The plant-based diet have a considerable history and still plays a central part in many cultures but in the modern industrialized world there was a long-standing prejudice that meat consumption meant higher status and that vegetarians, to say nothing of vegans, were pale, weak and pretty weird. A realization has come that plant-based diets have significant positives, ranging from ethical concerns and environmental impacts to personal health. Insight into performance benefits has come later. The idea that elite athletes could do well without consuming meat or fish or dairy is recent; the 2019 documentary “The Game Changers” introduced a wider audience to this idea. It is realized that nutrition generally is a key element in athletic performance and a very fine cookbook released this month combines vegan recipes with an understanding of how they have a place in your cycling life.
Alan Murchison has carved out a niche for himself as The Cycling Chef. A Michelin-starred chef with over 25 years’ experience, he does not cut the roly-poly figure once de rigeur for serious kitchen artists but in fact is a national level master’s cyclist, a former international endurance runner and multiple World and European age-group duathlon champion. Running a business providing nutrition plans to athletes, he also was the professional chef for the Canyon/SRAM Racing Women’s World Tour team in 2021.
He has written four cookbooks for cyclists. The first, “The Cycling Chef: Recipes for Performance and Pleasure,” was released in 2019, and it was followed by “The Cycling Chef: Delicious Easy-to-Make Meals to Boost Cycling Performance” in 2021, which we reviewed HERE. This was followed by “The Cycling Chef on the Go” in 2024 featuring ride day recipes, which was also the subject of a PEZ review HERE. And now we have the latest of his books which provides advice and recipes for those cyclists following a plant-based diet.
As a classically-trained chef. Murchison had some difficulty of changing his outlook to accept meals that did not serve up the usual protein sources. In fact, in his 2019 book he stated his doubts that a high-performance diet could not exclude meat, fish and eggs and he admits in his new book that while it has required some effort and adjustment it is quite possible and he himself eats plant-based meals two or three times a week now. But he also points out that “you can be a crap vegan just as easily as you can be a crap carnivore, and you can consume way too much saturated fat and sugar and far too few essential nutrients. Whatever your diet, ensuring that it supports elite performance is about getting the right balance of carbohydrates, proteins, nutrients and vitamins to fuel your ride, as well as restoring and rejuvenating your body.”
The book opens by a discussion of the myths around plant-based diets, covering the pros as well as the cons. In Murchison’s own case, he feels that his own performance on a plant-based diet is no different than his traditional one but that there is nothing negative either. He goes on to touch on the basics of how to get enough of each of the food cornerstones: protein, carbs and fats.
This carefully-considered commentary is the first in a series in the book that alternate with recipes. The excellent breakfast recipes are followed by a section on micronutrients; there is advice on changing over to a plant-based diet from the carnivore version; adding supplements when riding competitively; and what would be useful ingredients in a kitchen store cupboard.
The recipes cover not only breakfast but also breads and snacks, main meals and desserts. The layout of each recipe is very attractive, with, in most cases, a photo of the finished product on the left page with the actual recipe on the right one. Each recipe has a brief heading and then there are two columns below: one for ingredients and the other for preparation.
Alan Murchison describes his exploration of plant-based cooking as an education, exposing him to new ingredients that required a change in mindset. The result is fascinating as many of his recipes combine things you would not immediately think would go together. There are things we would not think twice about, like Pear and Almond Bake Oats, or Double Espresso Granola (!) but others are impressively imaginative. Brownies made with black beans or Strawberry Breakfast Risotto or the peculiarly named Frog Skin and Feta Salad. And, as the author points out, nobody is watching you so if you want to add dairy or some other non-plant ingredient you are certainly entitled to do that. It should be emphasized that this is a book by a skilled chef who is concerned not just about nutritional values but also appearance, taste and textures. While the recipes are within the skill range of most people, they do sometimes fall into the category of what Murchison calls “inconvenience foods.” But given the results these foods would certainly liven up any menu.
As in his previous books and considering his own athletic achievements, he recognizes the need for different food values depending on your workout or competition schedule, with different foods for hard days or recovery ones. To this end there is a very clear chart outlining model meal plans using his recipes.
This book is a fine addition to the genre of “cookbooks for cyclists,” with its clarity and useful information. Moreover, the book itself is quite beautiful, elegantly laid out and punctuated throughout not only with superb colour images of the food but also wonderful black-and-white photos from pro racing’s past—this was done in the previous cookbooks as well but improved here with captions this time. And as before the book offers up a detailed index.
Now it’s time to head into the kitchen to make up some of that Roasted Sushi-Style Watermelon!
“The Cycling Chef Plant-Powered Performance”
by Alan Murchison
192 pp., illustrated, hardbound
Bloomsbury Sport, London, 2025
ISBN 978-1-399-41263-6
Price: 22.00 GBP/US$34/C$46
# Available for AMAZON.COM at: www.amazon.com. #
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