- Blossoming Lotus
The Blossoming Lotus Restaurants are vegan restaurants in
Kapa'a, Hawai'i andPortland, Oregon . Founded in 2002, the restaurants offer "Vegan World Fusion Cuisine", organic, GMO-free, and locally grown gourmetvegan and live food popularized by founder and chef Mark Reinfeld.History
Gabe Zingaro first began offering vegan food at The Portal, an
internet cafe on the Hawaiian Island ofKauai . 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". 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.cite book|last=Nilsen |first=Robert |title=Moon Handbooks Kaua'i |date=2006 | publisher=Avalon Travel Publishing |isbn=1566919568] The Blossoming Lotus Cafe in Portland is located in the lobby of a fitness spa called Yoga in the Pearl.cite news|last=Hallett |first=Alison |title=Raw Talent: Chef Stuart Reiter's Newest Vegan Enterprise |date=Apr 20—Apr 26, 2006 | publisher=
The Portland Mercury |url=http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=38105| accessdate=2007-06-18 ] A fourth location is planned forMountain View, California .cite news|last=Yang |first=Jeff |title=Viva Las Vegans |work=Asian Pop |date=2006-07-06 | publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2006/07/06/apop.DTL| accessdate=2007-06-18 ] cite news|last=Chang |first=Lester |title=Volleyball Stars: Kapa'a restaurant wins PETA award |date=2006-07-06 | publisher=The Garden Island |url=http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2004/08/23/news/news02.txt| accessdate=2007-06-18 ]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.Awards
Restaurant
*Restaurant of the Month (August 2004) -
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
*'Ilima Award for Best Kaua'i Restaurant, Critics' Choice (2006) - "The Honolulu Advertiser " [cite news
last = Adams
first = Wanda A.
title = Alan Wong's repeats win of 'Ilima's Best Restaurant honor
work = Ilma Awards 2006 Winners
publisher =The Honolulu Advertiser
date = 2006-10-10
accessdate = 2007-11-14]
* Top Chef in Live Food, Platinum Carrot Chef Award (2006) - Aspen Center for Integral Health [cite web
title = Past Programs and Events
work = 2006 Platinum Carrot Chef Award Winners
publisher = Aspen Center for Integral Health
date = 2006
url = http://acih.org/programs/past-programs.html
accessdate = 2007-11-14]Book
*Cookbook of the Year (2005) - VegNews Magazine [cite journal
title = Cookbook of the Year
journal = VegNews Magazine
issue = 46
pages = 32
publisher =VegNews
date = November/December 2005
url = http://www.veganfusion.com/popup_pages/vegnews.htm
accessdate = 2007-11-14 ]
* Nautilus Book Award: Small Press (2005) - "Body & Soul Magazine"
* Best Vegetarian Cookbook U.S. (2005) -Gourmand World Cookbook Award [cite web
title = Best Vegetarian Book
work = Finalists
publisher =Gourmand World Cookbook Award
date = 2006-05-21
url = http://www.former.cookbookfair.com/html/20_-best_vegetarian.html
accessdate = 2007-11-14]
* Best New Cookbook,Proggy award (2005) - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals [cite web
title = 2005 PETA Proggy Awards
work = Best New Cookbook
publisher =PETA
date = 2005
url = http://www.peta.org/feat/proggy/2005/winners.html#cookbook
accessdate = 2007-11-14] [cite news
volue = 11
issue = 11
title = Morsels: Cookbook honors
work = Da kine
publisher = "Honolulu Star-Bulletin "
date = 2006-01-11
url = http://starbulletin.com/2006/01/11/features/dakine.html
accessdate = 2007-11-14]Further reading
*Citation| last =Reinfeld| first =Mark| last2 =Rinaldi| first2 =Bo| title =Vegan World Fusion Cuisine| publisher =Vegan Fusion| year =2004| url =http://www.veganfusion.com/homepage.php| isbn= 0975283715
References
External links
* [http://www.blossominglotus.com/homepage.htm Blossoming Lotus Kauai]
* [http://www.blpdx.com/ Blossoming Lotus Cafe Portland]Vegetarianism|state=collapsed
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