Meet Dr. Joslin Mar-Dai | Vegan Chef & Restaurant Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Joslin Mar-Dai and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Joslin, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
Growing up in Shreveport, Louisiana has had a major impact on Vegans on the Run in a number of ways. In the South, sitting at my Grandmother’s feet as she shelled purple hull peas or helping her stir roux for gumbo for hours, developed my deep love for food. As I transitioned to a vegan lifestyle 8 years ago, I was missing much of the flavor I grew up eating. It was during that time that I began to develop many of the recipes that we use in the restaurant today. Knowing that we are in Louisiana with a high rate of obesity, it has impacted the way that we have decided to present our vegan dishes. We prefer to create vegan comfort foods, as they seem to be more palatable to our customer, as well as, paying homage to those years of sitting in my Grandmother’s kitchen and learning how to cook as a child.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The food industry is my second career. Imagine changing your entire life path at 40! That’s what I did when Vegans on the Run was birthed. After almost 20 years as a college professor at an HBCU, my life, interests, and talents shifted. As my interests shifted into food business, veganism, and the health of my community, I finally stepped out there to start a new journey. It has been extremely challenging as a person that was very established in one set industry and trying to begin in an entirely different area. With no formal background in the food industry, I had to use my doctoral degree in leadership and higher education to spark deep research into my dream business, Vegans on the Run.
This helped me gain knowledge to get all of the proper licenses and certifications. It has also helped with my level of professionalism and customer service.
One of the biggest challenges include the lack of funding and financial support. Starting a business organically from the ground up with a strong desire to remain family-owned has been difficult. However, we are proof that it can be done. The biggest lesson is to do things afraid and don’t wait to know everything before you jump out there. Some of the lessons have to be learned while your dream is in progress.

Vegans on the Run is the premiere family owned and operated vegan comfort food experience specializing in real food for real people. We are often asked why we cook our favorite pre-plant based foods and the answer is simple, We are both Humane and Human. As foodies, we understand how important it is to capture the aroma of Grandma’s kitchen, full of flavor while maintaining high food integrity. We serve all of the foods that you grew up loving without causing harm to any of our animal or human friends. We are changing the face and taste of vegan food in the south, one meal at a time.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We are foodies, so we would definitely go on a vegan food tour of DFW. We would visit places like: Spiral Diner; V-Eats; Vegan Food House; Moonchild Cakes; and Reverie Bakeshop.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
One of my biggest mentors is Dequita Hopkins-Ashley. She operates in a spirit of excellence and is one of the most encouraging Black women that I have ever met. She has multiple streams of income and is not afraid of giving a leg up to other Black women entrepreneur. I remember when I merely had an idea for a business, she offered her brick and mortar location free for my use. Later, she encouraged me not to try to figure out all of the answers and just jump out there and launch. Dequita owns Contagious Curves, Tax 360, Me’Ja Candles, and probably several others. She is going to make millions.

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