Blossoming Lotus

(Coordinates: 45°32′9.63″N 122°39′2.14″W / 45.5360083°N 122.6505944°W / 45.5360083; -122.6505944) Blossoming Lotus is a vegan restaurant in Portland, Oregon. Founded in Kapa'a, Hawaii in 2002, the restaurant offers "Vegan World Fusion Cuisine", organic, GMO-free, and locally grown gourmet vegan and live food popularized by founder and chef Mark Reinfeld and business partner Gabe Zingaro.[1] At its peak the company had three restaurants, but now only operates in Portland.

History

Blossoming Lotus was born as a vision of chef Mark Reinfeld. Reinfeld's vision began its manifestation on the mainland USA as a chef consultant, creating recipes and training chefs to prepare healthy vegan fare. He then moved to Kapaʻa, Hawaii on Kauai, where his vision took root with a small group of willing and inspired souls who had a gathering space called The Portal. As Reinfeld's recipes permeated the landscape, it was evident that the community supported such a concept. Two days after Blossoming Lotus opened in 2002, Silicon Valley investor Bo Rinaldi joined the business. Reinfeld took on the role of "creative visionary and culinary soul"[2] and, in 2006, Blossoming Lotus moved to a larger location at the Dragon Building in downtown Kapaʻa. The original location was transformed into "The Lotus Root: a juice bar and bakery".

The Blossoming Lotus Cafe in Portland, Oregon opened on July 29, 2009 in the Northeast Irvington neighborhood.[3][4] This was followed by the closure of their Pearl District location.[5] A fourth location was planned for Mountain View, California, but never came to fruition.[2]

Both Kauai locations closed in 2008 because of debt.[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.[7]

Awards

Restaurant

Book

Vegan Fusion World Cuisine: Extraordinary Recipes & Timeless Wisdom from the Celebrated Blossoming Lotus Restaurants: A cookbook with over 200 recipes from the Blossoming Lotus restaurants.

Awards

  • Cookbook of the Year (2005) - VegNews Magazine[10]
  • Nautilus Book Award: Small Press (2005) - Body & Soul Magazine[2]
  • Best Vegetarian Cookbook U.S. (2005) - Gourmand World Cookbook Award[11]
  • Best New Cookbook, Proggy award (2005) - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals[12][13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Vegan Fusion Chef Services
  2. 1 2 3 Yang, Jeff (2006-07-06). "Viva Las Vegans". Asian Pop. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  3. ↑ "Latest News". Blossoming Lotus Portland. 2009.
  4. ↑ "Blossoming Lotus Irvington – Restaurant Grand Opening". Food Fight! Grocery. Facebook. 2009.
  5. ↑ "Plant yourself at Portland's standout vegan restaurants". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  6. ↑ "Kauai's Blossoming Lotus to close". www.bizjournals.com. December 23, 2008. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  7. 1 2 Chang, Lester (2006-07-06). "Volleyball Stars: Kapa'a restaurant wins PETA award". The Garden Island. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  8. ↑ Adams, Wanda A. (2006-10-10). "Alan Wong's repeats win of 'Ilima's Best Restaurant honor". Ilma Awards 2006 Winners. The Honolulu Advertiser. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  9. ↑ "Past Programs and Events". 2006 Platinum Carrot Chef Award Winners. Aspen Center for Integral Health. 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  10. ↑ "Cookbook of the Year". VegNews Magazine. VegNews (46): 32. November–December 2005. Archived from the original on 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  11. ↑ "Best Vegetarian Book". Finalists. Gourmand World Cookbook Award. 2006-05-21. Archived from the original on 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  12. ↑ "2005 PETA Proggy Awards". Best New Cookbook. PETA. 2005. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  13. ↑ "Morsels: Cookbook honors". Da kine. 11 (11). Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 2006-01-11. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
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