FYN awarded the Flor de Caña Sustainable Restaurant Award

Peter Tempelhoff and team’s FYN restaurant was presented with ‘The World’s 50 Best’ coveted Flor de Caña Sustainable Restaurant Award in Valencia in June 2023, in acknowledgement of the 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 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 have been 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.

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‘This award is huge for FYN, it’s also unexpected and I feel a little unprepared for it… but, it does lay the gauntlet down for us to continue on our current trajectory with every fibre of the restaurant’s being. To continue our work with the communities, the fishermen, the farmers, the foragers and of course our dedicated staff who we’ve grown so close to over the past few years is the real reason why we’ve won this fantastic award, and I dedicate this to them,’ says Tempelhoff.

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.

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023 was also announced, without any South African establishments making the cut, unfortunately. The top 20 restaurants are listed below.