Acclaimed chef Sat Bains, who oversees Restaurant Sat Bains in Nottingham, has insisted that he will never serve a vegan menu at his restaurant, because it’s not good value for money.
Speaking to Nottinghamshire Live, the chef said: “You can't go to a heavy metal concert and expect classical music. It's my business and my business model to do what I want. I don't do vegan, halal or kosher.”
Bain’s eponymous restaurant is a two Michelin-starred fine-dining establishment, serving either a seven- or 10-course tasting menu priced at £105 and £120 a head respectively. Bains claims that he cannot justify charging those prices for an entirely vegan menu: “Vegan food is the biggest rip-off. The ingredients are so cheap. I want to give people value for money.”
He also said that it wouldn’t be worth the effort and research that goes into creating a vegan menu, just to satisfy a small group of customers: “The amount of research to get the same flavour and texture as fat to give that luxurious mouthful is phenomenal.”
Although Restaurant Sat Bains does not cater for vegans, the menu can be adapted to work around allergies and intolerances with advance notice, as well as offering alternatives for vegetarians and pescatarians.
Bains explained his stance on the matter in detail: “We are not specialists in vegan food and I never set out to be a vegan restaurant. The customers coming here know what to expect. We're niche – we can be niche with our menu in terms of ingredients so there are certain dietaries we can't do and won't do. I can't go to a vegan restaurant and ask for steak.”
The tasting menu at Restaurant Sat Bains changes seasonally, with the current offering featuring the luxury likes of crab, Goosnargh duck and Wollaton Hall deer with truffle.
In other chef news, MasterChef star Marcus Wareing’s £7 million pound Wimbledon home was burglarised.