INTERNATIONAL TRADE JOURNAL

FOR THE RESTAURANTAND CATERING INDUSTRY

D 58008

EDITION 5/2011www.food-service-europe.com

www.cafe-future.net

Special Features: Foodservice Markets France, Italy and Russia – City Guide Salzburg

UK

When the first Vegetarian Britain guidewas produced in 1998 it featured 270premises across 250 pages; the last edi-tion, the fourth, which was produced lastyear, included around 450, across its 800or so pages. As the increase in bothpremises and pages suggests the numberof vegetarian eateries has risen fast overthe last 13 years and there are now ap-proximately 5 m Britons who are whollyor partly vegetarian Add to this themovement towards healthier lifestyleand so called ‘meat-reducers’, those con-suming less flesh, and the market forvegetarian cuisine has never been sobuoyant.Restaurants can no longer afford not tohave a vegetarian option on their menusor even just the one. The relativelycheaper cost of vegetarian food togetherwith concerns over animal welfare anddamage to the environment has also ledto more consumers choosing healthieroptions and vegetarian dishes.This move has led to a marked increasedin the number of high-end vegetarianrestaurants operating across the coun-try. According to Alex Bourke, who com-

8 FOODSERVICE EUROPE & MIDDLE EAST 5/11

Food ThatLoves Life

Despite the trend towards healthy living and all the various meatscandals, vegetarian cuisine has so far not had a great impact on theEuropean restaurant scene – and this although the number of vege-

tarians is growing steadily in many countries. It would seem that veg-etarians do not go exclusively to vegetarian restaurants but can alsofind what they are looking for on the menus of ‘normal’ restaurants.

The big advantage is that, there, they can dine together not onlywith meat lovers but also with the growing group of ‘flexitarians’ who

simply go without animal protein whenever possible. Nevertheless,there is a niche market with numerous specialists who uncompromis-

ingly and successfully demonstrate that meat is not a prerequisitefor outstanding cuisine. Part 2 of our European overview.

UKV EGETAR IAN RESTAURANTS

Vanilla Black

Vanilla Black

Otarian

piles Vegetarian Guides to meat-free eating in Britain, there were30 top-range vegetarian restaur-ants operating in the UK at thestart of 2010 up by 50% on 2007.In London, venues such as AmicoBio, Vanilla Black and the two-strong Saf business, have allproven that the perception of vege-tarian cuisine has come a longway and is no longer confined tolentils and soup. The first vegeta-rian, organic Italian restaurant inLondon, Amico Bio was estab-lished by head chef PasqualeAmico and his two cousins underthe banner ‘Green Thinking –Better Living’, while the AndrewDargue and Donna Conroy-oper-ated Vanilla Black restaurant inthe capital is one of only twoMichelin-recommended vegetar-ian establishments in Britain. Theother Michelin-starred vegetarianeatery is Brighton’s long-estab-lished Terre à Terre, which firstopened its doors in 1993.Launched by ‘raw chef’ ChadSarno, Saf, which is an acronymfor Simply Authentic Food, andalso means ‘Pure’ in Turkish, wasestablished over a decade ago andnow operates eponymous restaur-ants in Shoreditch and Kensing-ton. The company also offers a ‘SafTo Go’ products range is availableat both of its restaurants as well asa growing number of retail outletsincluding the Whole Foods mar-ket chain.While the high-end category ofthe vegetarian restaurant sectorgoes from strength to strength –top-end vegetarian eateries havealso opened in recent years inplaces such as Bath, Nottingham,Manchester, and in towns in Suf-folk West Yorkshire – Saf remains

the closest example the sector of along-established chain of ‘proper’vegetarian eateries.Otarian, the quickservice vegetar-ian restaurant concept, enteredthe UK market to great fanfare atthe end of 2009 with plans to op-erate a chain of sites across Lon-don and major cities. The brain-child of the Oswal Group, a multi-billion dollar company with a di-versified portfolio of assets inconstruction, logistics, petro-chemicals, property, resourcesand transport in India and Aus-tralia, the group opened fourrestaurants, two in London andtwo in New York around the sametime.The group, which is owned andcontrolled by husband and wifeteam Pankaj and Radhika Oswal,acquired two Central Londonsites: the former Nanobites pubon Wardour Street and an inde-pendent Italian restaurant on thecorner of Shaftesbury Avenue.The concept is based on a McDon-ald’s style operation with coun-ters and rapid service, and is fo-cused on raising awareness abouthealthy eating and sustainability.Despite a wealth of publicity, theUK side of the business has re-cently run into difficulties. It an-nounced at the start of Augustthat was to pull out of the UK andclosed both its sites in the countryand its restaurant in the Green-wich Village district of New York,leaving it with one restaurant inthe US city.

