Good energy is like a secret superpower. You can’t see it—but you feel it. It uplifts, comforts, and lingers long after the moment has passed.
I’ve been told I carry that kind of good energy—and if you do too, you know it’s not something you turn on, it’s an ongoing conscious effort to put good vibes into the world and into relationships.
But here’s the best part: when two people with good energy meet along life’s path, something special happens. It’s like the universe nods and says… ‘Yep, this connection matters.’ That’s the vibe of today’s post and podcast.
I’d like you to meet Marcus John. He is ‘good energy’. He and I go way back to when he was a young doorman in a building I lived in in Westchester, NY. There was just something special about him from the minute I met him and I loved talking to him and loved that I could always make him laugh.
When life threw me an ovarian cancer curveball back then, I chose Marcus to be my trusted driver to and from my chemo journey in NYC. I knew that he had just the right kind of good energy to help keep my spirits lifted as I tried to plow through the challenge of staying alive.
We talked a lot about ‘a lot’ on those rides. And he saw me at my worst. The rides started with my own hair attached to my head, then morphed into ‘bald me’ wearing wigs with names we’d joke about, and culminated with ‘swollen me’ just trying to hang in and push through. Lucky for me I did. Marcus was a light during my darkest time.
Marcus and I both moved on from that building but stayed in touch over the years. When he recently sent me a birthday text it reminded me how much I adored him and his beautiful energy. I quickly threw out a lunch invite and we both immediately made it happen.
Why? Because our human connections matter and because it’s important that we all try harder to see people ‘in person’ that matter to us.
We sure had some great laughs at lunch at the Cheesecake Factory which I chose because Marcus is now a ‘vegan’ and the Cheesecake Factory offers spectacular vegan options.
Turns out Marcus is now a wildly creative vegan chef with a heart (and menu) full of love.
From artichoke croquettes to his walnut meat chopped cheese sliders. and his signature ‘Rasta Pasta’, Marcus is on a mission to turn soul food into food for your soul.
His company Beyond Bussin is redefining what vegan food can be—and where it can go next (yes, a food truck is in the works!)
By the way… I learned something new. When the kids say something is “bussin’,” they mean it’s really, really good—especially when it comes to food.
So when Chef Marcus John named his vegan company “Beyond Bussin,” he was saying: This food goes beyond delicious. It’s next level.
“Vegan food can be delicious, nutritious, and comforting—like your favorite comfort food. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice joy to eat well.” – Marcus
And Marcus and I both agree:
“Good energy can’t die. You are the good energy that changes what’s around you.”
Where to Find Marcus:
- Sundays: Riverdale Craft Market (260th & Riverdale Ave, Bronx)
- On a Restaurant Menu: ‘Off The Hook’, Yonkers (Rasta Pasta & Artichoke Croquettes)
- IG: @BeyondBussin
- Catering: Available for vegan-friendly events and celebrations
Enjoy this heartwarming and hilarious Wellness Wednesday episode of The Debbie Nigro Show, featuring special guest and star vegan chef Marcus John, founder of Beyond Bussin. If you’d rather read than listen the transcript of the audio is below.
Audio Transcript:
And now, back to Debbie Nigro. This is the Wellness Wednesday edition of the Debbie Nigro Show. Today we’re talking about good energy, the power of that to connect with other human beings and to form really incredible relationships that last for a very long time because as long as good energy is in the environment and in the world it will nobody can kill it right you can’t kill
0:00:54
(Speaker 1)
good energy you have to go out of your way it has its own vibe I had a great interaction and reconnection with an old pal named Marcus John he’s just the greatest guy ever I love him he could be my son actually. Met him years ago when he was a doorman in my building but then we became such good friends. I trusted him with my life and had him drive me to chemo. I paid him. He would drive me in the mornings, pick me up, you know, starting off with the hair, then the bald,
0:01:21
(Speaker 1)
then the swollen, then the oh my goodness am, oh my goodness, am I going to make it? Then yes, you are. And he was such a great person to be in that car with, going through this horrible experience of going through ovarian cancer. And we just, I loved him from the minute I met him, but I loved him more after that, you know. We’ve stayed connected, hadn’t seen him in a while. birthday by text the other day and I was like I gotta see you so we met I took him to lunch over at the Cheesecake Factory because he’s a vegan and he’s you
0:01:49
(Speaker 1)
know he likes those vegetables I’m like okay they got a vegan menu but so do I and I learned a lot about Marcus and the vegan world and the vegetarian world because he became a star vegan chef has his own company catering company I want you to know about him and I invited him on the show today. Hey, pal. Good to have you.
