The couple that cooks together, stays together? Well, that’s what power couple Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi are hoping for with their new vegan restaurant.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, DeGeneres and De Rossi are opening up the grub hub on Ventura Boulevard in L.A.’s ritzy San Fernando Valley. It’s been reported that other investors in the restaurant include noted vegetarian and animal rights activist Chryssie Hynde of The Pretenders and Elizabeth Hurley’s baby-daddy Stephen Bing.
The kitchen of the as-yet-unnamed restaurant will be led by celebrity vegan chef Tal Ronnen. His name may sound familiar to Oprah devotees: the author of The Conscious Chef is probably best known for preparing the 21-day vegan cleanse that the talk show host undertook in 2008. Ronnen also catered DeGeneres and De Rossi’s wedding and Arianna Huffington’s party at the Democratic National Convention.
According to The Huffington Post, DeGeneres and De Rossi aren’t just following the latest trends in lesbian potlucks—they’re deep in a vegan lifestyle that includes spending time helping to rehabilitate abused animals at the Gentle Barn near L.A., where they adopted a cow named Holy. DeGeneres has also worked with Animal Acres, a farm animal sanctuary north of Los Angeles.
DeGeneres also has launched a new pro-vegan website, Going Vegan with Ellen, where she name-checks other famous herbivores including President Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea, actress Alicia Silverstone, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, and—most surprisingly, perhaps—boxer Mike Tyson.
While there’s no word yet on menu specifics or how much a meal may lighten your wallet, it’s clear that no expense is being spared. Designer Waldo Fernandez, who designed the interiors for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s home and L.A.’s Soho House, will be creating the space. We bet that the banquettes won’t be leather.
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