FOODSERVICE EUROPE & MIDDLE EAST 5/11

� � � UK: Websites �

www.amicobio.co.ukwww.vanillablack.co.ukwww.safrestaurant.co.ukwww.otarian.comwww.terreaterre.co.ukwww.veggieheaven.comwww.ottolenghi.co.ukwww.nopi-restaurant.comwww.eatatbobbys.comwww.hansasrestaurant.comwww.woodlandsrestaurant.co.ukwww.vitalingredient.co.ukwww.abokado.comwww.chopd.co.ukwww.podfood.co.uk

Indian cuisine continues to play a signifi-cant part in shaping the UK vegetarianrestaurant scene. Regional restaurantssuch as Bobby’s in Leicester andHansa’sin Leeds have been established for over20 years and continue to educate con-sumers on Gujrati vegetarian cuisine. Af-filiated with the famous WoodlandsRestaurants in India, which has been es-tablished since 1938 with over 40branches, the UK arm of the group cur-rently operates a three-strong chain ofupscale eateries in central London. TheUK operation currently has restaurants inPiccadilly, Marylebone and Hampsteadand is thought to be looking at further op-portunities to expand in the capital. Spe-cialising in authentic vegetarian dishesfrom south India, the chain also offers or-ganic, vegan and vegetarian wines.The issue of health continues to play abig part in the move by consumers to-ward vegetarian choices and is drivingthe growing popularity in and rise ofsalad and soup focused chains acrossLondon. Although not purely vegetarian,these businesses are taking an increas-ing share of the vegetarian market andare proving to be an entry point for many‘meat eaters’ into the world of vegetariancuisine.

In a message posted on its website,Otarian said: “We are currently work-ing to expand our eco-friendly rangeand to improve our offerings to you.During this time of development, weshall not be functioning in UK. We real-ize this will come as a disappointmentto all the Otarian London fans, but restassured that we shall soon be bringingback a tastier, yummier Otarian experi-ence that will make you forget that wewere ever gone.” It is thought that athird proposed Otarian site in lower Re-gent street, which was acquired lastyear but never opened, has alreadybeen disposed of. A further mini chain,

Eat & Two Veg, which operated two sitesin London, also faced difficulties andclosed its remaining vegetarian restaur-ant on Marylebone High Street at thestart of last year.While a full-scale vegetarian restaurantchain continues to prove elusive, cafésand delis in the category have proven tohave more longevity. Founded in 2002,Ottolenghi, the upmarket vegetariandeli shop-meets-café concept, has sincegrown to operate four sites across Lon-don. Founder Yotam Ottolenghi, whowas born in Israel, trained as a chef atseveral London restaurants, includingCapital and Kensington Place. His deli-restaurant operations are a joint venturewith business partner Sami Tamimi, whohe met while working at the Baker &Spice patisserie chain.It currently has four London locations –Belgravia, Notting Hill, Kensington andIslington. The sites trade as food shopswith some communal seating. Thebiggest is Islington, which can seat about50 diners and serves also meat and fish.Plans to open further sites under theconcept have been put on hold as thegroup concentrates on its new brasseriein London’s Soho, called Nopi, which itopened earlier this year.