0:02:06
(Speaker 2)
Hi, Debbie. It’s good to be here. Thank you for that wonderful introduction.
0:02:10
(Speaker 1)
Did we have fun seeing each other again?
0:02:13
(Speaker 2)
Yes, like yes. You know, I love seeing you. I love catching up with you. You’ve been just a real solid person and a good energy giver all your life as well. Thank you, buddy. How hard do we laugh when we’re together? You think I’m funny, right? Yeah, no, I think you’re hilarious. I don’t think it. I know you’re hilarious. But yeah, you always get the same energy ever since I’ve met you. So I never feel like, oh, I’m catching up or I’m seeing somebody I have to be phony with or fake. Like you’ve always been real and like right in each other’s corners. So I very much appreciate that. Yeah, we had a we had a good chat.
0:02:46
(Speaker 1)
So we’re sitting across from each other at the Cheesecake Factory and catching up and Marcus has now become a vegan chef with like award-winning food. Like people go crazy to find his stuff like artichoke croquettes and some crazy walnut burger. We’re going to talk about in just a second.
0:03:04
(Speaker 1)
Tell me the difference between vegan and vegetarian. Help me out again.
0:03:08
(Speaker 2)
No problem. So vegan and vegetarian differ because vegetarians still eat or consume dairy and cheese and butter, things of that nature. Vegans, we don’t eat anything that has anything to do with animal products. So we’re 100% plant-based and no butter, no cheese, no anything, no sneaky stuff like
0:03:32
(Speaker 8)
that for us.
0:03:33
(Speaker 1)
Okay. May I just share, and I’m sure you don’t care I share this. When I first met Marcus, he was a big guy, okay, kind of big guy. And now he’s not a big guy. He’s a really healthy, amazing, you know, in shape human
0:03:47
(Speaker 2)
being. What made you go this direction for food? There were a couple of reasons. My parents are a little bit older so their health concerns dealing with diabetes over the years really became like a focal point for me to kind of figure out a way that I could help them and even help myself as well. So that was my first reason for transitioning into vegan lifestyle. But then once, you know, realizing how many people don’t have the full education on a
0:04:22
(Speaker 2)
proper nutritional diet, and neither did I before I started getting into it before my parents were ill and they’re both doing well now I just wanted to add that in. Thank God. But yeah there’s not a lot of information about it that doesn’t seem almost sensationalized or like a trending thing. Right. I wanted to bring people into the actual idea that vegan food can be delicious, nutritious, and also something that makes you feel comforted, like your favorite comfort food.
0:04:50
(Speaker 1)
Yes, let’s talk about what we chose at the menu at the Cheesecake Factory, because I said, look, I’ll eat anything, so let’s pick. So we picked the cauliflower. What was that? Was it a fried cauliflower appetizer? That was unbelievable. What was that? Was it a fried cauliflower appetizer? That was unbelievable. What was that?
0:05:05
(Speaker 2)
Yeah, Korean Kung Pao cauliflower. That was delicious.
0:05:11
(Speaker 1)
Unbelievable. I was like licking the plate. We also chose, instead of the chicken lettuce wraps, they had avocado lettuce wraps with grilled avocado. That was quite delicious with all the different sauces, right? Very, yes. And then we chose, besides the french fries that we threw in just for kicks, what was the other thing we ordered? Oh, asparagus.
0:05:32
(Speaker 7)
Grilled asparagus.
0:05:33
(Speaker 1)
Yeah, with almonds. We had with almonds.
