US chef's bet on veggies pays off

Chef Amanda Cohen took a gamble in 2008 when she opened a tiny restaurant in New York City called Dirt Candy, which focused on vegetables at a time when bacon was the rage among food enthusiasts.

Cohen moved the original 18-seat restaurant to a new location on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in February, tripling the seating so she could accommodate more diners eager to try edible farmed and wild plants, which critics have praised.

The 41-year-old who hails from Canada's capital, Ottawa, says that despite serving vegetable dishes, she does not consider herself a vegetarian chef.