Healthy eating trend hits Kamloops

By Allison Gibbard

There's a new breed of fast food restaurant in Kamloops. Pure Cuisine, The Chopped Leaf and Fresh Café - to note a few examples - offer fresh and non-processed food for people with a wide range of dietary needs and concerns.

But the food they serve isn't just good for you - it's also fast.

“Our service wait times are very close to fast food joints,” said Derek Johnston, owner of Fresh Café.

Bronwyn Coyne, a dietetics student from UBC who is currently in Kamloops completing her internships, has eaten at Pure Cuisine, which offers a raw food dining experience.

“I heard a lot about the raw food movement and I’ve always wanted to try raw food,” said Coyne.

But what is raw food?

“Raw food is dishes made from fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds,” said Julie Bayman, owner of Pure Cuisine.  Everything prepared at Pure Cuisine contains no meat, wheat, dairy, eggs or white sugar.

“There is a raw food version of virtually any food anyone could ever think of,”  Bayman said.

On Coyne’s first visit she tried the raw food version of a Nanaimo bar. “It was really good.”

 Other items on the menu include smoothies, salads and unique items like the walnut burger. Desserts, such as lemon cheesecake, bliss bars and cookies, are also available for those who crave a sweet treat. Bayman also offers cooking classes in the evening.

 “There’s an Introduction to Raw class, which is where most people start.” In three hours, Bayman teaches her students to make eight different dishes.

“There’s a smoothie, pasta, ice-cream, wraps, salad, date nut torte and chocolate truffles.”

 These dishes are made with five ingredients that can be put together in five minutes, without any special equipment. This makes them ideal for people looking to cook a quick meal that’s good for them.

“When you eat this way, everything is fresh and full of enzymes and, because you aren’t cooking it, you are keeping all the nutrients in the food. Therefore, you are completely nourished after every meal,” said Bayman.

So far, Bayman has had a positive response from the community, although she does mention that her customer base is mainly women.

The recently opened Chopped Leaf is another option for those wanting another fast and healthy choice. It offers a wide selection of fresh salads, wraps, soups, sandwiches and Chopped Water, which is alkaline fruit-infused water.

According to Brenda Chornohus, owner of the Chopped Leaf, the Okanagan-based franchise began in Kelowna two and half years ago and has since opened in places like Vancouver and Edmonton.

“Hopefully, by next summer there will be 30 or more stores,” said Chornohus.

She said opening a Chopped Leaf in Kamloops was about making a lifestyle change.

“(The Chopped Leaf) takes me home to my family earlier at night, I’m eating salads and I’ve lost weight,” said Chornohus. She said her restaurant is a healthy option because “there’s no processed meat and everything is fresh.”

According to the menu, the restaurant also caters to those with food allergies or preferences, offering gluten- free and vegan options.

Dealing with allergies can be difficult, but Chornohus and her staff are very careful.

“If someone has a nut allergy we can’t guarantee it’s nut free, but we do take their food and make it in the back where there’s less chance of coming in cross-contamination.”

Since the opening, the feedback from the community has been positive.

“People love it; they love the food and the Chopped Waters.” The Chopped Water is especially popular; the restaurant sells between 70 and 100 daily. 

Chornohus said her success is a result of people trying to lead a different lifestyle.

“It’s the concept; we even have people with young families coming in.”

The Fresh Café, a restaurant that opened in early 2010,is another new restaurant that caters to people with allergies who are looking for nutritious and great tasting meals.  Derek Johnston, the owner of Fresh Café, says people with food allergies represent an extremely high percentage of their business.

“People with food allergies really have no options on where to eat and we found people coming in and saying do you have anything we could eat?”

Johnston found people with celiac disease especially don’t have a lot of options.

“We didn’t used to have gluten-free wraps on our menu so we got them.” Now Fresh Café offers a selection of glutton free wraps, gum and bars.  According to Johnston, these alternatives have been a success.

 “They’re so happy to come in and have a really good lunch and it’s good for them.”

Fresh Café makes an effort to have low-fat, low-carb or, in most cases, no-fat options and, because of this, has a strong and loyal customer base.

 “We are running at about 80 per cent of our costumers being repeat customers.”

Fresh Café won the Kamloops Daily News Top Healthy restaurant last year.

 It’s something that Johnston really takes pride in because, “we were in business for only nine months when we won that award.”

Danna Pierlot is a repeat costumer of the Fresh Café franchise.

“It was recommended by a colleague at work and when I went there, I asked what their best smoothie was and the avocadoes and cream was recommended. I tried it and loved it.”

Pierlot now makes it at home, since there is not a Fresh Café in Victoria, where she currently lives. Her other favourite thing on the menu is the Mediterranean Chicken Panini.

 “It’s the best,” she said.