Johannesburg - Cape Town’s FYN restaurant is among the world’s best. The restaurant, situated in the city centre was presented with the World’s 50 Best coveted Flor de Caña Sustainable Restaurant Award in Valencia this week.
The award acknowledges its far-reaching sustainability philosophy, underpinning its combination of South African and Japanese flavours and techniques. With the emergence of sustainability as a dominant global dining trend, the World’s 50 Best has sought to commend restaurants achieving the highest environmental and social responsibility ratings, as determined by its audit partner, the Sustainable Restaurant Association.
The World’s 50 Best is the benchmark globally, thanks to its panel of culinary experts including leading restaurant critics, chefs, restaurateurs, and gourmets from 27 regions worldwide. This accolade follows the announcement of FYN’s placing, for the third consecutive year since its opening in 2018, on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Top 100 list.
This annual reveal of the world's finest restaurants provides a snapshot of some of the best destinations for unique culinary experiences. All listed establishments were invited to enter the Sustainable Restaurant Award, and were assessed across the pillars of sourcing, society and environment.
Delicately balancing the wildness of Africa with Japanese refinement in its seasonally led kaiseki-style menu, FYN’s cuisine is deeply rooted in its locale, which it honours through conscious sourcing of native ingredients from the Western Cape.
Suppliers are selected according to careful criteria, ranging from Abalobi, South Africa’s first community-supported fishery, to the regenerative-principled Meuse Farm for vegetables, Cape Wagyu for free-range, pasture-reared cattle, and responsibly harvested dune spinach, sea lettuce and kelp.
“FYN is about balancing authenticity and innovation,” said Peter Tempelhoff, who shares the accolade with his partners, Culinary Director, Ashley Moss and Service and Beverage Director Jennifer Hugé.
“Through our cuisine, we’re straddling the fine line between time-honoured techniques and creating something quite new. We're paying homage to the past by working with ingredients foraged some 150 000 years ago on the Western Cape coastline and in the fynbos. We're representing our local ancestry in our menus and talking about culinary ingredients originating from the dawn of mankind. This journey of exploring regional ingredients is one that we're enjoying and celebrating with the Flor de Caña Sustainable Restaurant Award,” he added.
Tempelhoff said sustainability is not a matter of “box-ticking” when it comes to sourcing ingredients but rather a deeper mindset that encompasses an entire ecosystem, from suppliers to staff. It’s a philosophy he applies not only to FYN’s support of small fishermen and farmers.
“It’s also about providing work for people, keeping villages alive, and providing hope. in the Western Cape, but also closer to home. We care about where our staff come from and where they’re going. Although hailing from diverse backgrounds, all see themselves as unified in our common pursuit of creating a unique experience for our guests,”Tempelhoff said.
FYN joins a respected circle of global establishments at the fore of sustainable hospitality in earning this title, including chef Ángel León’s three-Michelin-starred Aponiente in Spain, chef Rodolfo Guzmán’s acclaimed restaurant Boragó in Chile, and Andreas Caminada’s three-Michelin-starred Schloss Schauenstein in Switzerland.