Farm fresh lifestyle
A sustainable, organic and balanced diet is the way forward, according to this French restauranteur
There has been much ado about diet fads and ingredient trends. From intermittent fasting to keto, everyone’s trying out everything. In my opinion, the key to a healthier life is to follow a sustainable, organic and balanced diet.
People o en ask me how French people manage to stay slim, in spite of having croissants and bread everyday. Well, all French people are not slim. And those who are, de nitely don’t survive only on bread. Croissants are generally a Sunday treat, or an a ernoon snack for kids once in a while. But it’s true that most French people do eat carbs regularly and have bread at each meal. Again, everything is a matter of balance.
at’s what we’ve learnt since childhood in France, at home and in school, where daily canteen meals are designed according to strict nutritional principles — a salad to start with, veggies, carbs and proteins for main course, and some cheese, fruit or yoghurt at the end. Once in a week, pastas and pastries are served, to show that no food is bad, but that moderation is key.
Eating healthy doesn’t imply eliminating staples from your meals or depriving yourself. For me it means eating everything — all three macro-nutrients (carbs, fats, and proteins) at all meals — in a balanced way and preferably home cooked. Controlling portions, including organic, natural produce and banning processed food are also important.
I personally still follow all these principles and strongly believe that eating organic, local and clean food is the need of the hour, for our own health as well as for the planet. Organic produce is free from harmful pesticides and preservatives, and is given more time to mature — therefore they taste better and have higher nutritional value. It’s also a way to support small-scale farms and cooperatives, which is a win-win situation for all.
Healthy organic eating and local sourcing are the two core principles of Kitchen Garden, a farm-to-table organic salad bar chain in Mumbai.
To make it possible, we partnered with O erings Farms, an organic farm in the outskirts of Maharashtra, where we now have our own plots of lands and greenhouses supplying exclusively to our restaurants. is partnership has tremendous bene ts for us: less transport and storage, no intermediaries, better traceability and ultimately fresher and tastier produce. Similarly, we’re also working closely with several organic farmers and cooperatives across India (Zama Organics, Taru Naturals, Chilli Organics and Agrify to name a few).
Eating organic, local and clean food is the need of the hour