Plant-based pleasure from a French chef

BY JENNIFER RICHARDSON

When you think of French food, it’s easy to default to clichés: flaky croissants, ripe cheeses and pungent pâtés, all of which rely on ingredients derived from animals. But Angelique S. Green, who was born and raised in the north of France near Lille, then lived in Paris in her 20s, is doing her best to change that, one Los Angeles farmers’ market at a time.

Each week, Green brings her seasonal, no-sugar-added, gluten- and dairy-free creations to the Old Town Newhall, College of the Canyons and Culver City farmers’ markets under the brand name L’Angelique. These include herbal iced teas, wellness shots, latte shakes, sea moss gels, salads and soups, salad dressing, probiotic yogurt and granola. Whether with fresh lemonade in summer or pumpkin-spice cashew milk in winter, Green is adamant about showing her customers that health and pleasure aren’t just compatible, they’re ideal bedfellows.

Green moved from Paris to New York in 2011, then, with her husband, from New York to Los Angeles in February of 2020, just as the pandemic was shutting down the world. Her career as a project manager designing trips for people visiting the United States was put on hold, and she was drawn back into the professional realm of food. Green had previously studied at Ecole Hoteliere De Souillac in France; catered in Paris and New York, including recipe and special event design; and trained at the now-closed Crave restaurant in Brooklyn. This time around she wanted to focus on food made without anything artificial or processed, paying homage to the home-cooked meals and natural remedies from her Franco Senegalese upbringing. Green took classes online and became a naturopath, imbuing her recipes with the principles of prevention and self-healing, with a focus on gutmicrobiome balance. Soon she was selling her products in farmers’ markets, where she was also sourcing many of her raw ingredients.

During the pandemic, Green noticed the stark contrast between the grocery-store panic buying of the early days of COVID-19 and the refuge that outdoor farmers’ markets became as a safer alternative for many. She is still a firm believer in their power to educate people on seasonality and where their food comes from, even as the world has opened back up, exhorting us all to “Go to farmers’ markets: rediscover, reconnect!”

A selection of Green’s products, including Sea Moss Energy Shot, Sea Moss Ice Coffee Latte and Sea Moss Matcha Latte are also available at the recently opened Culver City French bakery Des Croissants Paris, which she runs with her business partner, owner Samuel Manar.

Like her products, Green keeps her own diet mostly plant-based, but also eats fish and enjoys cheese, which leaves me thinking she’d be on board if you use your Sea Moss Ice Coffee Latte to wash down a cheeky croissant. As America’s favorite “French” chef, Julia Child, was fond of saying: “Everything in moderation, including moderation.”

In addition to farmers’ markers, L’Angelique products are available on Green’s website, Langelique.shop.

Jennifer Richardson is the author of Americashire: A Field Guide to a Marriage, an Indie Reader Discovery Award winner for travel writing. She and her British husband consider themselves lucky to call both Ventura and a village in the English Cotswolds home. To learn more, visit JenniferRichardson.net.