Credit: Submitted Photo
Credit: Submitted Photo
Gordley said she decided to create this event because small business owners that serve vegan food or at least have vegan options should be recognized.
“They deserve to shine because it takes an extreme amount of creativity to create foods for us that taste really good,” she said.
Gordley explained she began consuming a vegan diet in October 2011 after a health scare.
“My aim was to try it for 30 days, just to see how I felt, and that 30 days ended up being almost 11 years,” Gordley said.
The Vegan Foodie Choice Awards on Saturday, May 7 at the Dayton Convention Center is sold out. Guests will enjoy a dinner, live entertainment and a first look at the winners of the Best Vegan Cuisine and Best Vegan Desserts in the Ohio/Tri-State area. Vegan foodies also voted on eateries in the Best Vegan Options category, but those winners have already been announced.
The dinner will not be catered by any of the eateries nominated for an award.
“This is the one event they can come to and not have to suit up with their aprons,” Gordley said.
Credit: Submitted Photo
Credit: Submitted Photo
The below eateries were nominated for the Dayton Metro area:
Best Vegan Cuisine
- Sprouting Dreams
- Your Vegan Chef
- Melt Bar and Grill
- Power Plant Kitchen
- Vegan It Iz Eats
Best Vegan Desserts
- Vegan Meltz
- Sweet P’s Handcrafted Ice Pops
- Neighborhood Nest
- Purely Sweet Bakery
- Black Barn Veganry
Best Vegan Options
- Nanyea Restaurant Coffee House & Bar
- Invoke
- Wheat Penny Oven & Bar
- Ghostlight Coffee
- Lucky’s Taproom
- Butter Café
The winner of the Best Vegan Options category in the Dayton Metro area is Butter Café and the runner up is Wheat Penny Oven & Bar.
Vegan foodies also nominated and voted for eateries in the areas of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Columbus Metro, Cleveland/Akron Metro and Indianapolis/Southeast Indiana.
Gordley will co-host the event with Columbus vegan influencer, Iye Loves Life.
Credit: Submitted Photo
Credit: Submitted Photo
The event will also raise money for Access to Excess, a nonprofit organization with a food rescuing mission, through a raffle, Gordley said.
She hopes her event will not only expose the public to these local eateries, but also help with a greater mission later on.
Gordley said she is in the process of planning a retreat for restaurant owners. She is also planning a vegan event for August in the Cincinnati area.
“Veganism is a wonderful thing to explore,” Gordley said.
For more information or to see a list of nominees, visit www.veganfoodiechoiceawards.com.
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