International top chefs love to belong to the five radishes chefs community
“In many ways it's as though the fire has been lit beneath me now I am a member”
The We're Smart® Green Guide counts almost 130 restaurants with a much-coveted 5 radishes rating. In other words, these are the world’s best vegetables restaurants. They achieve a high degree of perfection in creativity and taste experience. Next to using at least two-thirds fruit and vegetables throughout the entire menu, they embrace sustainable and local products, use water and energy sparingly and work with the seasons. In 2021 Frank Fol (founder We’re Smart World) created the 5 Radishes Chefs Club because he noticed that even top chefs still want to learn more. The club got together in Valencia at the 2024 award show. We met with three five radishes chefs: Carito Lourenço | Fierro (Sp), Yornie van Dijk | Basiliek (Nl) and Danny Baker | Luciole (Sw). We also asked Eric Jadischke | Silberstreif (Ge) why he strives to become a member as soon as possible.
What does being a member of the five radishes club mean to you?
Lourenço: “We can connect with chefs who share our vision of gastronomy committed to vegetables, sustainability and creativity. This motivates us to continue exploring new ways of working with them, giving them the prominence they deserve, and it helps us to keep up to date with trends and innovative approaches in green cuisine. We get visibility within an international community that values gastronomic excellence.”
Baker: “Being validated for our approach and design is an incredible feeling. In many ways it's as though the fire has only now been lit beneath me. No other guide in the world offers a platform that is built to lift everybody up together. Whether you're a chef or restauranteur, home cook or curious, We're smart is rooted firmly in the sharing of knowledge. It is this mutual aid that is so important in today's landscape. Especially in the pure plant world. I now view other 5-radish chefs in the spirit of healthy competition. Looking to innovate and push the bounds of exceptional pure plant cuisine.”
van Dijk: “Networking and sharing knowledge is important to me. I find talking about vision, entrepreneurship and looking at food and drink with other chefs from abroad very interesting. After all, everyone works in their own way and sharing and transferring knowledge is key these days.”
Jadischke: “I will never forget this, receiving the Discovery Award for Germany and winning four radishes in the first year is still a dream come true. Here you meet chefs from all over the world who are pioneers in gastronomy and make a major contribution to our society. They raise awareness and change attitudes when it comes to nutrition. With the Green Guide and With the Were smart family, we can show people that eating is more than just taking in food. What we eat determines how we feel and think and is also largely responsible for our health...both physically and mentally!”
Carito Lourenço - Fierro
Valencia (Sp)
"It motivates us to continue exploring new ways of working with vegetables, giving them the prominence they deserve.”
Yornie van Dijk – de Basiliek
Harderwijk(NL).
“To me the club is about networking. Everyone works in their own way and sharing and transferring knowledge is key these days”.
Danny Baker - Luciole
La Chaux-de-Fonds (Sw)
“I've been following We're smart for the better part of 10 years. As a guide it's been a source of hope for me through difficult times”.
Eric Jadischke – Silberstreif
Südharz OT Stolberg (Ge)
“With the Green Guide and With the Were smart family, we can achieve a great deal and show people that eating is more than just taking in food”.
This club is all about meeting people and sharing knowledge. How does that benefit you and your work?
Lourenço: “Frank Fol’s passion for vegetables and promoting this philosophy on a global level inspired us to delve even deeper into our offering at Fierro. We shared experiences and reflected on the role of vegetables in haute cuisine. This reaffirmed our commitment to building a new memory of flavours, where our origins and our travels merge with Mediterranean produce as the centre point. Each encounter is a source of innovation and tradition.“
van Dijk: “I don't need to think about that one. I have enormous respect for what Emile van der Staak does and what he is capable of. He is way ahead of the rest of the Netherlands and even the world. It is very special that Emile dined with us when we first opened and then Frank Fol suddenly ended up in our restaurant. I sat at the table with Emile in Valencia. Not only is he a great cook and entrepreneur, but he also has a way of telling great stories that I really enjoy!”
Baker: “So many! And not nearly enough! I had the pleasure of meeting for instance Nadine Zimmerman, Anita Belounda, Elliott van der Velde, David Alberti and Kirk Haworth. Every connection was meaningful on both personal and professional levels. The results of the collective exchanges are still on-going. I have incorporated a lot into growing the direction of Luciole. The most significant perhaps in publishing our first Sustainability report.”
Eric Jadischke: “The conversations with Nicolas Decloedt and Caroline Baerten from the restaurant Humus x Hortense over dinner. It was incredible to hear world-class pure plant kitchen like this. But it also shows how far Germany still is behind. Especially in my rural region, but it motivates me and opens new avenues of thought. All members are very friendly and open-minded! It inspired me to make the Green Guide better known in Germany and achieve 5 radishes.”
Which five-radish chef would you love to meet?
Lourenço: “Christophe Hardiquest, I find his way of interpreting vegetables and his technical approach fascinating. His vision of cooking, with a balance between tradition and avant-garde, is a source of inspiration. His disruptive and poetic style invites us to rethink each ingredient as part of a unique story, where tradition meets innovation in every dish.”
Baker: “As a British chef living in Switzerland I’d love to sit with Dominik Hartmann and Simeon Nikolov to talk Swiss attitudes and how we can collectively drive pure plant cooking further at home. Brett Lavender and Pieter-Jan Lint became a source of inspiration for me back in 2019/2020 when the plant-based boom began in fine dining. Outside of the openly selfish choices the most meaningful meeting would be to listen to the experiences of the women and people of colour of the 5-radish club so that I can actively push the health and balance of our industry forward. As a means of securing equality and diversity now, and not later.”
van Dijk: “One of the chefs from Scandinavia. At Basiliek we serve Nordic cuisine combined with Dutch cuisine. And if you can name just one, then of course Rene Redzepi would be very cool. “
Jadischke: “Ricky Saward from Seven Swans. It's incredible what he built up there. He had the courage to go ahead, he recognised what would be more in demand in the future. He lives this philosophy and that is what makes him so successful. Maybe I can work for him one day and look over his shoulder as a little intern or organise a 4-handed dinner with him? It's not for nothing that he is the only 5 radishes chef in Germany!”
