Real Talk: Putting Health and Wellbeing on the Menu

Juliane Caillouette Noble: We're here to talk about feeding people well — how you guys think about taking care of people and health and this broader idea of feeding people well as a restaurant.  

Talk a little bit about your thoughts on: what does health mean to you, and what do you think a restaurant's responsibility is in that space? 

Eve Seemann: I think the restaurant world dictates what happens and influences people in their own homes. So, we definitely have some responsibility in what we put out. What you eat is as important as enjoying the sun, as important as exercising once a day. It's not just about food, or just one thing — it’s a combination of everything, finding time for yourself. All of that falls into wellbeing. 

Juliane: I think it's really lovely how you guys have created this idea of balance in this restaurant. And you're so right about that knock-on effect of restaurants. Yes, people might only dine in your restaurant occasionally — it's not going to be the make-or-break of their individual health — and yet people are inspired by what they eat when they eat out in restaurants. And that has a trickle-down effect.  

Eve: It's definitely a massive influence into what people do at home — what ingredients they use and where they source them. There's a massive correlation between the restaurant world and what people do at home.  

Where we also bring that forward at the restaurant is by being completely transparent about everything. To me, it's very, very important that we communicate clearly and engage with the guests. This is why the front-of-house is trained on where things come from — not what to say, but how to make it interesting, to tell a story about the ingredients and engage. 

Obviously, you have to read your table — you can't go into the middle of a business meeting and start talking about mushrooms! But a lot of people who come here are interested. If you engage, they might say, "Oh actually, I do have a question — what's that? How did you do it?" There's definitely a sense of influencing people towards what we're trying to achieve here.  

Ultimately, it's the snowball effect — and hopefully, we can make things a little bit better for everyone. 

Juliane: Let’s talk a little bit about that and how you guys design your menus. I know that balance and your approach to seasonal and local produce, and a whole variety of plants and ingredients, play a huge role in your menu. Talk to me about how you think about it when you're designing a new menu and what that looks like. 

Eve: I mean, you've said it all in a nutshell. The menu is dictated by farms. We work with Shrub, a Southeast England company — they’re kind of our middleman to see which farms have the same ethos, which farms are biodiverse or biodynamic — all these things that really, really matter to us and ultimately matter for our nutrition and the wellbeing of the planet. 

There's research from us and research from our suppliers — we have to share the same ethos before we’ll even consider working together. It’s not us being picky — it’s because if we start not respecting what we stand for, it's a downfall from there. 

And yes, sometimes it's a little bit of work. And yes, sometimes you stop working with somebody because they change something in their practices and they’re reluctant to improve — and you have to part ways for a bit. But there's always a conversation going on to see if things can change. It’s not a closed door — what we're trying to do here, and what you guys are doing, is a constant conversation. And that dictates the menu. 

Juliane: Let’s talk about your drinks menu. We're seeing trends showing that people are drinking less alcohol, particularly younger people, and there’s a real rise in no and low-alcohol drinks. Historically in restaurants, if you weren't drinking, you were kind of relegated to just a bottle of sparkling water. Let's talk about how you guys are designing differently and thinking about people's health and that sense of balance. 

Eve: I’ve got a personal view on alcohol-free beers and things. It’s a little bit like if you go vegan but all you eat is meat replacements. We’re trying to go a different route.  

Linking the kitchen and the bar is super important because it’s one of the reasons we can be low waste. A lot of the stuff that we’re not going to use in the kitchen, the bar is super happy to use. We have rhubarb on the menu right now and there’s some little bits of trim — so those are made into a rhubarb soda. 

We also play around with kombucha — nettle kombucha (still working on that one), but magnolia kombucha is really delicious. I go out a lot without drinking, and kombucha is often my go-to. And then anything soda — anything that’s quite funky. It’s really about that link between the kitchen and the bar and being open to using things creatively. It’s a very open conversation between front- and back-of-house, because we're trying to be one. 

It's fun for the people behind the bar, too, to play around instead of just ordering a bottle of grenadine. No — come up with something!  

Juliane: Talking about health and that wider idea of wellness — being creatively fulfilled is part of that, right? Inspiring your team to engage at all levels. 

I know you guys are passionate about food education too — it's one of the core tenets of the restaurant. I know Chantelle is a patron of Chefs in Schools and passionate about teaching children. Talk to us about what you guys have done with Culinary Kids and how you're inviting food education into this space, which might not normally feel like a children's restaurant space. 

Eve: Educating children is the basics, really. This is where we're going to see a change. At the restaurant, we have two things: 

First, Culinary Kids — a little tasting menu for children. It's more affordable than the adult menu, but they get to taste lots of different flavours and things they probably wouldn't have at home. I remember being a child — when you’re treated as a proper guest, it’s a great experience. 

