You know when you can just tell someone is a good person? That’s how we feel about Chef Roy Elam.
This Midwesterner ditched his touring musical career to open a sustainable vegan restaurant in Southern California named after his late mother. Donna Jean debuted in San Diego in 2017 and expanded to Los Angeles in 2022. Through both restaurant locations, Elam pours his culinary skill into a thoughtful menu of Italian American comfort food cuisine featuring sustainable ingredients and seasonal produce. Customers can’t get enough of Donna Jean’s pizzas, handmade pastas, and brunch biscuits, among other great hits. (We dream about the cast iron mac ‘n’ cheese frequently!) Keep reading to learn more about Elam’s vegan journey, culinary career, and holiday advice.
Donna Jean Interior Photo by Lindsay Kreighbaum
VegOut (VO): Can you share more about your vegan beginnings? How were you first introduced to the lifestyle, and what inspired you to try it?
Roy Elam (RE): The first vegan I ever met was a guy I worked with at Denny’s in Southern Illinois. He was in the hardcore scene, which I was also very into at the time so it made me think about the concept a bit more. Ultimately, the idea of killing something for food started to repulse me and the desire to eat or use any animal products faded quickly. My wife and I went vegan at the same time and have stayed vegan together over the years.
VO: Why did you choose to switch career paths from touring musician to vegan chef?
RE: Touring as an independent band is really hard financially. There came a point when touring full time just didn’t make sense anymore, so we all had to find different ways to sustain ourselves. To me, being a chef satisfies the creative side that drew me to being a musician in the first place. I still love music and am always on the lookout for new artists. That side of me still exists and always will.
Donna Jean Pizza Photo by Lindsay Kreighbaum
VO: Is there anything from your music career that has helped you in your culinary career?
RE: Absolutely. Running a restaurant is a lot like running a band. We are all creative people working together to take an idea and make it the best it can be. I may be the creative head and have the overall vision, but I am only as good as my team. In songwriting, I would always come up with an idea and present it to my bandmates, and we would work together to make it better than I could have imagined on my own. I also feel this way with Donna Jean. I have great people around me who are always pushing to make what I have presented even better day after day.
VO: Did you go to formal culinary school, or did you learn your cooking skills through experience?
RE: I never went to culinary school. I don’t have anything against it, and I did think about going several times. Ultimately, I learned on the job and on my own time through experimentation. I have also had the pleasure of working with some talented people along the way who have taught me skills I still use to this day.
VO: The menu at Donna Jean focuses on scratch-made artisan pizzas, handmade pastas, and vegetables. How did you go about testing these recipes?
RE: Trial and error! We go through multiple versions of everything before we get to the finished product. The best example of this is our pizza dough. I feel like we are probably on version 100 by now.
Donna Jean Spread Photo by Lindsay Kreighbaum
VO: We love that your restaurant is dedicated to your mother, Donna Jean. What do you hope to share about her through the dining experience?
RE: She was very much about family and taking care of everyone else first. I believe that is what we try to do here at Donna Jean. We do our best to take care of our employees and guests in the best way we can every day.
VO: Do you have any advice for vegans cooking for the holidays?
RE: My best advice is to always cook with the seasons. Find what is good around you and let that inform your ideas.
VO: Any holiday specials we can expect to see at Donna Jean?
RE: We always try to do something fun for holidays. For example, we always offer a full spread for Thanksgiving every year.
Cans of Tomatoes Lined Up Photo by Lindsay Kreighbaum
Learn more about Donna Jean at DonnaJeanRestaurant.com.
