You may want to take this to r/chefit or r/kitchenconfidential . But they will tell you that you are definitely experiencing a "grass is greener on the other side" moment. I think there are lots of food service professionals who would be overjoyed to swap with you.

I fantasize about opening a little vegan deli or something like that, but really it wouldn't be a sane career move. Maybe after I have enough savings to retire I could treat it more like a hobby and excuse to cook & socialize more rather than something my income and lifestyle would depend on.

Ex-chef here. I wound up in that line of work just because there were few job options in my area. I started out washing dishes and doing front of the house work. I was better at back of the house (kitchen), but they wanted to promote me from being a dishwasher. I worked in non-vegan restaurants

It was honestly pretty miserable as a vegan. But it was what I had to do to pay the bills

Some things to be aware of:

Most kitchen work is extremely low paid, physically demanding and dangerous. Imagine lifting weights and doing aerobics in a 100F enviroment with fire and knives and people yelling at you - and the people yelling at you also have fire and knives

The social side of it can be pretty awesome. When you have a good boss and good co-workers, people bond and party together. Your paycheck might be small, but you'll get high quality food (including vegan food), booze if you want that, and friendship. You'll be that person who has no expendable income but has tried all the latest trending foods and beverages (including expensive stuff)

Although most work is low paid and difficult, you can carve out a good career by treating it like a serious profession and seeking out good opportunities. There aren't a lot of vegan options, but if you're committed to that path, you can find work

A lot of serious career chefs go the private chef route - being a personal chef for rich and famous people. Some of these jobs pay better than restaurant work and offer better working conditions

Catering is also a popular route to take after culinary school - preparing large quantities of food for events. Many people are happier with catering than with restaurant work

Owning a vegan restaurant is very challenging, and comes with huge financial risks, with the odds stacked against you. But worth a try if you really want to take on that challenge

Most vegan chefs are private chefs or work in catering, with some also involved in product development for food companies that produce vegan products