Mark Bittman Is Leaving Vegan Delivery Purple Carrot

Only months after Mark Bittman joined the team at vegan meal kit delivery service (is that the most 2016 phrase ever? possibly.) Purple Carrot, Bittman has left the building, so to speak, Mother Jones reports.

Bittman left the New York Times in September of last year for the buzzy project, but his role never seemed crystal clear to outsiders. Were the recipes his? Was he the one doing the sourcing? In November, he commented to Eater that he was looking forward to working directly with farmers but to check back about those recipes in six months. Which would be around now.

Bittman is still a part owner in the business and tells MoJo, "I wish the company nothing but the best. . . . I did everything I could do to help [its recent West Coast expansion], and now I'm ready for something new." No word yet on what that something new will be.

Meanwhile, Bittman's old employer, the Times, is getting in on the meal kit delivery game through a partnership with Chef'd.