After watching the eye-opening documentary Earthlings in 2009, Botanical Chef Paris and her business partner Cherrie made the life-changing decision to become vegan together. What began as a shared commitment rooted in compassion quickly evolved into a culinary mission: to prove that eating plant-based can be naughty, bold, and full of flavor—never restrictive or boring.

 

While living in California in 2014, attending college, and renovating a home, Botanical Chef Paris would spend her breaks watching a cooking show where the chef often talked about “bringing the naughty,” meaning extravagant, indulgent, full-body food. That idea stuck with her and planted the seed for a future brand rooted in delicious, almost sinful comfort food—done vegan.

 

In January 2016, that inspiration became the name Naughty Vegan. Around the same time, Paris drafted a small business plan for opening a vegan pop-up restaurant centered on artisan, handcrafted burgers. Although the concept was shelved, the vision remained—until 2020, when she finally made the decision to bring the dream she had written about years earlier to life.

 

Known for telling her Naughties (customers) that she “cooks for them and the non-believers,” Chef Paris built a menu designed to win over skeptics with crave-worthy handcrafted burgers, bold mock meats, sauces made in-house, and fully loaded fries that hit just as hard as their traditional counterparts. That philosophy has taken Naughty Vegan from local pop-ups to catering high-profile organizations including the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury, and the Phoenix Black Sports Professionals.

 

Naughty Vegan has been featured across multiple media outlets, including several news appearances (Local Fox News & More) and a published feature in Phoenix New Times, while also catering local businesses and weddings. Today, Naughty Vegan is proudly ranked #1 for vegan food in several cities across Arizona social media sites, proving that plant-based comfort food doesn’t just compete—it wins hearts.