Fruit and Vegetables Week | Launch ‘We’re Smart Academy’ and exclusive 5 Radishes Chefs Club
Week van de Groenten en Fruit
Smaakbom® Salsa met légumaise Thai en Ghoa cress
Recept watermeloen en venkelcarpaccio
Top international chefs will join forces in the We’re Smart Academy, starting on the 10th of May. They share their knowledge about healthy, ecological cuisine in webinars, manuals, cookbooks and Clubhouse sessions with other chefs, food companies and consumers. The academy gets off to a flying start on the first day of the Fruit and Vegetable Week. On the same day, We’re Smart World, the organization behind the week, launches the 5 Radishes Chef Club, an exclusive club for the 79 best vegetable restaurants in the world.
When we see the enormous press interest in the transition of Daniel Humm from Eleven Madison Park (***) to only cooking vegetarian, it is unavoidable that there will also be a boost in vegetarian and vegan cooking. A very positive vibe towards healthier food! With 2 recipes in this article with the Vegetables of the year – Peppers and Fruit of the year 2021: Watermelon, both from the well-known vegetable chef Frank Fol.
Reading time: 4 minutes, required time for the recipes are separately stated.
The Week of Vegetables and Fruit
The Vegetables and Fruit Week takes place from the 10th to 16th of May. For seven days, all kinds of new, creative initiatives involving fruit and vegetables will be highlighted by chefs, retailers, growers, producers, etc. This year will be an extra special week, because 2021 has been declared as International Year of Fruits and Vegetables by the United Nations. We’re Smart World, the Belgian organization behind the Vegetable and Fruit Week, has also been named one of the official SDG “Sustainable Development Goals’ voices this year. These are ambassadors who support the 17 sustainable development goals of the United Nations (from eradicating poverty to the fight against global warming).
The We’re Smart Academy
We’re Smart World adds force to this special Fruit and Vegetable Week with the launch of the ‘We’re Smart Academy’. Top chefs from all over the world reveal their plant-based kitchen secrets every month during interactive webinars. Fans can join Club House ‘We’re Smart Inspirations’ to learn about the latest innovations and trends in healthy and ecological cuisine. The ‘We’re Smart Academy’ bundles 51 cooking techniques for fruit and vegetables and masses of healthy recipes in one manual. The academy also regularly publishes cookbooks to inspire professionals and hobby chefs alike.
Frank Fol, initiator We’re Smart World | Think Vegetables! Think Fruit! Philosophy
“We’re Smart World brings people and companies together who are engaged in healthy, ecological and sustainable food,” says Frank Fol, De Groentekok®. “Everything starts with our Think Vegetables! Think Fruit!-philosophy, which radically focus on fruits and vegetables and dare to make them the body of the dish. With the ‘We’re Smart Academy’ we want to share our knowledge about healthy, ecological food and we want to inspire many more people. Not only chefs and food companies, but also consumers. ”
The world’s 79 best vegetable restaurants gathered in one club
We’re Smart will also introduce its brand new ‘5 Radishes Chefs Club’ on the 10th of May: an exclusive club for 79 of the best vegetable restaurants in the world, all of which received five coveted radishes in the culinary-gourmet We’re Smart Green Guide. Restaurants that achieve five Radishes use at least two-thirds of fruit and vegetables through their entire menu. They also focus on sustainable and local products and use water and energy sparingly. All restaurants in the 5 Radishes Chefs Club achieve a high degree of perfection in creativity and tasting experience. The club will be a meeting place where like-minded top chefs can exchange their vision and ideas, with each other and with other chefs. Frank Fol: “We created the 5 Radishes Chefs Club because we noticed that top chefs still want to learn more about the wonderful world of fruit and vegetables. We invite the chefs to be an ambassador in their region. A real showcase for the healthy, ecological kitchen where fruit and vegetables are central. ”
Recipes with bell pepper and watermelon
Flavor Bomb® Salsa with légumaise Thai and Ghoa cress
Flavor Bomb is We’re Smart® World’s protected trademark. It stands for flavorful creations that according to the Think Vegetables! Think Fruit! ® Philosophy has been developed and which contains the following advantages:
– Tasty, healthy & full of character
– Regional and seasonal
– Fruit & vegetables as main ingredient, minimum 80%
– Natural colors
– Without added flavor enhancers, sugars or preservatives
– Légumaise®, a healthy sauce
– Your daily vegetable flavor portion!
A Taste Bomb can represent a snack, a supplement to a meal or a full meal. Enjoy healthy while you can! The recipe is for 4 people. Preparation time: 20 minutes. Techniques: raw, sauce, emulsion. Plate: Wild Moon ceramic bowl. Recommended drink: Mary V, Tomato juice by Nick Bril
Ingredients: 150 gr Red bell pepper – 150 gr Fennel – 150 gr Radishes – 150 gr Ripe mango – 10 gr Finely chopped fresh ginger – juice half a lime – 150 gr Bio Légumaise Thai, red curry with coconut – 20 gr Fresh coriander – cup of Ghoa Cress – Koppert Cress – Strong pour of olive oil Iluigi – Coarse sea salt mill Verstegen
Preparation of the salad mix: Cut equal cubes of bell pepper, fennel, radish and mango. Finely chop cilantro. Mix everything with olive oil, sea salt, lime juice and ginger.
Finishing touch: Divide the mix over the 4 bowls. Spoon the légumaise on top each time. Finish with cress.
Recipe for watermelon lasagna with fennel carpaccio, dill, baby spinach, yellow cherry tomato and lemon
For 4 people, preparation time 15 minutes. Techniques: raw, marinating, plate used in the photo: Wild Moon large deep ceramic. Recommended drink: Ice tea (without added sugars)
Ingredients: 1 small watermelon without seeds – 1 small fennel – 2 sprigs of fresh dill – Box of Sea Fennel, Koppert Cress – 1 lemon – 12 yellow cherry tomatoes – handful of fresh young spinach leaves – a good dash of olive oil El Flameco – black pepper – coarse sea salt
Preparation method:
- Fennel carpaccio: Cut the fennel paper thin with a sharp knife. Season with black pepper and sea salt, as well as some lemon juice and a dash of olive oil.Leave thisto marinate for a few minutes.
- Carpaccio watermelon: Cut thin slices of watermelon and place on a waiting plate.
Finish: Build up the same amount of fennel and watermelon carpaccio over the 4 plates. Cut yellow cherry tomatoes into slices and divide between the plates with some small spinach leaves. Spoon marinade juice over the plates and finish by dividing all the garnishes on the plates: dill and Sea Fennel pieces. Finish with a few more drops of fresh lemon juice and tasty olive oil.
We’re Smart World Agenda 2021:
The publication of the We’re Smart Green Guide, which normally appears every May, is shifting to September 20th 2021, due to Covid-19.
2021: International Year of Fruits and Vegetables
Fruit and vegetable of the year 2021: Bell pepper and Watermelon
10 through May 16: Fruit and Vegetable Week, launch We’re Smart Academy and 5 Radishes Chefs Club
May 24: First We’re Smart Academy webinar with Frank Fol, De Groentekok®
September 20: launch of We’re Smart Green Guide and announcement of We’re Smart Awards for restaurants.
November 26: launch We’re Smart Future Awards for companies during Horeca Expo.
Website: We're Smart
