Lauren Toyota is a vegan cookbook author and creator of the blog, Hot for Food. She is a former Canadian television personality.

Lauren Toyota
BornMississauga, Ontario, Canada
OccupationCookbook author, food blogger
Alma materDurham College
SubjectVegan cookbooks
Notable works
  • Hot for Food Vegan Comfort Classics: 101 Recipes to Feed Your Face (2018)
  • Hot for Food All Day: Easy Recipes to Level Up Your Vegan Meals (2021)
Website
www.hotforfoodblog.com

Early life and education edit

Toyota was born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.[1] She is a Yonsei Japanese Canadian.[1] Her great-grandparents emigrated from Japan to Canada,[1] and her grandparents were in internment camps during WWII.[1]

Toyota became a vegetarian when she was 12 and had to cook her own food.[1] In 2003, she graduated from Durham College with a degree in Music Business Management.[2]

Career edit

 
Lauren Toyota and John Diemer, "Hot For Food," 2013

Toyota began her career in Canadian Television, as a host for MTV Canada,[1][2] a former MuchMusic VJ,[1][2] and a co-host of 969.[1][2] In 2014, she gave up her work in television, in order to develop her vegan blog and YouTube channel, Hot for Food.[1] Canada's Impact magazine listed Toyota as one (out of 12) of "Canada’s Top Vegan Influencers."[3]

Food & Wine named her 2021 cookbook Hot for Food All Day: Easy Recipes to Level Up Your Vegan Meals, as one of the "The 18 Best Vegan Cookbooks for Every Type of Meal" in 2023,[4] and VegNews named her 2018 cookbook, Hot for Food Vegan Comfort Classics: 101 Recipes to Feed Your Face, as one of the "Top 100 Vegan Cookbooks of All Time," in 2024.[5]

Refinery29 included Toyota in their 2018 list of "Canadian Women Killing It".[6] OptiMYz listed her in their list of "Top 100 Health and Fitness Influencers of 2019".[7]

Awards edit

  • 2019: Gourmand Cookbook Award: Hot for Food Vegan Comfort Classics[8]
  • 2018: VegNews Veggie Award for Best Vegan Cookbook: Hot for Food Vegan Comfort Classics[9]

Books edit

  • Hot for Food Vegan Comfort Classics: 101 Recipes to Feed Your Face. Ten Speed Press, 2018. ISBN 978-0399580147.
  • Hot for Food All Day: Easy Recipes to Level Up Your Vegan Meals. Ten Speed Press, 2021. ISBN 978-1984857521.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Fleck, Kelly (February 7, 2017). "Lauren Toyota Talks Vegan Cooking and Shares her Vegan Yakisoba Recipe". Nikkei Voice: The Japanese Canadian National Newspaper. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Coffey, Chantel (Spring 2014). "Stepping Into the Spotlight" (PDF). Durham College Alumni Magazine. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  3. ^ Welner, Chris. "Canada's Top Vegan Influencers | IMPACT Magazine". IMPACT Magazine. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  4. ^ Makhijani, Pooja (2023-11-02). "The 18 Best Vegan Cookbooks for Every Type of Meal". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  5. ^ Pointing, Charlotte (January 10, 2024). "The Top 100 Vegan Cookbooks of All Time". VegNews. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  6. ^ Butcher, Courtney Shea,Rosemary Westwood,Kate Kelleher,Yazmin Butcher,Yazmin. "29 Powerhouses: The Canadian Women Killing It In 2018". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 2022-05-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "OptiMYz Top 100 Health and Fitness Influencers 2019 | Women's Wellness". 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  8. ^ "Print/Paid Food Culture: Gourmand Cookbook Awards". Gourmand Cookbook Awards. 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  9. ^ "And the Winners of the 2018 VegNews Veggie Awards Are …". VegNews. November 1, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2024.

External links edit