ABOUT MISSISSIPPI VEGAN
Hello and welcome! My name is Timothy Pakron, creator of Mississippi Vegan. I am the photographer, food stylist and recipe developer for everything you see here. I am currently working on my second cookbook, which will be released Spring of 2026 by Penguin Random House. In my spare time, I love to garden and hang out with my rescue cat, ChiChi. I currently live and work in New Orleans, LA.
ABOUT MY JOURNEY
About 10 years ago, I created the concept of Mississippi Vegan while living in NYC. This moniker merged my past and my present and allowed me to explore my passion for cooking with plants and mushrooms, while celebrating kindness to animals. After building my social media audience, I started this recipe blog. After only a few recipes were published, I landed a book deal and moved back to Mississippi to write!
I wrote and photographed my first cookbook, Mississippi Vegan, while living in Jackson, MS. It was released in the fall of 2018 by Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House. I am proud to say that the the book has received a beautiful amount of praise. Here are some examples.
PRAISE FOR MISSISSIPPI VEGAN
“Tim’s the real deal—he forages, cooks, and shoots his own beautiful photos. You’re going to love this book.”
—Jamie Oliver
“A wildly talented photographer… Pakron follows in the tradition of Truman Capote, Eugene Walter, Ryan Gainey and Scott Peacock to evince a lush tribute to a mythic time and place.”
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“From the state that gave us Eudora Welty, William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Donna Tartt and Julia Reed, Mississippi Vegan is a soulful and affecting self-portrait by a Southern original.”
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Inspired by plants and mushrooms and the complex flavors and rich history of southern style cooking, Timothy’s culinary world is a magical one. Here he shares his secrets for achieving delicious and deeply satisfying vegan meals—I’m thrilled to finally be able to make his famous gumbo in my own kitchen!”
—Amy Chaplin, James Beard award-winning author of At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen: Celebrating the Art of Eating Well
“Every component of this book is richly layered with vivid storytelling, a genuine loyalty to tradition, an angle of accessibility that doesn’t dumb down when it comes to important regional ingredients, and the passion for a new world of flavor in vegan cuisine. Timothy opens up his culinary point of view in a stunningly beautiful way that aims straight for the heart. His joyful sincerity is encouraging and real.”
—Laura Wright, author of The First Mess Cookbook
In addition, Mississippi Vegan received praise from my favorite musician in the world, Tori Amos. Here is a what she said in an NPR interview:
‘Tonight we’ll be having a vegan stew that I am calling mushroom magic. This is an experiment; we’ll see if the gang likes it. Many of the vegan dishes that I love are from Timothy Pakron whose cookbook Mississippi Vegan is always in the kitchen. His vegan creole “potato salad” is glorious.
Yes, during these times some of the spices he uses might not be in your kitchen, but substitutions can work with his amazing inspirations. He has a knack for just jam packing flavor, whether it’s in his Southern “succotash stew” or his “mama’s rosemary white bean soup.” He also puts up recipes on his site and hopefully his magic will make someone smile during these very challenging times.’
–Tori Amos, NPR Interview, May 4th, 2020
You can read more about this story here.
MY NEW COOKBOOK
My new cookbook, Garden Variety, will be released again with Avery in the spring of 2026 and I am so thrilled to share it with you. I have been working on it for the last 3 years and it is a collection of over 130 recipes that are plant-focused, vibrant, and delicious. I styled and photographed every image and wrote and tested every recipe multiple times. It is my best work to date!