Plant FWD, a conference working to accelerate the protein transition, returns to Amsterdam on April 8-9. To celebrate, Amsterdam restaurants will be joining Plant FWD Week, offering a range of plant-based specials and sustainable menus from April 5-12.
Almost 100 restaurants are taking part this year, from meat-based outlets to those known for their plant-based options. Participants include Restaurant De Kas, Madre, Morris & Bella, BAUT, Ron Gastrobar, and Cannibale Royale.
There will also be a programme of culinary workshops and collaborative dinners throughout the week. For example, Berlin restaurant Horváth will enter De Kas’ kitchen on April 7 for an exclusive dinner that is already fully booked.
“Plant FWD Week is like ADE, but for your taste buds: a week full of discoveries throughout the city,” said Maartje Nelissen, co-founder of Plant FWD. “From top chefs and surprising collabs to new dishes and a delicious menu at your favourite brasserie around the corner. This is not a boring lesson about sustainability – this is the future of gastronomy. It simply takes place on your plate, every day.”
“Food should be delicious above all”
The events at Plant FWD Week will begin on April 5 with a “coffee rave” at Cafecito from 09:00 to 10:30. There will be music from DJ Milou Turpijn and DJ Sunny, and the first 50 coffees served will be free. On April 11, Nadia Zerouali will hold a cooking workshop in the Couscousbar.
Meanwhile, Ron Blaauw will introduce a “Blaauw sees Green” version of the menu at his restaurant, Ron Gastrobar, making classic dishes vegetarian or plant-based all week.
The Plant FWD conference will also have a bigger program than ever before this year, featuring pitches from ten startups, an advance look at some groundbreaking products, a preview of the Eat Lancet Dietary Guidelines 2.0, and the initial results of the Protein Tracker (an initiative that monitors supermarkets’ progress towards selling a higher proportion of plant proteins).
“Almost everyone knows how much impact our food has on the planet,” said Nelissen. “And we often want to make different choices, but yes… food should be delicious above all. Plant FWD Week proves that the two go together perfectly. The most diverse restaurants show together how delicious, accessible, and tempting more plant-based dishes can be. That is why it is also free for restaurants to participate in Plant FWD Week. This way, we make the threshold as low as possible.”
