Photos by Jane Kortright Photography
Andrew Krull’s deft hands gently form a mound of fresh salad greens into an artful pile on a plate, next to a generous scoop of quinoa. There’s a gentle sizzle, followed by the sound of scraping as he tops the grains with sautéed artichokes, tomato, garlic and fresh basil pesto, all cooked in “good olive oil,” according to Krull.
“It’s simple, real food,” he adds. As the chef-owner of Veg Out Café and Bakery in Aiken, Krull is helping people rediscover just how delicious — and good for you — simple, real vegetable-based food is.
After cooking in sundry restaurants during his 30-plus-year career, Krull — also a master herbalist — returned to his roots when he opened Veg Out in 2022. He’s now reopening the restaurant in the same Aiken location after a short hiatus under different ownership.
Krull’s creations shine with glorious color. While some are cooked, many items are raw (or “cooked” gently at less than 113 degrees), which means Krull can usually serve a dish within minutes of it being ordered.
The golden Peachy Keen smoothie, like all Krull’s smoothies, is made of all-organic fruit blended with apple juice. The Hibiscus Cooler, with hints of licorice flavor, is a bright purple drink flecked with hibiscus petals. And his Rock and Roll features bright yellow and green squashes, sliced into ribbons, wrapped around a macadamia nut “ricotta” and slathered with more fresh basil pesto and sun-dried tomatoes, along with a greens salad, rings of red bell pepper, sliced cucumbers and radishes.
The flavor is what seals the deal. The squash is crisp and cool against the creamy nutty “ricotta,” with bright notes from the fresh basil and sun-dried tomato. And that same pesto cooked with fresh artichokes is swoon-worthy — so much so that a former customer ordered it daily for three years.
It’s all part of what Krull calls the healthy-empowerment-living process, or HELP, for short. Other people might call it food as medicine. “Because the key to health is your diet,” he says. “Vegetarianism is a way to prevent illness down the line … and you know, it’s just amazing tasting.”
As seen in the May 2026 issue of Augusta magazine
