Heidi Van Pelt is an American vegan chef and entrepreneur best known for her former marriage to Taran Noah Smith, who played Mark Taylor on the ABC sitcom Home Improvement. Although that relationship brought her national media attention, Van Pelt had already worked in film production, nutrition counseling, radio and plant-based cooking. She later helped develop Playfood, a cashew-based vegan cheese business, before returning to Kansas City and opening the vegan restaurant Füd. Her career reflects the early development of America’s plant-based food movement, years before dairy-free products became common in supermarkets and restaurants.
Heidi Van Pelt Quick Facts
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Heidi Van Pelt |
| Profession | Vegan chef, nutrition counselor and food entrepreneur |
| Hometown | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Known for | Playfood, Füd and her former marriage to Taran Noah Smith |
| Former spouse | Taran Noah Smith |
| Marriage | April 27, 2001–2007 |
| Notable food ventures | Playfood and Füd |
| Primary culinary focus | Vegan, raw and dairy-free food |
Van Pelt has also appeared in Kansas City restaurant coverage under the name Heidi VanPelt-Belle.
Early Life and Education
Heidi Van Pelt grew up in the Kansas City area and attended Oak Park and Blue Springs high schools. After graduating in 1986, she studied fashion design at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. She later explored German and philosophy at the University of Missouri before moving to Seattle in 1988 to study Russian affairs at the University of Washington.
Van Pelt left the Russian studies program before completing it. She then established a media company called Emergent Films. When work became scarce in Seattle, she moved to Los Angeles and found employment on television and film productions, including jobs as a production assistant and prop master.
Her early career was varied, but Los Angeles ultimately gave her an opportunity to turn her interest in vegetarianism and animal-free food into a profession.
From Film Production to Nutrition and Vegan Cooking
Van Pelt had been a vegetarian for several years before becoming interested in veganism. While living in Seattle, she met animal-rights advocates who avoided meat, dairy products, eggs and other animal-derived foods. After moving to Los Angeles, she became increasingly involved in raw and vegan cooking.
In 1994, Van Pelt obtained an online certificate from the American Academy of Nutrition. She subsequently worked as a nutritional counselor at a clinic in the Watts area of Los Angeles. Her work included teaching families and people experiencing homelessness how to prepare balanced meals with inexpensive or donated ingredients.
She also co-hosted a program called Raw Health on a Pacifica radio station. Her catering and nutrition work eventually connected her with clients in the entertainment industry, including actor Woody Harrelson.
These experiences established Van Pelt as a working vegan chef well before plant-based eating developed a large commercial market.
How Heidi Van Pelt Met Taran Noah Smith
Van Pelt first encountered Taran Noah Smith in 1998, when Smith and fellow Home Improvement actor Zachery Ty Bryan attended a raw-food dinner at her home. Smith was approximately 14 at the time, and the two did not begin a relationship then.
They met again at a film premiere in 2000 and connected through a shared interest in music. Van Pelt played bass, while Smith had a recording studio at his home. Their friendship developed into a romantic relationship despite a 16-year age difference.
Smith had spent most of his childhood playing Mark Taylor, the youngest son on Home Improvement. He left professional acting after the series ended and later said he had decided as a teenager that he did not want to continue in the entertainment business.
Marriage to Taran Noah Smith
Heidi Van Pelt and Taran Noah Smith married on April 27, 2001. Smith was 17, while Van Pelt was 32. Their age difference and Smith’s status as a former child actor made the relationship a recurring subject in entertainment coverage.
A contemporary report from the Lawrence Journal-World stated that attorney David Whinery officiated their marriage in Topeka, Kansas. The couple later lived in Lawrence while Smith was involved in a legal dispute concerning control of money earned during his acting career.
At the time, Van Pelt and Smith discussed plans to create organic packaged foods, establish a wholesale food operation and develop independent media projects. Their food ambitions eventually became the most substantial part of their professional partnership.
The Creation of Playfood
Van Pelt introduced Smith to vegan eating, and the couple began experimenting with alternatives to conventional dairy cheese. They developed a cashew-based product and used the name Playfood for their catering, restaurant and packaged-food concept.
In Los Angeles, they hosted unofficial dining events from their home. The gatherings combined vegan meals with visual art, music and performances. The couple also obtained catering work connected with entertainment figures and musicians.
Demand for Van Pelt’s cashew cheese encouraged them to pursue commercial production. They planned a Playfood restaurant in Studio City and explored manufacturing the products in Kansas City, where production costs and available space were more manageable.
The Playfood range eventually included several dairy-free products, including cheddar-style, nacho-style, cream-cheese-style and sour-cream-style alternatives. The products were made without soy and used cashews as a central ingredient.
Playfood’s Place in Early Vegan Food Culture
Playfood emerged before the modern expansion of plant-based cheese brands. At the time, many commercial vegan cheeses relied heavily on soy and were often criticized for their texture or melting performance.
