FYN, the trailblazing Cape Town restaurant led by Chef Peter Tempelhoff and Culinary Director Chef Ashley Moss, has been selected as one of four Relais & Châteaux restaurants worldwide to partner with UNESCO on a groundbreaking sustainability pilot.
The initiative – spearheaded by Chef Mauro Colagreco, Vice President of Chefs for Relais & Châteaux, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity, and chef owner of Mirazur restaurant – unites celebrated chefs and UNESCO-designated sites to foster biodiversity, preserve cultural heritage, and inspire responsible hospitality.
FYN’s project is rooted in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve and the Cape Floral Region, one of the most ecologically diverse places on Earth and recognised as the cradle of human culture.
At FYN, sustainability is woven into every detail. The team cultivates endangered indigenous plants on partner farms as well as in their own gardens at sister restaurant, Beyond, moving away from wild harvesting and toward regeneration. With the guidance of specialist Dr Jan de Vynck, FYN honours age-old knowledge and expresses it through a refined menu that bridges South African ingredients with the precision of Japanese technique.
“Sustainability is central to how we think, cook, and lead,” says Tempelhoff. “Working alongside UNESCO allows us to share our landscape’s ancient food stories with care and intention.”
Together with Moss, whose meticulous, technique-led approach defines FYN’s kitchen, the restaurant has earned global acclaim including within the sphere of sustainability – notably winning The World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ Flor de Caña Sustainable Restaurant Award and becoming the first African restaurant to receive a three-star Food Made Good rating.
FYN joins a visionary cohort of chefs: Anne-Sophie Pic (Maison Pic, France), Daniel Humm (Eleven Madison Park, USA), and Shinobu Namae (L’Effervescence, Japan). Each brings a distinct approach – from sustainable farming to plant-forward education – under Colagreco’s leadership, uniting hospitality and ecology on a global stage.
