While the country's recent fascination for plant-based, organic and healthy foods may seem trendy, for Classie & Essential Nutrition, it is simply the logical outgrowth of 30 years of practice and study of the roots of vegetarian and vegan nutrition, around the world.

The company draws on thousands of years of "food is medicine" philosophies from Medieval Europe; from Hippocrates, in ancient Greece; from Imhotep, in Ancient Egypt; from Hu Sihui, the 14th century court therapist and dietician, in China; and from Okinawa, the country with the world's longest life expectancies.

Finally, the company's menus pay homage to the unique and tasty spices that were the basis of the first economic globalization, when European explorers braved the high seas, in pursuit of items such as cinnamon, pepper, cardamom, turmeric and ginger. For Classie & Essential Nutrition, there is a fundamental belief that healthy foods should also taste good.
 
Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the company is majority-owned by Patricia Marshall Harris, an African-American female, with more than 20 years of experience in the food service and hospitality industries. She has served as a healthy lifestyles consultant and as a chef in high-end, organic and fresh food venues. Harris has been known for her creative menu presentations, which feature strong ethnic and Southern foods, spices and influences.

Not surprisingly, Harris is also a highly-sought-after speaker and seminar presenter on issues ranging from calorie management, the appropriate selection and sources for raw and fresh foods, the relatively new arena of organic and fresh-food fine dining, and the critically important connections among nutritious dietary habits, exercise and good health.