Fried Chicken Festival Welcomes Its First Vegan Chicken Vendor

California-based vegan catering company Atlas Monroe will be the first, and only, vegan vendor at this month’s National Fried Chicken Festival in New Orleans, LA—a two-day event that draws more than 200,000 people. Atlas Monroe will serve vegan Cajun Fried Chicken (made from organic wheat) with Signature Waffles and Strawberries, as well as Apple Wood Fired Ribs with Garlic Herb Fries. “We want to show New Orleans and fried-chicken lovers all over the world that vegan cuisine can be even more delicious than the real thing,” Atlas Monroe Founder Deborah Torres told VegNews. “The chicken industry alone is a multi-billion-dollar business centered around killing billions of chickens annually. If we can get people to see that fried ‘chicken’ can be extraordinarily delicious, juicy, crunchy, all-organic, vegan, and bursting with flavor, then I think we’re onto something in the business of saving animals’ lives and reducing environmental waste on a global scale.” Atlas Monroe has also served its vegan fried chicken at festivals such as San Diego’s Vegan Street Fair, LA’s Eat Drink Vegan Festival, and Vegandale Houston.