An enchanting “living history” feast brings America’s earliest traditional plant-based dishes back to life through a modern-day vegan Thanksgiving celebration in Philadelphia.

Los Angeles, October 10th, 2025 — When the Tofurky Company launched its famous vegan roast in 1995, few could imagine that the spirit of vegan Thanksgiving had already been alive more than a century earlier. This year, Tofurky founder Seth Tibbott joins celebrated chefs and culinary students to revive that forgotten legacy. As a fundraiser for the American Vegan Society, the longest-running vegan organization in the USA, Walnut Hill College in Philadelphia will host a fully plant-based reenactment of a 1890’s Vegan Thanksgiving Gala — blending nostalgia, flavor, and compassion into a night of historical wonder and modern ethical eating.

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Some dishes at the Vegan Thanksgiving event

The story began when Tibbott stumbled upon a century-old article titled “A Thanksgiving Menu of Herbs.” Published in 1900, it revealed that early American vegetarians were already creating “Vegetable Turkeys.” Intrigued, Tibbott set out to recreate that lost menu. “I was blown away to learn that, by 1900, vegetarians in the USA were already busy creating ‘Vegetable Turkeys’ for the Thanksgiving holiday!” he said, recalling the discovery that sparked the event’s creation.

Reviving America’s Forgotten Feast

On November 22nd, at the Walnut Hill College gala in Philadelphia, guests will step back in time. The evening will begin with a period “mocktail” hour accompanied by ragtime piano and a barbershop quartet. In a nod to the era’s temperance values, chefs will serve historically inspired alcohol-free drinks while guests mingle under the soft glow of 19th-century décor. Later, attendees will enjoy a multi-course dinner of celery soup, lentil cutlets, mashed potatoes, and chestnut-eggplant “Vegetable Turkey.”

Watch how to make a Thanksgiving “Apple Cranberry Chutney and Gravy”

A Celebration of Culinary Visionaries

Some desserts at the Vegan Thanksgiving event

Heading the team of vegan chefs is Rachel Klein, a nationally acclaimed culinary innovator who specializes in transforming plant-based dining into an art form. Working alongside her are Walnut Hill’s rising student chefs, guided by Emmy Award-winning vegan TV host Christina Pirello. The collaboration blends education, creativity, and history. These chefs aren’t merely following recipes — they’re channeling the intentions of 19th-century pioneers who sought kindness over cruelty, even when plant-based living was far from mainstream.

Each dish aims to honor those forgotten innovators while making the past deliciously relevant for modern guests. Desserts such as pumpkin pudding and white fruitcake will complete the feast, followed by a slide presentation on the history of vegetarian Thanksgivings from the 1890s. Guests can even join vegan history walking tours and see Caroline, Philadelphia’s first horseless electric carriage. As the night closes, ballroom champion Ayelette Robinson will lead guests through the waltz and two-step — proof that compassion and joy can dance hand in hand.

Watch “Sealy the Turkey”

Seth Tibbott: From Tofurky to Time Travel

Seth Tibbott

For Seth Tibbott, this event marks a full-circle moment. Known as the visionary founder of Tofurky, he has spent decades redefining how Americans view vegan food. His memoir, In Search of the Wild Tofurky, chronicles his journey from building a treehouse commune in the 1970s to launching one of the most beloved plant-based brands in the world. Yet even after revolutionizing vegan dining, he remains humble. “This got me wondering what these early roasts and side dishes actually tasted like,” he says, describing his motivation to relive the spirit of those early vegetarians.

Seth explains to UnchainedTV how Tofurky came around: “The whole concept came out of a lot of failed Thanksgiving personal experiences. We had a gluten roast you couldn’t cut with a chainsaw. We had a stuffed pumpkin that collapsed in the oven. And then, in 1994, I met with my friend Hans Wrobel who was making these stuffed tofu roasts. They were just mashing up tofu and putting it in a colander that was lined with a cheesecloth… and you would just baste it and bake it in the oven… I said: we’re going to market this under the name Tofurky.”

The Philadelphia gala reflects Tibbott’s lifelong curiosity and compassion. By fusing vintage recipes with modern vegan craftsmanship, he transforms nostalgia into activism — proving that ethical eating is not a new idea but a long-standing American tradition. As the evening winds down, guests will share laughter and gratitude over plates that connect past and present.

In reviving this early American vegan Thanksgiving, Seth Tibbott and his collaborators remind us that compassion, like tradition, can be rediscovered and renewed. When the last waltz fades and the lights dim, the message endures: kindness never goes out of style.

Watch Tofurky’s Founder Tells His Amazing Story!