Pinky Cole didn’t want to offer just another run-of-the mill soup on her winter menu, so as founder and CEO of plant-based concept Slutty Vegan, she came up with the idea to do a vegan chili for the month of December.
The Hawt Toddy Chili Bowl was an instant hit. Loyal customers waited in line for hours hoping to score a taste. And the seven locations of Atlanta-based Slutty Vegan sold more than 20,000 cups in two weeks.
Fans did not want to see the chili disappear on New Year’s Eve, the original end date of the LTO, so Cole extended its run through the end of March. Sales are still going strong.
From idea to reality
“It takes a village” is an accurate way to describe the successful creation and launch of the LTO.
“I came up with the idea for the chili, my executive chef, Jumoke Jackson, ‘put the razzle to the dazzle’ to execute the recipe, and team member Natanya Davis named it Hawt Toddy Chili Bowl after the Hot Toddy cocktail,” said Cole.
The goal of every recipe is to make a dish that “doesn’t taste vegan,” she added. The chili starts with plant-based pork from Impossible Foods. It’s delivered as chunks and is freshly ground at every location to break it up, said Cole.
Kidney beans pump up the plant-based protein in the dish. “I grew up eating rice and beans and knew we could make a really good chili with kidney beans,” she said. Peppers, onions, agave sweetener and Cole’s signature Slut Dust—a proprietary blend of warm, sweet and hot spices—completes the ingredient list.
With a menu that focuses on plant-based burgers, sandwiches and fries, the chili was the first recipe chef Jackson was required to scale up. “He went to the different locations to train the cooks and assure consistency across the board,” said Cole.
The plant-based Sneaky Link, also running as an LTO, is topped with Hawt Toddy Chili. / Photo courtesy of Slutty Vegan
A cup of the Hawt Toddy Chili Bowl sells for $6.99 for 8 ounces and $8.99 for 12 ounces. Running concurrently with the chili is the Sneaky Link LTO—a plant-based “dawg” in a warm pretzel bun topped with Hawt Toddy Chili; it goes for $15.
The vibe is an essential ingredient
With commercially-made vegan burgers readily available, “anyone can menu a plant-based burger,” said Cole. Granted, hers are loaded with craveable toppings, including vegan cheese, caramelized onions, vegan bacon, pickles, jalapenos and signature Slut Sauce on vegan Hawaiian buns, but it’s the “authenticity and experience around the food that makes it different,” she said.
It starts with the menu item names for the burgers and sandwiches, such as “One Night Stand,” “Fussy Hussy” and “Hollywood Hooker.” And that showmanship extends to the way employees interact with guests.
“They come out and dance with customers and create a joyous ambience,” said Cole.
Although she founded Slutty Vegan as a restaurant “where vegans and meat-eaters alike can break free from kale and quinoa salads,” the team is looking at expanding the menu with salads. “These won’t be your average boring salads,” said Cole. She didn’t provide more details except that greens, fruits and veggies will be part of the mix.
Expect to see these on the menu this Spring followed by the opening of the eighth Slutty Vegan location in Washington, D.C.