Blossoming Lotus
Encyclopedia
The Blossoming Lotus Restaurants is a vegan restaurant
in 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 and business partner Jennifer Murray.
, 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" and, in 2006, Blossoming Lotus moved to a larger location at the Dragon Building in downtown Kapaa. The original location was transformed into, and appropriately named, The Lotus Root: a juice bar and bakery. Thus a second concept under the Blossoming Lotus brand was established.
The Lotus Root offers food made without refined sugar or dairy products, such as vegan pastries, ice cream, juices, and smoothies. The Blossoming Lotus Cafe in Portland, Oregon is at 1713 NE 15th Avenue in the Northeast Irvington neighborhood. This location was opened on July 29, 2009 and features a restaurant atmosphere. This was followed by the closure of their Pearl District location. A fourth location is planned for Mountain View, California
.
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.
Vegetarian cuisine
Vegetarian cuisine refers to food that meets vegetarian standards by not including meat and animal tissue products. For lacto-ovo vegetarianism , eggs and dairy products such as milk and cheese are permitted...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. Founded in 2002, the restaurants offer "Vegan World Fusion Cuisine", organic
Organic food
Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
, GMO-free
Genetically modified food
Genetically modified foods are foods derived from genetically modified organisms . Genetically modified organisms have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques...
, and locally grown gourmet vegan and live food
Raw foodism
Raw foodism is the practice of consuming uncooked, unprocessed, and often organic foods as a large percentage of the diet....
popularized by founder and chef Mark Reinfeld and business partner Jennifer Murray.
History
Blossoming Lotus was born as a vision of award-winning and founding 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 Kapaa, Hawaii on KauaiKauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
, 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" and, in 2006, Blossoming Lotus moved to a larger location at the Dragon Building in downtown Kapaa. The original location was transformed into, and appropriately named, The Lotus Root: a juice bar and bakery. Thus a second concept under the Blossoming Lotus brand was established.
The Lotus Root offers food made without refined sugar or dairy products, such as vegan pastries, ice cream, juices, and smoothies. The Blossoming Lotus Cafe in Portland, Oregon is at 1713 NE 15th Avenue in the Northeast Irvington neighborhood. This location was opened on July 29, 2009 and features a restaurant atmosphere. This was followed by the closure of their Pearl District location. A fourth location is planned for Mountain View, California
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
.
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
Jane Goodall
Dame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE , is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National...
and 200 vegan recipes.
Restaurant
- Restaurant of the Month (August 2004) - People for the Ethical Treatment of AnimalsPeople for the Ethical Treatment of AnimalsPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
- 'Ilima Award for Best Kaua'i Restaurant, Critics' Choice (2006) - The Honolulu Advertiser
- Top Chef in Live Food, Platinum Carrot Chef Award (2006) - Aspen Center for Integral Health
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 MagazineVegNewsVegNews is a magazine that publishes content about and relating to vegetarianism, including news, health information, recipes, global events, veg products, media, and more. It was founded in 2000 as a newspaper, and transitioned to full-color glossy in 2004. The bi-monthly publication now has more...
- Nautilus Book Award: Small Press (2005) - Body & Soul Magazine
- Best Vegetarian Cookbook U.S. (2005) - Gourmand World Cookbook AwardGourmand World Cookbook AwardThe Gourmand World Cookbook Awards were founded in 1995 by Edouard Cointreau.In 2008, books from 102 countries participated in the competition...
- Best New Cookbook, Proggy award (2005) - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
External links
- Blossoming Lotus Kauai
- Blossoming Lotus Cafe Portland (45°32′9.63"N 122°39′2.14"W)