This is the first part of a two-part Chef Chat interview. Please visit us tomorrow to read Part 2.

Cinq's German Mosquera is a vegan, but he cooks some mean meat and seafood. Sitting in the stately, refined dining room at Restaurant Cinq at La Colombe d'Or hotel, you would be forgiven if you thought you were in a fine-dining restaurant somewhere in Europe. Indeed, the white linen on the tables and the beautifully appointed paneled room with its elegantly framed paintings would be at home in Barcelona or Paris, and until recently, the menu, offering classics including rack of lamb and lobster bisque, evoked the same feeling.

Executive chef German Mosquera is slowly trying to change all that. Celebrating his one-year anniversary at the restaurant this November, the 28-year-old has been introducing new dishes using new techniques and a more modern approach to food. What's more, Mosquera is vegan, which means that when he's coming up with non-vegan dishes, he's not tasting them.

It may seem impossible, but it's working. His play on "bacon and eggs" in the form of an octopus dish with uni custard is a revelation. Mosquera sat down for a lively chat about his veganism, his approach to the menu and more.

EOW: You're a vegan chef. Have you always been?

GM: No, it's only been the past five years. When I came to Houston, I was more of pescatarian. It started as experimentation when I took a job with Ruggles Green, working to create things for people who had all these dietary restrictions. I wanted to embrace it, and from there, it just grew on me, and me being passionate about the food, it only made sense.