Max La Manna
Max La Manna is a low-waste chef, cookbook author and campaigner sharing vegetable-led recipes that help everyday ingredients go further.
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Max’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus their backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Rodale Books
Yellow KiteOverview
- From
- Waterbury, Connecticut; later moved to the UK.
- Work
- Low-waste chef, author and campaigner.
- Online beginnings
- Began documenting sustainable living on social media in October 2017.
- First cookbook
- More Plants Less Waste, published in 2019.
Mini bio
Food from the start.
Max grew up in Waterbury, Connecticut, surrounded by food. Their father ran Subway franchises, and their mother grew vegetables. At 16, Max worked with pizza dough, then spent years doing restaurant jobs from washing dishes to managing cafés.
Finding a purpose.
In an interview with Square Mile, Max traced their focus on food waste to an October 2017 commute, when they saw a man begging for food outside the subway. That same month, Max began sharing a more sustainable way of living online, finding uses for ingredients that might otherwise be discarded.
From videos to books.
Recipe videos led to a wider platform for low-waste cooking. The debut More Plants Less Waste arrived in 2019, followed by BBC Earth’s five-part Regeneration Food series. You Can Cook This! followed in 2023, turning commonly wasted foods into practical meals.
Cooking with the audience.
For You Can Cook This!, Max spent a year asking followers what they threw away most often. Tens of thousands of responses helped shape a list of 30 ingredients and a US edition with 135 recipes. The starting point is familiar: use what is already in the kitchen.
Creditschronological, newest first
Books
- 2023You Can Cook This!Author
- 2019More Plants Less WasteAuthor
TV & online series
- 2025Dish It Out: Unexpected IngredientsGuest
- 2020Regeneration FoodPresenter, BBC Earth
Awards
- Gourmand World Cookbook Awards2023 · You Can Cook This! won World’s Best Vegan Cookbook.
- Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards2022 · Digital Creator of the Year, now listed under Content Creator of the Year.
- Gourmand World Cookbook Awards2020 · More Plants Less Waste was named Most Sustainable Cookbook.
Quotes
Food was always the center focus in our family.Max La Manna, Worldchefs podcast
Trivia
- Max’s early restaurant tasks included counting boxes of crisps and cookie dough at their father’s Subway franchises.
- Their first cookbook includes household ideas as well as recipes, including a citrus cleanser and a 21-day challenge.
- You Can Cook This! includes pancakes made with coffee grounds.
Find Max
Find more recipes and kitchen ideas on Max’s official channels.
Are you Max La Manna?
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