Blossoming Lotus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Blossoming Lotus Restaurants are vegan restaurants in Kapa'a, Hawai'i and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 2002, the restaurants offer "Vegan World Fusion Cuisine", organic, GMO-free, and locally grown gourmet vegan and live food popularized by founder and chef Mark Reinfeld.
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[edit] History
Gabe Zingaro first began offering vegan food at The Portal, an internet cafe on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai. Mark Reinfeld, who had started a vegan culinary consultancy in Malibu named the Blossoming Lotus, became partners with Zingaro and renamed The Portal. Zingaro became operations manager and spokesperson and Reinfeld took on the role of "creative visionary and culinary soul".[1] Two days after the Blossoming Lotus opened in 2002, Silicon Valley investor Bo Rinaldi came on board. In 2006, the Blossoming Lotus moved to a larger location at the Dragon Building in downtown Kapa'a.
The restaurant has expanded their business to include the Lotus Root Juice Bar & Bakery, also in Kapa'a, and the Blossoming Lotus Cafe in Portland, Oregon. The Lotus Root opened in the original location of the Blossoming Lotus. The Lotus Root offers food made without refined sugar or dairy products, such as vegan pastries, ice cream, juices, and smoothies.[2] The Blossoming Lotus Cafe in Portland is located in the lobby of a fitness spa called Yoga in the Pearl.[3] A fourth location is planned for Mountain View, California.[1][4]
On July 29th, 2009 Blossoming Lotus Irvington held their grand opening as the second Portland location. Featuring a restaurant atmosphere, it's located at 1713 NE 15th Avenue, Portland, OR 97212 in the Northeast Irvington Neighborhood.[5][6]
The Blossoming Lotus style of international vegan cuisine was popularized in the 2004 Vegan World Fusion Cuisine Cookbook, written by founder and executive chef Mark Reinfeld and owner Bo Rinaldi. The book contains an introduction by Jane Goodall, and 200 vegan recipes.[4]
[edit] Awards
[edit] Restaurant
- Restaurant of the Month (August 2004) - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals[4]
- 'Ilima Award for Best Kaua'i Restaurant, Critics' Choice (2006) - The Honolulu Advertiser[7]
- Top Chef in Live Food, Platinum Carrot Chef Award (2006) - Aspen Center for Integral Health[8]
[edit] Book
Vegan Fusion World Cuisine: Extraordinary Recipes & Timeless Wisdom from the Celebrated Blossoming Lotus Restaurants
A cookbook with over two hundred recipes from the Blossoming Lotus restaurants.
Awards:
- Cookbook of the Year (2005) - VegNews Magazine[9]
- Nautilus Book Award: Small Press (2005) - Body & Soul Magazine[1]
- Best Vegetarian Cookbook U.S. (2005) - Gourmand World Cookbook Award[10]
- Best New Cookbook, Proggy award (2005) - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals[11][12]
[edit] Further reading
- Reinfeld, Mark; Rinaldi, Bo (2004), Vegan World Fusion Cuisine, Vegan Fusion, ISBN 0975283715, http://www.veganfusion.com/homepage.php
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Yang, Jeff (2006-07-06). "Viva Las Vegans". Asian Pop (San Francisco Chronicle). http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2006/07/06/apop.DTL. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
- ^ Nilsen, Robert (2006). Moon Handbooks Kaua'i. Avalon Travel Publishing. ISBN 1566919568.
- ^ Hallett, Alison (Apr 20—Apr 26, 2006). "Raw Talent: Chef Stuart Reiter's Newest Vegan Enterprise". The Portland Mercury. http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=38105. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
- ^ a b c Chang, Lester (2006-07-06). "Volleyball Stars: Kapa'a restaurant wins PETA award". The Garden Island. http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2004/08/23/news/news02.txt. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
- ^ "Latest News". Blossoming Lotus Portland. 2009. http://www.blpdx.com/news.php.
- ^ "Blossoming Lotus Irvington – Restaurant Grand Opening". Food Fight! Grocery. Facebook. 2009. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=112914461970.
- ^ Adams, Wanda A. (2006-10-10). "Alan Wong's repeats win of 'Ilima's Best Restaurant honor". Ilma Awards 2006 Winners (The Honolulu Advertiser).
- ^ "Past Programs and Events". 2006 Platinum Carrot Chef Award Winners. Aspen Center for Integral Health. 2006. http://acih.org/programs/past-programs.html. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
- ^ "Cookbook of the Year". VegNews Magazine (VegNews) (46): 32. November/December 2005. http://www.veganfusion.com/popup_pages/vegnews.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
- ^ "Best Vegetarian Book". Finalists. Gourmand World Cookbook Award. 2006-05-21. http://www.former.cookbookfair.com/html/20_-best_vegetarian.html. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
- ^ "2005 PETA Proggy Awards". Best New Cookbook. PETA. 2005. http://www.peta.org/feat/proggy/2005/winners.html#cookbook. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
- ^ "Morsels: Cookbook honors". Da kine (Honolulu Star-Bulletin) (11). 2006-01-11. http://starbulletin.com/2006/01/11/features/dakine.html. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
[edit] External links
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