Kourtney Kardashian Barker recently threw a pool party that offered guests a unique feature: a “drive-thru” window serving vegan chicken. The attraction was part of Kardashian Barker’s annual Poolside with Poosh celebration, which she throws for an intimate group of celebrity friends to showcase a variety of health and wellness items.
Pool party guests at the ‘50s-themed event included family members Khloe Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, and Kris Jenner, models Miranda Kerr and SouKeyna Diouf, TikTok star Charli D’Amelio; and more.
POOSH
Guests were treated to spa experiences, poolside cupping treatments, and digital pilates, along with vegan food and Poosh-approved cocktails (made with sister Kendall Jenner’s 818 tequila) at a private home in West Hollywood that a team of designers transformed into a veritable throwback paradise with a vibe she describes as “pin-up girl meets Slim Aarons.”
Kardashian Barker used the event to reveal a forthcoming detox smoothie she is working to create together with Erewhon, a Los Angeles-area health food store. The black-and-white marbled smoothie features Harmless Harvest’s coconut milk and yogurt, MALK almond milk, coconut cream, and functional ingredients such as Four Sigmatic Sweet Vanilla Protein Powder, NeoCell Hyaluronic Acid, BLK Fulvic Drops, and charcoal.
Kourtney Kardashian Barker loves vegan chicken
So what’s the vegan chicken drive-thru all about? Well, Karadashian Barker created that in partnership with Daring Foods. At the walk-up (“drive-thru”) window, guests were treated to Daring’s Fried Chicken & French Fries with gochujang ketchup and vegan ranch.
Pierre Auroux
Daring’s chicken was also featured in hors d’oeuvres trays, where the plant-based chicken played the protein in the ‘50s inspired spread of Cobb salad and plant chicken and “bird dogs”—or sliders served in mini hot dog buns and all the fixin’s. Daring was also the star in refreshing chicken salad cucumber cups.
“We loved working with Kourtney on our campaign earlier this year and she has been a great advocate for the brand and plant-based eating in general, so catering this event was the perfect way to continue that partnership and synergy,” Mark Mittleman, Culinary Director at Daring, tells VegNews.
“The drive-thru concept was a fun way for us to serve Daring at Poolside with Poosh, and it was on brand for the event’s theme that was all about the ‘50’s and retro vibes,” he says. “When creating the menu we wanted to showcase just how delicious plant-based and gluten-free dishes can be.”
Kardashian Barker’s poolside event, as Mittleman mentions, is part of an ongoing partnership between the star and Daring Foods which started with a steamy photoshoot earlier this year. Photographed by the iconic Ellen von Unwerth, the shoot featured Kardashian Barker and new husband Travis Barker (a long-time vegan) as they headed to West Hollywood’s famous Chateau Marmont, with buckets of vegan chicken in hand, for a staycation after they eloped in Las Vegas this spring.
Ellen von Unwerth
“From the moment our partnership with Kourtney and Travis began there was clear synergy between Daring’s mission and their personal beliefs on plant-based eating and the positive impact it has on the environment,” Ross Mackay, CEO and Founder of Daring Foods, tells VegNews.
“We continue to work on these celebrity-driven events like Poolside with Poosh so we can introduce the brand to high-profile people that have a similar stance on the industry,” Mackay says. “Having their support and continuing to spread the word through their voices and platforms is really helpful as we continue to reach our goal of replacing and rethinking chicken in the global food system.”
Vegan chicken for a better world
While Kardashian Barker’s poolside party was a fun way to showcase plant-based chicken, Daring’s overarching mission is much more serious. In the United States alone, approximately 9 million chickens are slaughtered each year. Since the majority of meat comes from factory farms, these sensitive animals are kept in deplorable conditions that are not only cruel to birds but create breeding grounds for diseases and contribute to the climate crisis.
Ellen von Unwerth
As Mackay states, Daring’s mission is to eliminate the need to produce chicken meat in this cruel way by replacing it with near-identical plant-based alternatives. And working with celebrities gets the message to more people and fast.
“We are an unapologetically ambitious company so we want to work with partners that embody this bold spirit but also share our vision for a better, more plant-based world,” Mackay says.
“Many of our celebrity partners, like Kourtney, live a flexitarian or plant-based lifestyle and not only enjoy our products but also believe they can help us achieve our vision through their advocacy,” he says. “It’s important for us to continue to build these big names backing the brand to widen our reach and continue our mission.”
In addition to the Poosh pool party, Kardashian Barker and husband Travis Barker were supporting another vegan concept this week, upscale plant-based restuarant Crossroads which just opened a location in Calabasas—where the celebrity family resides. The couple attended the opening of the vegan restuarant with a film crew on hand to document the event for a forthcoming episode of The Kardashians.
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Anna Starostinetskaya is the Senior News Editor at VegNews and is always keeping an eye on all things vegan in her home city of San Francisco, CA and everywhere else.
