SHIRA BLUSTEIN is the owner and founder of The Acorn, an award-winning, vegetable-forward restaurant and bar located at the heart of Vancouver’s Main St. Since opening in 2012, The Acorn has picked up national awards for excellence—including enRoute magazine’s Top 10 Best New Restaurants—and been featured in The New York Times and Bon Appétit. It has been deemed one of the best vegetable-forward destinations in the world by CNN and The Daily Meal, and the Number 1 vegan restaurant in the world by Big Seven Travel. In 2016, Blustein opened The Arbor, a casual sequel to Acorn, on the same Main St. block, and with the same uncompromising attention to quality, detail, and plant-based deliciousness.

BRIAN LUPTAK was head chef at The Acorn for five years. Prior to this, he spent a decade cooking in some of the Canada’s finest hotels and resorts—from remote getaway locations to urban centers. By combining the structure and discipline he gained from larger institutions, with the freedom of creativity and experimentation afforded by The Acorn, Luptak raised the bar for the restaurant’s innovative dishes with his exceptional palate and discerning eye for detail and presentation. He lives in Vancouver with his partner, Christine, and puppy, Bowie.