10 FOODSERVICE EUROPE & MIDDLE EAST 5/11

UK

POD

Saf

VEGETAR IAN RESTAURANTS

Earlier this year, American-Estonian realestate entrepreneur Paul Oberschneidertook a stake in Vital Ingredient, thetossed salad-to-go concept. Oberschnei-der, who is the founder and chief execu-tive of Hauser-Oberschneider, one ofEurope’s biggest property developersand investors, has taken a 50% stake inthe chain, which opened its first site inSoho in 2001.The business, which was founded bymanaging director Alex Heynes, nowplans to grow to up to 15 sites in Londonover the next two years. Managing direc-tor Heynes will be developing the com-pany’s unit model during its expansion,with a newly formed management teamof Oberschneider as chief executive; ex-PSS Holdings chairman Tim Hobbs aschief financial officer; and Bruce Kamp,formerly at Nando’s, as operations man-ager. The company currently operatesfive sites in the capital, its original site inSoho, one at Mansion House, two inMayfair and one in Holborn.Abokado, the chain of healthy food barsled Mark Lilley, is also set to increase its

presence in London, with up to five newsites targeted for opening in the capitalby the end of March 2010. The company,which is backed by private equity invest-ment firm Kings Park Capital, recentlyopened its seventh site in London near StJames’s park tube station. The site is thefirst to feature the group’s new store de-sign, which includes subtler colours andmore natural wood finishes.The group is in advanced negotiationsregarding sites in the West End and theCity, and hopes that both will be open bythe end of September. It has also madeoffers on two further sites in the capital.The company currently operates a kiosksite at Euston Station. Lilley said that thegroup had received approaches fromNetwork Rail to open further kiosk units

but that it was concentrating on the ex-pansion its standalone sites at the mo-ment. To help it with its expansion plansthe company, which offers sushi, salads,soups and wraps, has also appointed itsfirst head of operations.Chop’d, the London-based salad barchain, is currently in negotiations on ac-quiring a 7th site in capital, after com-pleting its latest round of fundraising.The group is also set to enter negoti-ations with banks regarding financingoptions to open its 8th and 9th sites. Thecompany, which is led by managing dir-ector Eddie Holmes, has six outlets inLondon – Canary Wharf, LeadenhallMarket, Mayfair, Spitalfields, St PancrasInternational and a bar in the food hall ofSelfridges.

UK

Jerusalem-born chef and restaurateur YotamOttolenghi, who used to write a column called‘The New Vegetarian’ for the Guardian: “Ourfood is familiar and straight forward, yet highlyinnovative. It is a way of life, somewhere be-tween a healthy obsession and a bad habitwe can’t kick.”

Holmes said that company hoped tohave at two new sites opened by the endof 2011. He said: “The last nine monthswe have experienced consistent like-for-like growth, while across the last threemonths like-for-likes has been up onaverage 20% on the previous year. “Wehave confidence in expansion ability ofthe concept and we are looking at a num-ber of sites in the capital where we thinkthe format will work.”The leader in the pack though is POD,the healthy fast food concept, which iscurrently in the middle of adding six newsites to its estate this summer, as it looksto reach a portfolio of 20 units by the endof the year. Buoyed by new investmentfrom private group JGR Capital, plus ad-ditional investment from its currentshareholder and investor base – which ismade up of experienced retail and hospi-tality industry professionals, includingNicolas Payne, ex-business developmentdirector for Burger King Europe – thechain plans to grow its estate from nineto 25 sites inside the M25 by the end of2012.Chief executive Tim Hall said: “Chainssuch as Pret and Eat have proven thatthere are still plenty of expansion possi-bilities in the capital. We also believethere are opportunities for a healthy fastfood concept to be successful outside ofLondon and we are excited about thenext stage of POD’s expansion.”It looks like 2011 is not so much aboutbecoming a vegetarian but about becom-ing more meat-aware. Vegetarianrestaurants are also doing well partly be-cause people are realising that meat-eat-ing is bad for the planet and that vegeta-bles are seen as a cheaper alternative,but also because the traditional view ofvegetarian food as bland and boring ischanging. Fewer people hold that view;they’re looking for something different,and that includes healthier options andinnovative approaches and formats.

FOODSERVICE EUROPE & MIDDLE EAST 5/11

VEGETAR IAN RESTAURANTSSp

ain

Yerbabuena, conveniently located near the bigsubway station Puerta de Sol in Madrid, specialis-es in vegetarian ‘high cuisine’ also suitable forvegans. Dishes include pasta, paella, and crêpes.The menu of the day includes 3 courses, bread,water and mini appetizers for €13. Teresa Carles’restaurant and Teresa do Carmos ‘Biocenter’ areamong the veterans in Spanish vegetarian cook-ing, while the new arrival ‘Loving Hut’ has beenattracting attention as new arrival for 1.5 yearsnow.

