Health food paves the way for Chennai’s new restaurants

Gone are the days when eating out meant consumption of deep-fried French fries, greasy burgers and carb-loaded pastas. Living in a world where many, particularly the millennials, have been switching their diets to keto, paleo and plant-based foods, restaurants globally are also finding themselves going all out to please their needs — whether for weight loss or to stay environment-friendly. Chennai, too, is making sure it is not left behind when it comes to curating menus that are mindful of one’s health, which is evident from many of city’s new restaurants cruising in the same direction.

With the aim of catering nutritious and wholesome ‘fast food’, Mixed Café opened its doors a few months ago at Express Avenue in Royapettah. Set up by a team of people with expertise in hospitality and nutrition sectors — Dr Sanjoy Kumar Das, Dr Sunitha Raja, Moumita Roy, Praveen Raja and chef Rajesh Radhakrishnan — the café is all about making healthy food quick and easy as well. “Having lived abroad for a few years, we were amazed to see the awareness on healthy eating and wanted to start a restaurant in Chennai. The idea of the café was to bring local produce and traditional foods like millets and banana stem to younger generations. The food doesn’t use any refined flours or sugars, but instead has ingredients like ghee, olive oil and organic jaggery. In this fast-paced world, we want people to have healthy fast food, which doesn’t require a wait time to prepare and doesn’t compromise on one’s well-being,” says Moumita, one of the founding partners.

From soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps, juices, smoothies to desserts, all the ingredients that go into a dish are calculated to create a balanced meal, informs Moumita. While the café sees the footfall of those who are already conscious of what they eat, it also aims to attract the others who want to eat healthy but don’t know where to start. “We want to be present at locations where there are lot of people visiting, for instance, public spaces like malls, so that people can be informed. People in the South are becoming more aware of healthy eating,” she says, adding that the café is planning to expand to other malls in Chennai and other cities soon.

Making eating out a guilt-free affair for diners, particularly those following a workout regime or a diet plan, is another new restaurant in Nungambakkam named Lo Cal, touted to be the city’s first fitness food restaurant. Founded by a fitness clothing line owner Abishek Rengasamy and fitness trainer Mahi Mohan, the newly-opened eatery is offering meals that can be keto and paleo-friendly, vegan, gluten-free or low-carb. “We follow scientifically-approved nutrition principles to create customised meals that use local ingredients. Using ingredients like millets and superfoods like avocados, we are creating nutrient-dense dishes. Availability of healthy food at restaurants has always been an issue in Chennai. With more people wanting to eat healthy, there is a need for more options,” asserts Mahi. Apart from vegetable and superfood loaded salads and entrées, the restaurant also offers zero-carb ice creams and dairy-free mousses to appease one’s sweet tooth.

City-based restaurant consultant Rajesh Kumar, the founder-director of Gourmet Sage Hospitality Solutions, says the future of food is leaning towards healthier options. “We see people being keen to switch to organic and cold-pressed oils. Many diets like keto, paleo, vegan are also becoming increasingly popular. Gluten-free, which hasn’t been heard of before in our parts of the world, is now a part of many menus. People are trying to avoid white sugar, white rice, maida and instead opting for whole wheat, unpolished rice, jaggery,  honey, etc. in their daily diet. I believe that it is good to have healthy food options at all restaurants. ‘Grab & go’ kiosks with a few or no seating and subscription models in health food can be very beneficial for people in the city,” stresses Rajesh.