Vegan

We have a new student: a vegetarian. She's talented and doesn't proselytize, which makes for a pleasant working relationship. But regardless, the food is boring and dishonest. For the last week we've been treated to vegetarian lunches of various ethnic heritages. And overall the results have been predictably uninteresting.
Jambalaya with soy chorizo: nearly flavorless. Soy-based vanilla pound cake: a lump of vaguely flavor-tinged mush. The vegan chocolate mousse reminded me of the 70s with all things carob. And then there are salads; lots of salads.
Salads are and can be lovely. But, to paraphrase some French chefs when they viewed Alice Waters creating her magic with fresh local produce: "This isn't cooking; this is shopping."
To be fair, there were also roasted corn cobs with romesco sauce, and a pineapple sorbet, each of which was utterly delicious. But those two dishes merely highlight the problem with narrow vegetarianism. Such fare that attempts to replicate animal-based dishes is doomed to failure, and is dishonest by its nature. Jambalaya does NOT include soy. Pound cake is made with butter. Avocado is not an acceptable substitute for animal fat in anything called chocolate mousse. Why was the sorbet so good? Because it's not an attempt to replicate anything else. As the nauseating cliche goes: it is what it is.
This is no passionate screed against vegetarianism. My libertarian leanings are such that I could care less what anyone chooses to eat. And I agree that the too-often shoddy and lazy treatment of animals could use a revision. But so much of the vegetarian menu seems to be self-enforced settling for mediocrity. How disappointing, especially for anyone who chooses a culinary career.