0:05:36
(Speaker 2)
Almonds and some type of like pasty sauce. I’m not sure what that was, but that was also
0:05:41
(Speaker 1)
delicious. Yeah I felt like it was a decadent lunch even though there was no meat involved so I was like full and satisfied and happy when I left. Then you started showing me some of the stuff you make I was like wow where do you do this and I’m look I posted how to post the picture because they’re amazing artichoke croquettes then you had a walnut what is that walnut burger thing explain that. So I offer the walnut meat
0:06:05
(Speaker 2)
as another option besides soy because you know just you know a lot of vegan food can sometimes can be overproduced with soy and that’s not always good for all of our body types at all. So I wanted to be able to offer different vegan options as well. So I have the walnut chopped cheese sliders. The base of it is made out of walnut meat. You soak it, then you flavor it,
0:06:32
(Speaker 2)
then you cook it up in a cast iron pan. And it takes a little bit of a work to get to that consistency to taste like meat and have the same type of- Texture, like grittiness, texture as meat. But once it gets there, you know, that’s one of my top-selling things, items on my menu.
0:06:55
(Speaker 1)
Walnut meat chops cheese slider. It’s on a slider bun top with lettuce and homemade slider sauce. That’s amazing. Now you can’t have mayonnaise in the vegan world, am I correct? or is there vegan mayonnaise? There’s vegan mayonnaise.
0:07:07
(Speaker 2)
There’s a plant-based everything at this point. So there’s a plant-based mayonnaise, plant-based cocktail sauce, tartar sauce, whatever you need, they have figured it out. To give people non-dairy options for whatever sauce they’re looking for.
0:07:21
(Speaker 1)
I’m also very attracted to your artichoke and chickpea mashed What is that crow cats and then you have a artichoke and chickpea mashed vegan crab cake? You’re killing it with the concepts here. This is beautiful You’re telling me and you told me and you’re very humble guy that you cannot believe how many people have told you that you should Like win a cooking show for your vegan cooking. So where can people taste your stuff? I know you’re at a fair. What are you doing, Riverdale? You have an event that you’re at on a regular basis? Where are you? Yes, I am the main caterer for the
0:07:52
(Speaker 2)
Riverdale craft market on Sundays on 260th and Riverdale Avenue in the Bronx. And so yeah, I’m the main chef on the premises for that day. So anybody could come out any Sunday and check me out there. I’m also doing like a slew of pop ups and farmers markets between now and the end of summer. Great. But if you wanted to check out the artichoke croquettes or my Rasta
0:08:23
(Speaker 2)
pasta, they’re both on the menu at a restaurant in Yonkers called Off the Hook. Oh. And yes, so they’re permanently on their menu that they’re, they were, they’re a great, another company in Yonkers, a restaurant, family-owned business. And once they tasted the Rasta pasta, they, they had one on their menu, but they said mine was a little bit better and they would want to work with me to get mine on their menu. So that’s what we did.
0:08:51
(Speaker 1)
How do you benefit from somebody taking your recipe and putting it on their menu? By the way, his company is called Beyond Bussin, B-U-S-S-I-N. How do you benefit from having
0:09:01
(Speaker 2)
your recipe on somebody else’s menu? So we worked out a deal that I make the sauce and the seasonings for him for the pasta and I gave him the, I guess what goes in the pasta. So exactly how I make mine. And you know, we worked out a fair deal where I get compensated for that. And also my food is on a permanent menu in a restaurant and it says the name on it beyond bus and rasta pasta artichoke croquette like the crab cakes and you know that that’s
0:09:33
(Speaker 2)
Very helpful with getting the word out and people just supporting and going like oh
0:09:38
(Speaker 1)
I’m gonna stop by off the hook and get your pasta today. That’s great. Hey, what’s the rasta pasta taste like? What’s in there?
0:09:46
(Speaker 2)
I’ve also had been people telling me that’s the best Rasta pasta they’ve had.
0:09:50
(Speaker 1)
What is Rasta pasta? I don’t know.
0:09:53
(Speaker 2)
It’s a Caribbean style pasta is penne and with a cream sauce that I make out of cauliflower and kind of like a Alfredo sauce. Oh wow. Add some like jerk seasoning to it to give it just a little bit the right amount of spice and I use vegan sausages that don’t have any soy in it because of some products some items I like to keep soy-less completely and this is also nut free as well. So I try to make sure that people’s allergies are in there considered and I’m just I just make the sauce with a lot of
0:10:32
(Speaker 2)
love because you know food is also energy.
