On this May 4, We’re Smart is pleased to reveal its new Green Guide and the winners of this year’s Best Vegetarian Restaurant and Best Vegan Restaurant awards.
The announcement was made by Frank Fol, the man known as “The Vegetable Chef®,” at the official release of the 2020 We’re Smart® Green Guide. It includes reviews and ratings of nearly 1,000 restaurants around the world, ranked from 1 to 5 radishes, based on the amount of vegetables they use in their dishes.
Traditionally held on the first day of Produce Week 2020, this year’s launch event was exceptionally held online due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Culina Hortus declared best vegetarian restaurant in the world
Culina Hortus is the first vegetarian gastronomic restaurant in France. Thomas Bouanich and Maxime Rémond opened this design and cosy restaurant in Lyon. In the kitchen, it is the young Chef Adrien Zedda who works to propose high quality vegetarian dishes, or vegan on request. The menu is renewed every week, with a focus on organic and local distribution channel products.
Culina Hortus was named best vegetarian restaurant in 2020 by We’re Smart®. For Adrien Zedda, it is an accomplishment of his work around plants, which are for him a source of inspiration by their diversity of varieties, tastes, colours, textures.
“It was with great emotion that we learned we had won the We’re Smart® Best Veggie Restaurant World 2020 award. This award represents for the whole team and myself a recognition of the work accomplished throughout the year. It rewards our consistency, our dedication and our love of a job well done in the service of our customers. Like all Chefs, I am passionate about the product: it is the greatest source of inspiration. “(Adrien Zedda)
Vanilla Black declared best vegan restaurant in the world
Vanilla Black is a gourmet vegan restaurant located in Holborn, UK. The restaurant was founded by Andrew Dargue and his wife Donna Conroy with the aim of challenging our notions of vegan cuisine and our diet in general.
“Constantly pushing the boundaries of plant-based cuisine is the passion of the entire team. This award inspires us to expand our creativity and explore even further. ” (Andrew Dargue)
Vanilla Black won the We’re Smart® award for Best Vegan Restaurant 2020. For Frank Fol, it’s proof that vegan cuisine can also be upscale.
We’re Smart® Green Guide 2020
Culina Horta and Vanilla Black are among the 1,000 restaurants featured in the We’re Smart® 2020 Green Guide released on May 4.
The guide proposes reviews and ratings of the world’s best vegetable restaurants. Each restaurant is ranked from 1 to 5 Radishes, based on its creative use of seasonal ingredients, percentage of fruit and vegetable dishes on the menu and other sustainability criteria.
This year’s edition includes ratings and rankings of 178 new restaurants in 5 new countries, bringing the total to 964 restaurants in 43 countries around the world. 79 restaurants have already received the maximum of 5 Radishes, 23 more than last year.
We’re Smart® Future 2020 Award
The other winners of the 2020 We’re Smart® Future Awards will be announced on September 21, 2020, including the first new veggie restaurant in the world and the Innovation of the Year. The We’re Smart® team will also announce the awards for the top vegetable restaurants in 13 countries.
In addition to the awards, there will also be a focus on two specific topics in the culinary world: airplane meals and fermentation, with Sang Hoon Degeimbre, one of Belgium’s top Chefs and a pioneer in the field of fermentation. In the 10 weeks leading up to the awards, We’re Smart® World will gradually unveil the TOP 100 vegetable restaurants in the world.
Translated by Malvika Kathpal
