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Friday night at 9:36 p.m, ZenKitchen’s owner Dave Loan succinctly posted on his personal Facebook page: “ZenKitchen, July 26, 2009 – May 23, 2014. I’ll always remember you.”

That’s terrible and even shocking news for Ottawa foodies and in particular, for vegans in the city and beyond.

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During its five years, ZenKitchen had the unique mandate of serving vegan fine dining, and it was widely acclaimed. It blazed a trail in this regard under its first chef, Caroline Ishii. She and Loan were husband-and-wife as well as restaurateurs, and their initial exploits were documented in the reality TV show The Restaurant Adventures of Dave and Caroline. Ishii’s food was a revelation, and she gained prominence at Ottawa culinary events such as the Gold Medal Plates competition. Ishii left ZenKitchen in April 2013, and the couple’s marriage ended around the same time.

As carnivorous as I am, I always enjoyed the food at ZenKitchen. (Many other carnivores did too.) I spent a New Year’s Eve there some years ago — I can’t remember which. In the last few years, my evil twin who plays jazz piano performed there on occasion, usually during the restaurant’s Sunday night live jazz evenings. There was always a free meal thrown in with the payment, and I would invariably order the gnocchi.