0:10:34
(Speaker 1)
Shut up. Do you think I don’t know that?
0:10:37
(Speaker 2)
Communication.
0:10:38
(Speaker 1)
I know. In my house. Listen, there was so much love in the food in my house in the
0:10:42
(Speaker 6)
communication.
0:10:43
(Speaker 1)
They were it was like like they were shouting it. We were very large people for how much food love was in my house growing up, which caused a lot of health problems. And now that you were talking about how important vegan and vegetarian kind of food is to a lifestyle that keeps you from having diabetes and that your parents are well and you’re well, there’s so much diabetes in the world right now that it’s frightening. I think your contribution is formidable right now with educating people and sharing food that’s not only delicious and feels decadent like you’re cheating, but it’s really good
0:11:13
(Speaker 1)
for you. So I wanted to really give you the moment. I really am proud of you.
0:11:17
(Speaker 2)
Thank you very much, Debbie. I like that. It feels like you’re cheating, but you’re really doing the right thing. I know. It feels like cheating but it’s the right thing.
0:11:26
(Speaker 1)
But it’s the right thing. And let’s talk about good energy for a second. You and I, you know, I can hear it. I can feel you through the microphone and people can listening in could probably feel our connection. What do you want to say about good energy in the world? You’re a good spokesperson on that. I like what you said about good energy can’t die. Can’t die.
0:11:47
(Speaker 2)
And that’s something that we do need to focus on because no matter how much dark there is around us, even the little tiniest speck of light will show up as light in darkness. So that light and the good energy are synonymous. So any times it seems like you’re getting overrun with negative energy or negative thoughts,
0:12:11
(Speaker 2)
you have to remember sometimes you yourself are that light. You are the good energy that changes what’s around you or what you’re seeing. And a lot of people forget that.
0:12:22
(Speaker 5)
Yeah.
0:12:22
(Speaker 2)
Sometimes we just take it on and we witness it and forget that we could also be the catalyst for change ourselves just by being our regular good old high energy, like high loving, giving it off to the people selves.
0:12:37
(Speaker 1)
Yep. Without expecting anything in return, you know. That’s really it. You can’t expect it in return. It does always come back around from somewhere else but when you have the the interaction like Marcus and I are having when you are a good energy person you put it you Do that you put the effort in to put it out into the world to try and affect people and you see another or meet another
0:12:58
(Speaker 1)
Person another soul who’s also doing that it’s very recognizable Yes, and very Yes. And very unforgettable. So he was a young guy when I first met him in his 20s and now he’s a formidable grown man. I asked him, I’m not gonna tell you your age, but I asked you, Mark, how old are you? You’re kidding me. How’d that happen? And he’s looking at me, I go, he knows I just had a birthday. I go, look, look at this. How did this happen but um look you’re still very hot debbie oh
0:13:25
(Speaker 2)
absolutely goodness you said my friends the picture the cropped version of the picture they were like oh man that’s not who we were expecting oh you’re funny
0:13:36
(Speaker 1)
mark it’s just so funny thanks for the love let’s tell everybody where they can find you he does vegan catering too if anybody wants to have a party and wants to keep it on the vegan side. I have somebody else I’m going to introduce you to by the way, another restaurant, another Caribbean restaurant that would love your Rasta pasta and I’ll make a deal for you. But if you’re going to have a party and he doesn’t have a food truck yet, but that’s the next move, the food truck and the company is called at Beyond Bussin, B-U-S-S-I-N. What does Bussin stand for? Forgive me.
0:14:05
(Speaker 2)
Marcus John, the founder and CEO of Beyond Bussin. All the young kids when the food is really good, they say, oh, that’s Bussin, Bussin. We love that. So I just took that from them. And you know, you got to talk to the youth
0:14:14
(Speaker 1)
sometimes. John Bussin, this has been Marcus John, my dear friend, and now with Star Vegan Chef, a little education about vegan food and also good energy. Marcus have a great day and thanks for taking me up on the invitation last minute to join me on the show this morning. It was great to have you.
0:14:34
(Speaker 4)
Thank you for having me, Deb.
0:14:36
(Speaker 1)
All right. Honored, my friend.
