Three Merseyside establishments were announced as winners at the first National Vegan And Vegetarian Awards.
Liverpool’s The Egg Cafe was awarded the status of Vegetarian Cafe Of The Year, whilst the V2 Bar Of The Year was given to Down The Hatch in the city centre.
On the Wirral, Jöro Vegan Eatery was the recipient of the Vegan Cafe Of The Year award.
The inaugural V2 awards gave out 40 accolades to 40 bars, cafes and restaurants across the UK to “celebrate the hard work of those who provide the nation with delicious vegan and vegetarian food”.
A Spokesperson for The V2 Awards 2020 said: “More and more people across Britain spend money on vegan friendly products or follow a vegan lifestyle to improve their health as well as for animal welfare and environmental reasons.”
Reflecting on The Egg Cafe’s success, owner Trevor Green told JMU Journalism: “We’re absolutely delighted about it. There’s no doubt about that.
“Personally, I think that the ambience that this cafe creates is quite unique. It’s an iconic restaurant in Liverpool for a start, there’s nothing else like it really. People have to know about it and come here because it’s not on the street level. The people that come here are quite focused customers.”
With this being both Trevor and his wife Janice Green’s first venture into cafe ownership, Janice said to JMU Journalism: “It had to be here. A lot of the staff we have here now have been here a while and they’re very much a part of that ambience and the friendliness of the cafe and a lot of people comment on that. It’s been very positive.”
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Having been named Vegan Cafe of the year, owners of Jöro Vegan Eatery, Barry Hamill and Sarah Blowers, were naturally pleased. Mr Hamill told JMU Journalism: “We’re really proud and honoured to have won this award, alongside establishments such as Down The Hatch and Egg Cafe.
“We opened Jöro as we found that the best way to open someone’s mind to veganism was to feed them good quality vegan food
“We also try to challenge some of the misconceptions surrounding veganism, particularly those suggesting vegan cooking is over-complicated or expensive. We offer simple, tasty home cooking for which we are happy to give our recipes away.
“In our experience, Liverpool is fantastic for vegan food, most places seem to have multiple options for vegans and vegetarians, with a massive observable rise happening over the last three years.”