Owner Joe McGinn is now eagerly awaiting the outcome of not one but two national awards.
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A vegan café has been crowned Ayrshire’s best restaurant.
Vegan Earth, on Ayr’s Kyle Street, was hailed best in the region at a glittering awards night at the Ayrshire heat of Scotland's Business Awards on July 30.
Owner Joe McGinn, 64, will now compete against other regional winners from across the country for the top title of Scottish Restaurant of the Year, announced later this year.
Joe, who opened the eatery in 2020 after insisting veganism transformed his wellbeing, said scooping Ayrshire’s best restaurant was ‘unbelievable’.
He said: “It’s a fantastic wee place. We’ve only got 12 seats but it’s a great wee community.
“I opened it to get the message out about the animals.
"I made it like a normal café with paninis, baked potatoes, burgers and smoothies and things – because sometimes you go into a vegan place and you’re looking at things thinking ‘what the hell is that?’, so I tried to normalise vegan food.”
Joe, who has been vegan for three years, offers a monthly vegan cookery class to introduce people to plant-based recipes and vegan staples including mayonnaise, chickpea tuna and vegetable chilli.
He said: “They’re fully booked every month.
“It’s just to try and help people because I know what it’s like when I first became vegan, I was completely lost.
“I’ve been a chef for 40 years and turned vegan and thought ‘what the hell am I going to cook?’
“But I was working beside another four vegans and asked them ‘what did you have for your dinner last night?’ just to get ideas.
“And then I discovered chickpeas and tofu – chickpeas are just unbelievably amazing.
“I try to make everything I can from scratch. I make my own cakes, coleslaw and mayonnaise, my own seitan – which is a meat substitute – I even make my own bacon and tattie scones.”
Joe has also been shortlisted in Creative Oceanic’s 9th Food Awards Scotland 2023 in the category ‘Best Vegetarian Establishment’, the final for which will take place on August 28 at The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Glasgow.
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