I grew up in Los Angeles and left just after high school, never looking back other than visiting loved ones. Recently, however, I have been enjoying a new side of L.A. through sampling regional vegan cuisine and attending events.

This weekend I had a great time at the Spork Foods West Hollywood Grand Opening Party, co-hosted by Rory Freedman of  New York Times #1 bestseller Skinny Bitch fame. Freedman is also the humble author of many other books and workout videos who has converted many people to veganism through exposing the horrors of the food industry and encouraging healthier eating.

Spork Foods, a vegan business run by two sisters, moved into the West Hollywood space less than two months ago, where they will host cooking classes and parties along with yoga, and offer their space to the vegan community. Upcoming projects include an October culinary trip to Italy and online cooking classes.

The Spork sisters and many other people I met at the packed event were friendly and active in the veggie community, including Lex who organizes the rapidly growing Los Angeles Vegan Drinks meetup, for which he assures drinks to be consumed are vegan by researching on Barnivore. Prabhat Gautam of Positive Television always has many exciting vegan events up his sleeve. Eco-friendly face painting (some avocado-based) by The Compassionate Clown Company was fun, and it’s nice to know they do not work fairs that exploit animals.

The food was of course a highlight — a tasty sundried tomato dip (pictured) and corn fritters with truffle aioli, followed by great Mexican chocolate almond bark and a vanilla spiced cupcake with whipped cocoa frosting. With a growing contingency of passionate people networking at events like this, vegan cuisine is not only becoming increasingly mainstream but more delicious.