� � � E: Vegetarian Restaurants � �

� in MadridAl Natural www.alnatural.bizArtemisa www.restauranteartemisa.comEl Restaurante Vegetarianowww.mesalibre.com/ficha/restauranteelrestaurantevegetarianoEl Vegetariano de Teresawww.elvegetarianodeteresa.comEl Vergelwww.el-vergel.comYerbabuenawww.yerbabuena.ws

� in BarcelonaSelf Naturistawww.selfnaturista.comLa Granjawww.lagranjavegetariana.comVegetaliawww.vegetalia.comMaozwww.maozusa.com

Further restaurants:www.restaurantesvegetarianos.es

Teresa Carles

Loving HutYerbabuena

Biocenter

Yerbabuena

Spain

In Spain, restaurants with vege-tarian food on the menu still havemarket-niche status, being re-garded mainly as destinations forweight-watchers or people with a‘green’ way of thinking and a dietto go with it. But these locationsenjoy sudden surges in populari-ty, even if only short-lived, intimes of food scandals about meator fish, such as the recent scareabout clenbuterol in meat or,some time ago, the uncertaintyabout the effects of dangerousparasites and mercury in fish. Andyet there are still ‘veterans’ likeBiocenter or Ecocentro that proveit is possible to ‘work’ even a nichetopic successfully for many years.And the opening of Loving Hut inMadrid and the new Teresa Carlesoutfit in Barcelona are proof thatdining-out for vegetarians is defi-nitely thought to have potential.

Teresa Carles: An urbanely mod-ern location for epicureans. Also aplace for part-time vegetarians, ithas a formula that is totally de-void of missionary zeal when itcomes to vegetarianism. And nota single trace of fustiness either.Opened in Barcelona’s CiutatVella in 1979, the casual diningconcept, with seating for 80guests, has a modern approachthat relies on a combination ofself-service and table-service, anda menu that offers a whole host ofspecialties. “We want our brand tostand for best quality and tastyhandmade dishes”, says ownerTeresa Carles, who gave her nameto the concept and launched it to-gether with her husband, RamónBarri, and son Jordi Barri. “And wewant our guests to come, not onlybecause we are offering vegetari-an food, but because they are con-vinced by the quality.” This, soCarles, is a radically new way forvegetarian restaurants to seethemselves. Statements on the in-ternet by visitors to the restaurantshow that this approach is beingwell received. F&B bestsellers are‘Surtido de croquetas’ for c7.50and ‘Triología con Catxipanda’ forc13.50. With around 100 guests

every day, sales in 2011 are ex-pected to amount to c350,000.The family is not new to the busi-ness. Ever since 1979, the couplehave provided restaurant oper-ators with advice and support onhow to plan and open vegetarianrestaurants, and have also actedas temporary partners. Their ap-proach to their own concept is ahighly professional one, as shownby the central kitchen in Lleida,where all longer-lasting compo-nents/dishes are prepared, and asophisticated (virtual) marketingconcept. “We intend to open fur-ther locations in Barcelona in thenear future and then to tackleother cities as well”, so Jordi Barri.They see themselves as modernambassadors for a vegetarian cuis-ine that is both healthy and full oftaste. www.teresacarles.com

Loving Hut: The international ca-sual-dining chain of vegan restaur-ants has had a presence in Spainsince the end of 2009; in 2010,after Valencia and Málaga, itopened location No. 3 in theSpanish capital. The dishes servedhere are also composed only ofproducts of non-animal origin:vegetable spaghetti Bolognese,burritos or hamburgers. They areaccompanied by typical Spanishor local offers such as ‘tortilla depatatas’, ‘croquetas’ and ‘cocidomadrileno’ in which, according tofranchisee María José Lobo, thecomponents that are usually ofanimal origin are replaced withpurely plant-based ingredients.“For example, we use soy milk forthe croquetas.” Everything is‘handmade’ on location, with theingredients coming from whole-salers specialised in vegetarianand vegan products. “There is stilla shortage of suppliers who canoffer these foods free from insecti-cides and pesticides. Our aim is tooffer only organic products.”The furnishing of the dining room,around 90 sq m in size, is mini-malist: white tables, white chairs,a wooden floor, a few portraits offamous vegans. In the first year,with opening times from 1.30 p.m.to 4 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. until mid-night, the operators had 45 guests

