Challenge to meat-eaters as Jersey's only fully-vegan restaurant readies for reopening

Friday 17 February 2023

Jersey's only fully-vegan restaurant is getting ready to reopen under new management with a mix of plant-based classics and exciting new dishes - and its new owner says he "would put money on the fact that meat eaters won't be able to tell the difference".

After being closed for four months, the Sinful Vegan will be reopening at the end of February with qualified chef Michael Benest at the helm.

Express caught up with him about what inspired him to take on the new challenge, and his plans for the future...

Pictured: Fans of the former menu at The Sinful Vegan will be excited to see that favourites, such as the 'Can't Tweet This' chick'n burger, will be returning. (Quints Design)

In September last year, The Sinful Vegan's former owner Clarissa Negro - who launched the plant-based café in 2018 - was forced to step back from the business "with enormous sadness" due to poor health.

She was actively seeking someone to take over the venture, with hopes that her café would remain true to its vegan roots.

Meanwhile, Michael Benest had been talking to his two vegetarian daughters about the lack of plant-based restaurants in the island for years.

One of his daughters, who was friends with Clarissa from school, saw that the Sinful Vegan was looking for a new owner and immediately told her dad.

"The island has been crying out for a proper plant-based offering for years," said Michael.

"Opening a vegetarian or vegan restaurant in Jersey was something that I'd always talked about with my daughters, but then Clarissa beat us to it by opening the Sinful Vegan and I thought we'd missed our chance!"

Pictured: Michael's new menu also includes a host of plant-based dishes made from all natural ingredients, alongside the 'fake meat' meals. (Quints Design)

Michael explained that, while he believes that Clarissa did a "fantastic job" with the Sinful Vegan, her timing of looking for someone to take over the business came at an "opportune moment" for him.

He explained: "I already run a catering company and am a qualified chef, so having a restaurant seemed like a natural progression."

Alongside the Sinful Vegan's head chef Roger, Michael has recently returned from completing The Vegetarian Society Chef's Diploma in the UK as well a vegan patisserie course.

Michael said: "Technique is technique regardless of the food, but it was really fun to experiment with stuff like nutritional yeast. It's so exciting driving flavour out of plants!" 

Pictured: Michael is also passionate about introducing some West African dishes to the new menu, such as this Ghanaian Red Red Stew served with Kelewele, rice and coleslaw. (Quints Design)

As a fan of Clarissa's original menu himself, Michael is keen to reassure former customers that it is "not changed beyond recognition" and joked that he has "kept the bones of the original menu".

However, as well as the café's iconic 'sinful' junk food offering, Michael's new menu will include more dishes which are centred around plants and natural ingredients for those who aren't as enthusiastic about meat substitutes.

The former salad bar will also be replaced with a 'grab-and-go' section for people working in town needing a quick vegan fix, with porridge and sandwiches available.

Michael's "main change" will be transforming the café into "more of an eatery" on Friday and Saturday nights.

"Obviously we'll be offering the same café-style food in the week, but I want people to come the The Sinful Vegan for a meal at the weekend feel like they're in any 'normal' nice restaurant," explained Michael. "You should be able to bring your non-vegan partner or friends with the confidence that they will enjoy the meal as much as you do." 

Pictured: Another new menu item is the Salt and Pepper Tofu, pictured here with a South Western Salad. (Quints Design)

Michael has also expanded the alcohol options at the The Sinful Vegan by partnering with Moor Beer Co., a pioneering vegan beer company from Bristol, to bring a new range of craft beers to his eatery.

When asked if he is worried about the reaction to the changes he is introducing, Michael said that he is "confident that they are for the best".

The Sinful Vegan will be officially re-opening on Friday 24 February, although Michael hopes he may be able to start offering some simple 'grab-and-go' options earlier in that week as a "soft launch".

"When we posted on Facebook that we were re-opening there was a massive reaction!" said Michael."It's a bit daunting, but mostly exciting."  

He added: "I have a really great team ready to give it a good go, so fingers crossed!"