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Late last year, the UK's very first Paleo-diet restaurant opened in Notting Hill, London. Pure Taste is described by its owners as a 'Palaeolithic fine dining restaurant' and its menu boasts dishes which are nutritionally-rich and packed full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, all while being dairy and gluten-free.
Pure Taste focuses on what the industry has dubbed 'clean cuisine'; that is, meals which have been created using wholesome and unrefined ingredients. And there are plenty of other diet-specific restaurants: another example is London's Nama, a vegan raw food restaurant with a menu that comprises of meat free, dairy free and gluten free dishes. They claim even its desserts are 'guilt free'.
The past few years have seen a huge rise in the number of diet-specific and raw food eateries, particularly within the capital. Obviously these diets are nothing new, so why is it only recently that restaurants have started catering for them?
One of the main reasons is that 'clean eating' - eating food in its most raw form - is gaining more media attention than ever before, and the same can be said about specific diets, including vegetarian, vegan and Paleo diets. Cookery programmes, health blogs and celebrity endorsements have helped us become more educated about the benefits of these diets, and our whole outlook on healthy eating is changing.
Mandy Saven, head of food, beverage and hospitality at trend research group Stylus, told Produce Business UK: "Thanks to many of these new establishments, which are serving up truly delicious and adventurous fare, perceptions around raw food are changing. It's no longer solely about restraint and virtue. The enjoyment factor is also paramount."
Research released late last year by market research firm Mintel found that a record one in eight British adults are now vegetarian, resulting in a £625 million-per-year market for vegetarian products. What's more, according to Google Trends, consumer search for vegan-related information is higher than ever before. This market is already large and has huge growth potential, so it's really no wonder why more and more restaurants are beginning to cater for it.