13FOODSERVICE EUROPE & MIDDLE EAST 5/11

however, Do Carmo had put her idea forhealthy living on a second pillar by open-ing the vegetarian restaurant. 260 sq min size, this very comfortably furnishedlocation has room for 100 guests. “Wehave tried to take an ecologically sus-tainable approach in terms of the fur-nishing as well.” The menu? Many dishesare suitable for vegans, ovo-lacto vege-tarians, crudívores as well as guests on amacrobiotic diet. The bestsellers? ‘RedVegetable Curry’, ‘Seitan in White Wine’and ‘Tofu with Ginger’. Almost all therecipes are their own creations. The aver-age tag comes to around c10 atlunchtime, a great favourite being thesalad buffet, and around c15 from à lacarte business in the evenings. Sales areestimated at c350,000. “We see our-selves as pioneers of a development thatis only just taking off”, says Do Carmo. Inan effort to make the business self-suffi-cient without having to pass on to theguests the higher purchase prices de-manded for organic produce, the familyruns its own farm and thus ensures thesupply of good, fresh organic products.http://restaurantebiocenter.es

One of the pioneers in Madrid is Ecocen-tro, opened in 1993. This is a multifunc-tional concept that consists of an organic

à la carte restaurant, organic buffet, anda shop for organic food, cosmetics,herbs, books and other items, as well asrooms for conferences, courses andworkshops. A lively, colourful micro-cosm for all those who want to live inharmony with themselves and the worldaround them. The gastronomic offeringstake up 60% of the space, which occupiesaround 200 sq m altogether. The menuof the à la carte restaurant is varied andchanges frequently; the prices, rangingbetween c10 and c13, are moderate.Among other things, the organic buffetoffers a large choice of salads and fruit,sold by weight. The average number ofguests per day is 200, with around 50 ofthem dining on location. Sales in 2011are estimated at around c300,000.www.ecocentro.es

The Netherlands

In the Netherlands, good vegetarianrestaurants are thin on the ground. Thefood critic of a major Dutch nationalnewspaper carried out a search for qual-ity vegetarian restaurants, say ‘veggiewith star’, with the help of the paper’sreaders. The results were woeful. Withthe exception of a few vegetarian restaur-ants (Betty’s and Bla Bla, vlees nog vis),

on average every day. “We are confi-dent of increasing this number to 60soon.” On this basis, sales for 2011 areput at c300,000. www.lovinghut.es

Biocenter: Et voilà: a ‘veteran’. Opened20 years ago, not far from the Ramblas,the restaurant continues to offerhealthy, vegetarian food, preparedmainly from organic produce. Since the70s, the founder of the concept, TeresaDo Carmo, has been a champion of or-ganic farming. To begin with, she soldthese products in retail shops that wentunder the name of Comme Bio. In2002, a Swiss fund acquired a majorstake in the franchise formula, whichthen closed down. In the meantime,

14 FOODSERVICE EUROPE & MIDDLE EAST 5/11

TheNe

therland

s

De Vegetarische SlagerBetty’s

most seem to be stuck in a seven-ties macrobiotic time warp. Hewas seriously underwhelmed bythe food served in the majority ofvegetarian restaurants. Instead,he was a lot more excited aboutthe vegetarian dishes on offer at‘regular’ restaurants. ‘The oftenwell-meaning vegetable cookshave no idea how to present foodattractively. Or they lack the am-bition to do so. A home-cookedmeal at a reasonable price will do.’The Dutch Vegetarian Societyasked people to vote for restaur-ants where you can enjoy greatvegetarian food. Not one of thetop three restaurants (De Librije inZwolle, Schathoes Verhildersumin Leens, Au Coin des Bons En-fants in Maastricht) is a vegetar-ian restaurant.Does that mean vegetarianism isdead in the water? Absolutely not!Meat avoiders, whether or notpart-time, simply don’t visit vege-tarian restaurants to satisfy theirtaste buds. The number of vege-

