Ellington

"You have to try today's soup before you leave," said Domini Bradford, 37. So I did. The soup in the small bowl she placed in front of me was thick and creamy orange. "It's butternut squash bisque," she explained. I was amazed to learn that it contained a cashew base along with such striking ingredients as curry, and most importantly, that it was devoid of oil and dairy. Oddly, it reminded me of home.

Born and raised in Jackson, Bradford hasn't been very good at staying put. She moved to New York City at 17, where she quickly picked up on vegetarian and vegan dining options. Bradford then traveled across the country, sampling health foods along the way. "I wanted to bring something back here to make it a dynamic restaurant," she explained. After working at High Noon Café's old location behind the Dutch Bar, she joined the health retreat at its current location, in Rainbow Whole Foods in Fondren, where she recently became head cook. "I didn't care about the salary," she said, "I just wanted to start."

In High Noon's kitchen, there's no trace of frozen products, mixes or hydrogenated mush—everything's made from scratch. "People don't realize how much work goes into it," she said. Because of the labor-intensive nature of the cooking, High Noon is only open for lunch on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. But in the near future, High Noon will be open Thursdays, and will expand gradually from there.

But what about all that jiggly tofu? "Including soy in your diet is vital," Bradford said, calling soy an important cancer-fighting agent. "The greatest challenge is making people taste food and see what they're not missing." Bradford may even dream in soy—after going home, she stays awake, envisioning new recipes. She also dispels the belief that a diet lacking in meat and dairy is too difficult to follow through with, or just too weird. "Rules can make you incredibly resourceful," she said.

Bradford said being head cook at High Noon is certainly labor, but it's a labor of love. "I want to grow old well. The key to that is a good diet. It's not just about living long, but living well," she says.

I'm quickly reminded of that as I cling to the remnants of butternut squash bisque in my mouth. Could there possibly be more validation than that for Bradford's healthful calling? "I go home at night, and I feel like I'm alive."

That'll do it.