Van Pelt’s cashew-based approach anticipated a method now commonly used by artisan vegan cheese makers. Cashews can be blended into a creamy base and combined with seasonings, cultures or other ingredients to produce dairy-free spreads and sauces.
The business, however, became entangled with the end of Van Pelt and Smith’s marriage. Playfood eventually dissolved after disputes over ownership, operations and finances.
Divorce and Return to Kansas City
Van Pelt returned to Kansas City in 2005 as her relationship with Smith deteriorated. Their marriage ended in 2007 after approximately six years.
Coverage of the separation frequently focused on accusations made during the business dispute. Many later celebrity-biography websites have repeated those claims without original documentation. The most firmly established facts are that the couple separated, divorced and became involved in disagreements concerning Playfood.
After leaving Los Angeles, Van Pelt continued developing plant-based recipes and rebuilding her culinary career in her hometown.
Opening Füd in Kansas City
Van Pelt initially organized underground dining events and operated a raw-vegan pop-up inside the Bad Seed farmers market. These events allowed her to test recipes and build a local customer base.
In April 2010, she opened Füd as a standalone restaurant in Kansas City’s Westside neighborhood. Its menu combined raw dishes with cooked vegan comfort food, including meatless tacos, lasagna, burgers and chicken-fried-steak-inspired meals. Van Pelt described her goal as transforming familiar foods into healthier vegan dishes without removing their flavor or sense of fun.
Füd was visually colorful and deliberately different from the restrained style associated with many vegetarian restaurants of that period. Its menu featured ingredients such as wild rice, avocado, goji cashew cheese, seitan and beets. A local restaurant review described Van Pelt as an active presence in the kitchen and noted that the small menu emphasized inventive, unconventional dishes.
Why Did Füd Close?
Füd operated for approximately seven years before closing in August 2017. The closure followed a serious disagreement between Van Pelt, restaurant staff and her business partner.
Van Pelt told The Pitch that she believed employees had been working against her and that operational and financial problems had forced her to intervene. Former employees disputed her description of events, while her business partner characterized the closure as the conclusion of a dysfunctional professional relationship.
Because the accounts differed sharply, the closure is best understood as an internal management and partnership breakdown rather than as the result of one independently established incident.
Heidi Van Pelt Career Timeline
| Year | Event |
| 1986 | Graduated from high school in the Kansas City area |
| 1988 | Moved to Seattle to study Russian affairs |
| 1990s | Worked in film production, nutrition counseling, radio and vegan catering |
| 1998 | First met actor Taran Noah Smith at a raw-food dinner |
| 2001 | Married Smith in Topeka, Kansas |
| Early 2000s | Developed Playfood and its cashew-based vegan cheese products |
| 2005 | Returned to Kansas City |
| 2007 | Marriage to Smith ended |
| 2010 | Opened Füd as a standalone Kansas City restaurant |
| 2017 | Füd closed following a management and ownership dispute |
Where Is Heidi Van Pelt Now?
Van Pelt’s professional activities after Füd’s 2017 closure have not received substantial coverage from established news organizations. She appears to have stepped away from the national entertainment attention that surrounded her marriage and from the prominent Kansas City restaurant role she held during Füd’s operation.
Claims made by celebrity websites about her current residence, finances or occupation should be treated cautiously unless supported by direct statements or dependable records.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Heidi Van Pelt?
Heidi Van Pelt is an American vegan chef, former nutrition counselor and food entrepreneur. She is associated with the vegan food ventures Playfood and Füd and is also known as the former wife of Home Improvement actor Taran Noah Smith.
When did Heidi Van Pelt marry Taran Noah Smith?
Van Pelt and Smith married on April 27, 2001, in Topeka, Kansas. Their marriage ended in 2007.
What was the age difference between Heidi Van Pelt and Taran Noah Smith?
Van Pelt was 16 years older than Smith. She was 32 and he was 17 when they married.
What was Playfood?
Playfood was a vegan food and catering venture developed by Van Pelt and Smith. It became particularly known for cashew-based, soy-free alternatives to dairy cheese.
What was Füd?
Füd was a vegan and raw-food restaurant opened by Van Pelt in Kansas City in 2010. Its menu reworked comfort foods such as burgers, tacos and lasagna using plant-based ingredients.
Is Heidi Van Pelt an actress?
Van Pelt is not chiefly known as an actress. Her documented professional work has included film-production jobs, nutrition counseling, radio hosting, catering, vegan cooking and restaurant ownership.
Conclusion
Heidi Van Pelt’s name is often connected to her controversial marriage to Taran Noah Smith, but her longer professional story belongs to the development of vegan food in Los Angeles and Kansas City. Through Playfood, she helped create cashew-based dairy alternatives at a time when such products were still unusual. She later introduced Kansas City diners to colorful raw dishes and vegan comfort food through Füd. Although both businesses eventually closed, they remain the most substantial and well-documented parts of her public career.
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