tarian dishes on the menu of regu-lar restaurants is growing andflourishing. Vegetables and herbsare the new stars in the kitchen.No-one bats an eyelid anymorewhen meat and fish dishes are inthe minority on the menu,whether in a food pub, lunch-room, beach hut or fine diningrestaurant. The notion of ‘flexitar-ian’ is catching on; people whochoose to leave meat and fish off

the menu now and again. Restaur-ants riding this trend are doingbusiness.This creates opportunities for pro-ducers of good meat substitutesbecause whereas vegetarians turntheir noses up at the taste and tex-ture of meat, flexitarians actuallyreally enjoy it. In 2010, vegetarianbutcher shop De VegetarischeSlager opened its doors in TheHague. The soy- and lupin-basedmeat substitutes developed byfood scientists in collaborationwith an organic farmer and chefMarco Westmaas and sold here(also via online shop) taste everybit as good as real chicken, tunaor pork. Even the most hardenedcarnivore would have to agree. Adelegation of Spanish top restau-rants (including El Bulli and Mu-garitz) recently visited Marco.They were impressed by the tex-ture and taste of the sampledproducts, and described them as‘interesting, high-quality andpromising.’www.devegetarischeslager.nl

‘Bla Bla, vlees nog vis’ is a hip, fun,colourful vegetarian formulawhich appeals to young peoplewith restaurants in Rotterdam,Groningen and Leeuwarden. Theyoffer delicious sustainable dishesfrom the ‘world kitchen’ withoutmeat or fish and subscribe to thesentiment expressed in AlbertEinstein’s motto: ‘Nothing willbenefit human health and in-crease chances for survival of lifeon Earth as much as the evolutionto a vegetarian diet.’www.bla-bla.nl

Betty’s, in the Amsterdam riverdistrict, is a stylish fine-diningrestaurant for ‘Gucci vegetarians’,who value classical music and anenthusiastic host. The cuisine is100% organic and vegetarian,even egg-free and serves moderndishes from all corners of theworld. Starter plus main coursec30. They have recently intro-duced a weekly changing ‘menudu marché’ with a selection ofsmall dishes. Betty’s sells its ownbrand of delicatessen.www.bettys.nl

15FOODSERVICE EUROPE & MIDDLE EAST 5/11

Europe’s first vegetarian butcher’s shop‘De Vegetarische Slager’ opened in TheHague in October 2010, serving variousmeat-replacement products made fromlupin seeds. It is the brainchild of eighth-generation lupin farmer Jaap Korteweg.

Belgium

Not London, not Berlin but the Belgiancultural university city of Ghent is themost vegetarian city in Europe. Here,you will find the most vegetarianrestaurants per head of the population.Every Thursday is Veggie Day in Ghentwhen vegetarian dishes get an extrapush. This in a city with less than244,000 inhabitants. The children ofGhent eat vegetarian food every Thurs-day, in school and day nurseries. Eventhe Ikea restaurant and the companycanteen of Belgacom, the Belgian tele-coms operator, serve vegetarian foodon Thursdays. Driving force behindthis project is EVA (Ethical VegetarianAlternative), the second biggest vege-tarian organisation in Europe, situatedin Ghent. Its aim: to get people to eatmore plant-based and less animal-based food. Their activities extend toFlanders and Brussels. Ghent citycouncil started supporting the initia-tive in May 2009, making it the firstcity in the world with an official weekly

vegetarian day. But this is not compul-sory, every citizen is free to eat what heor she wants. The council merely wantsto highlight the benefits of eating lessmeat to health, the environment and theglobal distribution of food. It providesfree city maps on which all participatingrestaurants are marked. Some of the for-mulas to watch:Be

lgium

Greenway Veggie Resto with restaur-ants in Leuven and in Ghent. This is atrendy take on the vegetarian worldkitchen, at an affordable price. The owneris Paul Florizoone. He developed exoticready-made meals and basic productsunder the Greenway label for supermar-ket chain Delhaize. www.greenway.beTasty World – a franchise formula forvegetarian takeaway meals, tastysnacks, hamburgers, salads, juices,smoothies, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream andfruit combos. The option to eat in alsoavailable, in a bright decor with wood-land touches ‘where there is still roomfor magic and cosiness’. Currently, thereare two establishments, one in Ghent,one in Liège. www.tastyworld.beLekker Gec: An organic eatery andtearoom serving daily specials, pastadishes, soups, rolls and salads, all self-service. Guests only pay per weight forwhat they take. This way, less valuablefood is wasted. Here, the focus is on allaspects of dealing with food in a respon-sible manner. www.lekkergec.be

