Chefs Chad and Derek Sarno Mission

Our Mission

Wicked is on a mission to unleash the mighty power of plants! Crave-able, flavor-first, sustainable foods that are better for you and the planet! Plant-based food for meat-eaters and vegans alike. Chef crafted, delicious, and full of flavors and textures for people who love to eat well and eat better. Our purpose is to save animals and support the planet and the people that live on it! Studies show that switching to just ONE plant-based meal a day has a significant impact on the well-being of our planet and your health. We’ve got you! Wicked Kitchen foods can be found in a store near you, where we provide easy meal solutions when you don’t have time to cook. And cooking amazing plant-based has never been easier with over 2000+ recipes and techniques we’ve created for you. Search our recipe section, where we have hundreds of easy recipes and cooking videos so you can learn how to DIY and take control by being your own chef at home! It is my personal mission to work with all of our partners and suppliers to set the gold standard in chef-driven plant-based foods for all others to benchmark. That is how we’re going to change the world!

~ Derek Sarno

Chefs & brothers

Co-founded by Derek and Chad Sarno, chefs and brothers from New England, Wicked has embarked on a mission to help people eat more plants. Better for people, better for the planet, better for all the animals that call it home.

Although they come from different professional backgrounds, Derek & Chad are firmly united in their view that eating more plants isn’t just a healthier way to live, it’s also a more vibrant and exciting way to cook. Period. Bursting with flavor, texture, and taste unleashing the power of plants ensures mealtime will never again be boring. Ever.

Derek Sarno served as Executive Chef and Director of Plant-Based Innovation for Tesco plc, the leading UK retailer. With the support of Tesco Derek accelerated plant-based lifestyle adoption across the UK and has been hugely influential in the UK now becoming the world’s no.1 country globally for veganism. Prior to co-founding Wicked Kitchen with his brother Chad, Derek served as Senior Global Executive Chef for Whole Foods Market, in the US and Culinary Director for their Academy for Conscious Leadership. Derek has also founded several award-winning restaurants and food service companies across the US including the One Hundred Club, Mahalo’s Catering, and Mizuna’s.

Chad Sarno is Co-Founder and Chief Culinary Officer at Wicked Kitchen, leading food service partnerships and initiatives, culinary training and events. He is co-author of the Wicked Healthy Cookbook with his brother Derek, and he held previous positions as VP of Plant-Based Education at Rouxbe Online Culinary School and Global R&D and Wellness Coordinator at Whole Foods Market, leading healthy eating initiatives. Chad has launched restaurants all over the world, including London, Munich, Istanbul and Belgrade. He is an accomplished chef, author, and contributor to more than 10 health-related books, including the New York Times bestseller Crazy Sexy Kitchen with Kris Carr.

A Wicked Impact

Our experience comes from a lifetime of working in kitchens, owning restaurants, catering events, teaching cooking classes, and working on veggie farms. We’re now crafting and creating 100% delicious plant-based foods for mainstream markets, leading with taste without compromise.

It hasn’t always been easy for those who want to reduce or exclude meat from their diets. Heck, for the longest time most restaurants and supermarkets only had salads as the vegan food option. We used to have to make compromises when eating out and if you wanted something on the go, fuhgeddaboudit! Often the only thing we could choose in a mainstream retailer was a falafel wrap or salad. We couldn’t take it anymore, so we developed Wicked! We will continue to challenge the old ways and deliver the best plant-based foods possible.

"We’ll always be upfront and never pretend to be something we’re not. We are a work in progress and our aim is to continuously improve and do better every single day."

The Timeline

We’re working our very hardest to create options that are free from animals within a system built around using them for centuries. We believe there is a better way, a plant-based way! We wake up every day to practice our craft and try to be a better company than we were the day before.

Wicked Kitchen Begins

Jan 2018

Wicked Kitchen launches in Tesco in the UK with 20 products. In just 6 months, the line doubles with the addition of 25 more products hitting the shelves.

Cookbook launch

2018

Everything we create is a bold marriage of delicate and punchy flavors, and crunchy textures-all with knife-sharp attention to detail. We’re proud graduates of the University of Common Sense who simply believe that eating more veg is good for you and good for the planet.

10 Million units!

Apr 2019

Wicked sells 10,000,000 units of Plant-Based foods in just 16 months of launching. This milestone established Tesco as the market leader.

Wicked Growth

2020

Wicked Kitchen’s expansion is being led by new CEO Pete Speranza, a CPG industry vet, and Unovis partner, who brings his extensive experience and tactical know-how to the brand’s day-to-day operations.

U.S. Launch

2021

Wicked Kitchen launches a range of 25 products at Kroger supermarkets and Sprouts Farmers Markets across the country.

Finland Launch

Jan 2022

Wicked Kitchen launche s 25 products in more than 200 locations throughout Finland and Estonia through a partnership with leading Finnish grocer S Group (SOK).

good catch Acquisition

Sep 2022

Wicked Kitchen acquires Good Catch, the largest plant-based seafood brand. This acquisition extends our expansive portfolio of meal solutions and ingredients. Together, we now offer the world’s largest variety of animal-free products of any plant-based food brand.

Thailand Launch

Nov 2022

We expand into Thailand with 17 products through a partnership with Tops, the country’s largest supermarket retailer.

Food Service Launched

NOV 2022

We partnered with the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves basketball team, and our plant-based concession debuted this season at the Target Center stadium in Minneapolis. Since the launch, we’ve heard from more than a dozen other NBA teams and venues that want the vegan option done right for their own stadiums.

Wicked Joins Ahimsa companies

jun 2024

Wicked Kitchen, along with Good Catch and Current Foods, joins the Ahimsa Companies to strengthen our mission to revolutionize the global food system by removing animals from the equation.

The Future

Through this U.S. launch, Wicked Kitchen will be encouraging people to take a pledge to incorporate at least one plant-based meal a day for a year. Statistically, if 200,000 individuals took this pledge one million animals’ lives will be saved.

The mushroom boom

Chefs, scientists, fashion designers, and craft artisans are embracing mushrooms like never before. The Wicked Meaty Mushroom! Learn the ways of the Wicked and chef craft mushrooms into everything from meaty shreds, filets, steaks, fillets, cutlets, schnitzels, bacon’ or scallop alternatives. From souvlaki and steak tacos to chicken’ noodle soup, kebabs and BBQ pulled style pork’. You have the power! Delicious and seriously good for you. We’ll show which mushrooms to buy and how to prepare them in a clear, easy, and fun way. Our signature cooking technique is simple and easy to learn. It’s what has been coined as, the ‘Sarno Sear!’ Our journey is just beginning, join us to follow along as we work closely with farmers all over the globe to help transform poultry and animal farms into mushroom and veg farms. As we work towards creating a more ethical and significantly more sustainable, healthier future for our health and the planet.