Grandson of Doritos Inventor Has Eye on Health Foods

Photo credit: Vignesh Ramachandran/Ozy

Just because Tim West's grandfather invented Doritos doesn't mean West, an entrepreneur and chef who trained at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America and New York's St. Regis Hotel, is following in his footsteps.(1) In fact, it's quite the contrary for the California resident. While inspired by his grandfather's dedication to providing the masses with such an enjoyed snack, West is poised to get people excited about healthy foods.

In other words, trade in the chips for cherries.

It gets better.

Citing the fact that there's an open market when it comes to food, his goal is to make healthy foods available to all, whether they use food stamps or are extremely wealthy.

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Tim W. photo

Along with venture capitalist Derek Proudian, West, who explains that he did not receive any royalties from his grandfather's creation or grow up with a Doritos trust fund, opened Cool Beans.(1) It's a pop-up (temporary), hipster-esque restaurant that primarily serves tasty bean and veggie based meals, located in the Lower Haight neighborhood of San Francisco.  Currently, he's working on developing a snack that is as "equally as delicious as Doritos, equally as convenient as Doritos, but better for you and better for the planet."(1)

Reaction to Cool Beans has been very favorable, with many Yelp reviews commenting about its "deliciously fresh vegetables" and "some of the BEST tempeh ever" to words of praise about the endless array of organic options to stuff wraps with and the very reasonable pricing.(2)

Making a Healthier Decision

West's interest in healthy foods stemmed from a culmination of dietary choices and experiences. As a teenager, he admits to eating a great deal of hotdogs and buttery grilled sandwiches. He also once got food poisoning from food served from a fast food chain. He ultimately decided to make foods himself, and often found himself in situations that reinforced society's appreciation for healthier foods such as his time working as a chef for Google where employees were served fresh sushi on surfboards. 

West isn't the first to make a healthier transition in a family that's become known for, shall we say, significantly less healthier food creations.

John Robbins photo. Source: http://johnrobbins.info/

John Robbins: Another Who Chose the Healthier Path Despite Family Legacy

John Robbins, the only son of the founder of Baskin Robbins ice cream, turned away from carrying the businesses torch for his preference to instead deliver on America's taste for improved ethics and health.(3) An expert on health, nutrition, and sustainability, Robbins has said he wants to pursue " . . .  the deeper American Dream . . . the dream of a society at peace with its conscience because it respects and lives in harmony with all life forms. A dream of a society that is truly healthy, practicing a wise and compassionate stewardship of a balanced ecosystem."(3)

Robbins is the author of several books including Healthy at 100: How You Can – At Any Age – Dramatically Increase Your Life Span and Your Health Span, which is available here.

It's very refreshing that these gentlemen have chosen to share life's healthier options with others in the manner they have. Rather than contributing to society's health woes by endorsing junk foods or supporting big-pharma's inconsistencies and half-truths, they are committed to take us in a significantly better direction.

Good continued luck to them both!

Sources for this article include: (1) http://www.npr.org/ (2) http://www.yelp.com/ (3) http://johnrobbins.info/