Our Team
Shira Blustein - Founder / General Manager
Before becoming a restaurateur, Shira was playing music in punk and indie rock bands that toured extensively through Europe and North America. Those years spent travelling as a vegetarian were both enlightening and frustrating. On a good day, she would find an amazing dish from a street vendor that involved the freshest local produce, created with love. More often than not, however, she would find herself stuck between a brick of tofu and a hard place.
It became Shira’s mission to create a vegetable forward dining experience where creativity reigned, and the uniqueness of ingredients were openly explored and celebrated. Shira and her team have been dedicated to establishing meaningful connections with local farms, foragers and wineries, showcasing the amazing terroir driven food and wine BC has to offer.
Since opening in 2012, The Acorn has picked up national awards for excellence, has been featured in the New York Times, Bon Appetit, and was deemed one of the best vegetable-forward destinations in the world by CNN and The Daily Meal, earning the Number 1 spot for best vegan restaurant in the world by Big Seven Travel. In 2016 Blustein opened The Arbor, a casual sequel to Acorn, with the same uncompromising attentions being paid to quality, detail and plant-based deliciousness. After 8 wonderful years, the winds of change gently rustled the leaves up Main Street and with a heavy heart The Arbor was put to rest. Change, however, brings opportunity and with that a new partnership was formed with Meeru Dhalwala, acclaimed chef and co-founder of Vij’s restaurant. Six weeks later, Lila Restaurant, a take on modern Indian cuisine that places Shira and Meeru’s efforts toward a zero-waste and sustainably run restaurant, was born. In the first few months of opening its doors, Lila has attracted attention far and wide, landing a spot on Air Canada’s list of best new restaurants in Canada.
Matt Gostelow - Head Chef
Chef Matt Gostelow unwittingly began his culinary career as a young child growing up in South East London under the tutelage of his Grandmother. A well-known presence at the markets, she was an avid cook who taught the importance of choosing great ingredients and forming relationships with those dedicated to growing them.
Gostelow took the ethos of understanding the origins and quality of ingredients with him to Vancouver in 2010 when he and his wife relocated from England to start a life together. Upon completing culinary school, he joined the opening team at The Acorn, imprinting his work ethic, respect for vegetables, and culinary imagination on the restaurant just long enough to see through the Air Canada En Route win for “Top 10 Best New Restaurants in Canada”, among other accolades and awards.
Gostelow left The Acorn in 2014 to experience more of what Vancouver’s growing culinary scene had to offer, refining his knowledge and skillsets in notable kitchens such as Ask for Luigi and Au Comptoir.
In 2019, after the birth of his twins, Gostelow returned to the Acorn with a renewed sense of purpose and hunger to push The Acorn’s locavore and zero-waste cuisine to the next level. Whether it’s the first asparagus or rhubarb of Spring, tomatoes in the Summer, wild-foraged chanterelles of Autumn, or the hearty root vegetables in Winter, Chef Matt’s excitement for the Seasons is an experience for every guest to behold.
