World Vegetarian Day 1 Oct: Best Veggie Options in…

• Tropical North Queensland, Australia
• Cayman Islands, Caribbean
• Lake District & Lancs, UK

More than just smashed avo on toast (although they have been doing that since the 1920s!), to celebrate World Vegetarian Day this 1st October, we look at how the Aussies do it – specifically in Tropical North Queensland, as well as nearer home in the Lake District and in between in the Cayman Islands – home to over 200 restaurants and frequently hailed as the ‘Culinary Capital of the Caribbean’, with each of these destinations, also being home to some of my family!

Rainforest plates in Tropical North Queensland

Located on the north end of Cairns Esplanade in the Spinal Life Healthy Living Centre, Guyala Cafe serves up plates inspired by authentic Indigenous ingredients. The cafe offers a number of vegetarian and vegan options that are anything but your standard avo toast. Think truffle and tofu toasties; mango, macadamia and fingerlime on toast; lemon-myrtle hollandaise sauce, and pina colada waffle stack.

Kuranda, the Daintree Rainforest village home of the brilliant Kuranda Scenic Railway, is a mecca for plant-based food cafes. A wander through the markets and streets of Kuranda will afford both vegetarians and vegans many other options, such as one of the region’s oldest establishments, Frog’s Restaurant, or feast on authentic Central and South American food at La Fonta Latina, which focuses on local vegan and vegetarian produce.

Health & Wellness in the Cayman Islands

VIVO, whose name originates from the Latin vīvō – to mean ‘alive’ or ‘to live’ – perfectly encapsulates the restaurant’s mission to serve ‘food for your soul’ prepared with passion and energy. VIVO is the healthy food choice of Cayman Islands and caters with a plentiful vegetarian and vegan menu, as well as gluten- and dairy-free options using local organic produce. 

Islands Naturals started as a shop retailing natural and chemical-free health and nutritional products on Grand Cayman. Ten years ago, a cafe opened alongside the store which, today, offers fresh and clean dishes aimed at ‘cleansing mind, body and soul’. Created from a passion for natural ingredients, Islands Naturals incorporates health and wellness into its delicious food options.

Affordable Michelin-starred tasting menus in the Lake District & Lancs, UK

Gilpin Hotel & Lake House Executive Chef, OIlie Bridgwater, took over the reins at SOURCE at the end of last year and has created his own unique Lake District restaurant with sourcing local produce and sustainability at the top of his agenda. The plant-based tasting menu includes delicious dishes, such as pickled radish salad with tigers milk and foraged flowers; potato,.alliums and green oil; broad bean hummus, watercress and banyuls, and broccoli with quinoa and xo. 10-course menu £120 per person. 

Michelin-starred chef, Lisa Goodwin-Allen, has retained the restaurant’s 20-year star at Northcote since she was named head chef at the age of 23. Curating gourmet vegetarian menus to suit each season and always championing the finest local produce and honouring the ingredients, current concoctions include cauliflower ‘risotto’ with pickle, whey and truffle, and miso aubergine consisting of ‘baba ghanoush’ young grelot, courgette and smoked yoghurt. 5-course menu £105 per person.