Russia

Vegetarians get a warmer welcome inMoscow now than they did a few yearsago when the restaurant offer for thattarget audience was strictly limited. Theinternational vegan chain Loving Huthas recently launched its first café in theRussian capital. Jagannath, one of theoldests veggy brands in town, has justadded two more units to its first restaur-ant. People in Moscow get more in-volved into a healthy lifestyle, as well asinto Eastern doctrines and rituals, yogabeing the most popular one. Thosetrends inspire a certain growth in the

16

� � � Topvegetarianrestaurants.net � � � � � � � � � � �

The niche topic of vegetarianism is moving increasingly into the focus of scien-tific research. For example, the University of Vienna has been conducting a cul-tural and social-scientific project on this subject for several years. In additionto documenting current literature on vegetarianism, the project also has apractical – i.e., gastronomic – objective: to rate interesting vegetarian restaur-ants. The ‘work in progress’ website www.topvegetarianrestaurants.net is anpractical outcome to support ethical hedonism for veg gourmets:“As more and more restaurateurs are offering good vegetarian or even veganfood together with fine organic wine, beer, whisky and other beverages,gourmets and ethical hedonists are experiencing ever more satisfaction. Eventhe ‘meat obsessed’ bible of gastronomy, the Michelin Guide has increasedtheir recommendations for vegetarian and vegan (!) restaurants. The same istrue of other important restaurant guides. The rising demand for vegan nou-velle cuisine inspired 25 of today’s greatest chefs, including T. Keller, J. Von-gerichten, E. Ripert, C. Trotter, and many other James Beard award-winningchefs to publish the first high end vegan cookbook.” The Restaurants, pubs andbars on the website’s country pages have been chosen to compare with otherrestaurants in the same price-bracket.

Tasty World

niche of vegetarian and Vedicrestaurants. Many places offer ad-ditional kinds of service to theirguests, like culinary workshops,food delivery and catering.The most successful foodserviceproject meant for vegetarians andIndian culture worshipers is Ja-gannath. So far the chain unitesthree restaurants in the Moscowdowntown, all have a wide selec-tion of international vegetarianfood on offer. Each unit has asmall shop with vegetarian food,Eastern style clothing and acces-sories. Original pieces of furniturebrought from India create an au-thentic Eastern ambience. Allunits are non-smoking and offerno alcohol.The first Jagannath, 300 sq m inarea, opened in 2000. There is arestaurant, a quickservice caféand a shop under one roof. Theaverage bill is RUB900/c22 inthe restaurant and RUB250/c6 inthe café. Last winter Jagannathturned into a chain, havinglaunched two more units. “Moreand more guests learn to appreci-ate natural food, freshness andhealthy eating, which gives usa potential to grow”, AnnaKuznetsova, Jagannath develop-ment director, states. Jagannath-2 and Jagannath-3 are small caféswith a sitting capacity for 20guests only and a veggie shop in-side. Each Wednesday, culinaryworkshops are held here. The aver-age spent per guest is RUB500/c12.5.Ganga café located at food courtof the Start shopping mall followsthe Vedic culinary traditions. Theplace was launched 18 years agoby a Krishnai charity foundationas an independent café with a sit-ting capacity in another house. Ithad to move to a shopping mallnearby some time ago because ofthe building reconstruction. All32 staff members live on Vedicfood only. The menu consists offully Vedic dishes containing nomeat, fish, eggs, onion, garlic ormushrooms. Among best-sellersare ‘Maharaja’ sabji, tamatar,samosa, shak paneer. The aver-age bill is RUB150/c4. Ganga of-fers lunch delivery and also in-

