it took another five years before she decided to become a vegan. “I was visiting my oldest daughter [actress Jessica Chastain] in Los Angeles,” she says, “and she was just glowing. I thought she was in love. Turned out, she’d been eating vegan. So, I did it and, in six months, I lost 60 pounds and felt so good. It was a great motivator.”

Having always enjoyed throwing dinner parties, Hastey started crafting comfort food-inspired vegan dishes for friends and family, eventually branching into catering for friends. After several years, she opened Seed restaurant in Santa Rosa’s SOFA district. “I named it that because of the simplicity of the word,” she says. “It means so many things: plant-based, new beginnings, growth, movement; it spoke to me.” The restaurant was so successful that Hastey began planning on moving into a larger space—but then her foot started bothering her. “I decided to shut the restaurant down for six months [to focus on my health], but it turned into three surgeries over two years,” she says.

Today, Hastey operates Seed on the Go, a food truck and catering service offering inspired vegan cuisine. “The truck was a gift from my daughter [Chastain],” she says.

Hastey says she loves to take classic comfort food dishes and “veganize” them. “It must be Kansas coming back at me,” she says. She makes several variations of “Chia Tapioca,” which was once featured on “Ellen.” Her sliced “beef” is made with seitan, a protein extracted from wheat that has the same texture and flavor as beef. “People are always surprised,” she says. “It’s plant-based but doesn’t taste like cardboard.” Hastey uses it for her versions of Korean barbecue sliders, Philly cheese steaks and the like. For special orders, she’ll make live cashew cheesecake with Macadamia crust. During cooler weather, she offers cinnamon rolls that come with different toppings.

“We came out of the gate pretty busy,” she says of the truck that first hit the road in January 2015. Look for it at local events (sometimes at the Santa Rosa farmers market at the Vets Building on Saturdays) or consider having it visit your business. “For larger businesses, we can bring the truck at lunch,” she says. “Smaller businesses can pre-order food and we’ll deliver it.” To make things even easier, in 2016, online ordering will be available on the company website at seedonthego.com. Meantime, check out its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/seedonthego) to see where you can find it next.