We had a two-year-old in here not long ago who wanted a bowl of kimchi! I went upstairs because I thought, "Hold on, is this right?" I explained our kimchi might not be exactly like the ones from the shop, because it’s part of our food waste work. They said, "No, no, she just loves kimchi. Can we have a bowl of it?" So, we gave her some — and she ate it! 

Juliane: What’s so cool is that you’re treating children like people — giving them respect, trusting that they can understand. That’s how we raise a better generation — one that has agency in the kitchen and understands food. We’ve become quite removed from food over generations, especially in a city like London, so it’s awesome to see you inviting kids back into the experience. 

Eve: We’re trying! The second thing we do for kids is we host children's cooking mornings. Chantelle has led them up until now, and we haven't caught up with it again, but it's coming back. We also have someone from Imperial College who came to do a little stage with us — we’ve kept in touch — and she's going to come in and involve some science too. 

The kids love it. They’ll have fun with food and understand things like how butter is made. They’ll have questions, and I’ll answer those questions. Hopefully, you make food fun — and maybe you create little scientists, too!  

The way we run these events: after the workshop, the parents and kids all have a tasting menu upstairs. It makes for a really fun day out. It's about having ingredients from the farm ready, letting them taste, ask questions, say what they like or don’t like. Kids are so funny — no filter — they’ll tell you exactly what they think! 

Juliane: I want to pick up on one final point before we wrap up. We’ve talked a lot about your seasonal ingredients, about working with farms, but we haven’t really picked up on your use of pulses and whole grains on your menu. I'd love to hear a little bit about that. We know these are ingredients that are both good for our health and good for the planet. How do you integrate pulses and grains into the menu? 

Eve: Pulses are everywhere here. The love for pulses started many years ago when we began working with Hodmedod’s. Pulses are just so good for you. They're slow releasing [in terms of fibre], so you're not going to feel hungry. They're high in so many vitamins and minerals, both micro and macro nutrients.  

They can be delicious. I think a lot of the time when you speak about pulses, people remember some disgusting tinned thing, or something that's not cooked properly — very chalky. Our job is to make them fun, good and delicious. They’re all over the menu — starters, mains. It’s so easy for us to play around with them. A chickpea doesn’t have to be a chickpea you serve with couscous. As a child, I hated that! We have chickpea doughnuts. We've got crispy chickpeas. You can make a chickpea pancake that doesn’t taste like cardboard. 

And with whole grains, it’s simple — just switch your processed one for a whole one. Everything we try to do either 100% whole wheat or half-and-half, because sometimes you do need the white flour for things to work. 

Juliane: Yeah — and it’s a reminder that they’re such an all-star for our health and for planetary health. They keep our fields going — it’s great for biodiversity, for the soil, for the planet. 

Eve: Yeah. It's great for the planet and for us. And the more we show there's a market for it, the more we encourage farmers to plant cover crops and integrate these into their rotations — which is a key part of our ethos working with farms. They need that. 

Juliane: I love it. We’re sharing this conversation with our network of restaurants all over the world. If you’re thinking about the wider industry — is there any advice or inspiration you’d offer to restaurants that maybe aren't thinking about balance, nutrition and health the way you guys are? Not in a deprivation or diet way, but in this really beautiful, luxury, delicious way? 

Eve: Yeah — just break the rules. Come out of the mould. You've got strong basics now — use those basics, and then break them. 

For example, a pulse — if you go to a restaurant with a vegan dish, it’s probably a lentil salad. It doesn't have to be. You can make a delicious venison ragù with lentils as well. And just simple switches — like using whole grain instead of ultra-processed flour — you’ll see it’s just as delicious. If you’re worried about cooking time, get a pressure cooker. It’s £20. There’s lots of little details that can be done easily — and usually it’s more affordable, too. 

If you make things from scratch, you know exactly what goes into them: how much salt, whether you really need sugar, and what kind. Could you use something even less processed? I went to Pavyllon and they said they don’t use any ultra-processed sugar; they use beetroot sugar. I recently discovered France is one of the biggest producers of beetroot sugar — I had no idea! There are so many other solutions than what we know. We just need to dig a little. 

Juliane: And that kind of sums up the whole conversation, right? What you’re really talking about is being playful again in the kitchen — experimenting. That ties into what you’re doing with kids. It ties into how you’re inspiring your bar team to engage with the kitchen. If you’ve got your fundamentals, your basics, take a minute and play a little. Tinker, get inspired again, get creative again. 

Eve: Exactly. That’s what attracted me to the kitchen in the first place. 

Yes, okay, you have a few years where you have to grind it out and learn — but once you’ve got that background knowledge, go and play! Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't — and if it doesn't work, just play again. It's very important to have fun, in life and at work. 

Juliane: That’s the perfect place to end the conversation. Thank you so much for having us this morning.

Eve: Thank you. 

Juliane: Really, really inspired by what you guys do here at Apricity. I’ll be back for lunch! 

Watch the full interview on our YouTube channel here.

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