vites everyone to join the yogaclub. The staff members are readyto teach their guests the basics ofVedic cooking. “We are planningto open a separate café again thisyear,” Lolita Tomaeva says, she isin charge of Ganga development.“We could also open a few moreunits at food courts, many shop-ping malls are willing to have us,but it’s very difficult to find cooksappropriate for our concept”.The veggie café Avocado openedits door eight years ago in Chisto-prudny boulevard. The café is 80sq m in area and welcomes 60guests at a time. In 2008, the sec-ond Avocado was launched, quitea small place for 24 people. Theaverage bill is RUB1,000/c25.The concept offers vegetarianfood only, part of dishes aremeant for vegans. Surprisingly,60% of guests are people with or-dinary eating habits, the rest 40%are vegetarians.The international chain LovingHut launched their first two unitsin Moscow last September. Theconcept grows via franchising inthe Russian market. Both arestaurant and a food court unitare located in the Capitoly shop-ping mall. No GMOs, animal fatsor taste boosters are used in theLoving Hut dishes. The food courtmenu consists of around 80 vegandishes like veggie pizza, soupsand salads from RUB30 to 150each (c1 to 4). Gazpacho, thai riceand lentil medallions are top sell-ers. The offer is updated twice amonth. The average spent isRUB170/c4.5.The restaurant has a capacity of80 seats and offers internationalvegan specialties like thai vegeta-bles, spinach pasta and veggieroll. The average bill comes toRUB700/c18. Loving Hut widelypromotes delivery and cateringservice. “Another part of our busi-ness is organizing vegetarian cof-fee breaks and receptions forsome big companies like Mer-cedes Benz Russia, whose headsare vegetarians’, Svetlana Yvleva,Loving Hut managing director,underlines. This autumn thebrand opens its second à la carterestaurant meant for 100 seats.

17FOODSERVICE EUROPE & MIDDLE EAST 5/11

Another vegetarian concept has recent-ly been introduced by independententrepreneurs and devoted vegetariansMikhail Kuzmichev and AndreyVasilchenko next to the famousTretyakov Gallery. Sok (Russian for‘juice’) consists of two non-smokingzones and a cosy summer terrace.Around 70 vegan and uncooked plantspecialties are on offer. Top sellers arerucola and strawberry salad, humus andsesame Caesar salad with tofu instead ofchicken. There is a large wine selection.The average spent per guest is RUB600to 1,000 (c15-25). Following the artspirit of the nearby gallery, the café isdecorated with the copies of Russianand French artists. The concept aims toattract gallery visitors, as well as localoffice workers.

Veggie food is widely on offer in yogaclubs and centres. The main audiencehere is yoga trainers and their followerswho drop in at a café to sip freshlysqueezed juice and have a light veggiesalad. Most places of that king are smalland can’t compete with independentrestaurants. Often it’s just a small barwhere one can have a cup of tea or aglass of juice with some vegetariansweets. But large clubs like Yoga Househave cafés with a vast menu of variouscold and hot dishes. Guests are free tochoose miso, cheese soup, sabji, momoor rolls, followed by original Vedicsweets and pastry. The average bill isRUB500/c12. The café meant for 15guests is open 7 am to 10 pm. It’s not amust for cooks to be vegetarians, butthey should have a certificate provingthat they are not alien to the basics ofVedic cooking.Another vegetarian bar of that kind is lo-cated in Prana yoga centre. They offerlight starters, salads, soups, rice anddesserts here, all dishes are easy and fastto make. 25 people can enjoy their mealsat the bar at the same time. The averagebill comes to RUB300/c7.5. “Veggiedishes are easy to cook, they don’t makeyou heavy, which is very important foryoga practice”, Irina Demchuk, Pranabar manager states.

Contributing AuthorsUK: BM

Spain: Mario Cañizal VillarinoThe Netherlands/Belgium:

Puck KerkhovenRussia: Daria Zhiganova

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VEGETAR IAN RESTAURANTSRu

ssia

FOODSERVICE EUROPE & MIDDLE EAST 5/11

Jagannath

Jagannath

Jagannath

Jagannath

Sok

Yoga House