We sat down with Jérémie Sabbagh and Antonia Achache, a beautiful french couple and founders of Kitchen Garden, a cosy organic and local cafe in the heart of Bandra, a suburb in Mumbai, India to hear why they started the amazing cafe so far away from home.
The Problem
Among the 260 pesticides in use in India, 56 are carcinogenic and banned in other countries. Around 50,000 children in Kerala alone are affected by various cancers now. The Public Health Foundation of India attributed 80 percent of all premature deaths to contaminated food and water.
With that in mind, Jérémie and Antonia came up with the idea of offering locals a restaurant that only serves organic and local food so that they can have access to healthier meals. Kitchen Garden is an organic cafe in Bandra, a suburb of Mumbai India that aims to make organic food easily available with a big salad and sandwich bar alongside a grab and go section.
The Produce
With a huge focus on organic and local food, Kitchen Garden gets all their dry products like teas, coffee and spices from local organic suppliers within India.
They managed to take it to the next level by getting fresh produce from nearby organic farms. “I think it makes sense for us to support organic farming in india with many initiatives here. Since we’re an indian company, we like to work with the people here and In terms of the environment, we reduce our carbon footprint by working with people close by as well. In terms of quality, it’s better to work with a short circuit and we are very fortunate to find great suppliers in india.” – Jérémie
“We get all our leaves and veggies from one farm that gives us world class produce standards. but we are also not limited to local as sometimes we find better quality foods outside. For example, we get our dark chocolate from Belgium, our buckwheat flour from France because its a special crop in France and Avocados from New Zealand but we mostly get our produce in India as the quality of produce has tremendously improved over the past few years. Now you can even get cheese from a family owned farm in Gujarat.” – Antonia
They tell the farm what they need for the week the day before and the farm harvests the produce and sends it straight to Kitchen Garden embodying the Farm-To-Table concept with the freshest local produce.
The Challenge
Jérémie and Antonia had started their first restaurant 6 years ago called Suzette. Wanting to bring in the idea of organic and local produce then was a challenge because supplies were limited at that time especially with fresh produce. They could only get dry products that were organic.
“When we met the organs farmers at that time, they were unable to logistically supply the fresh produce to restaurants at that time which has changed a lot in 5 years. One of the farmers we met back then was only able to deliver the produce once a week to mumbai and now he can go up to 4 times a week.” – Jérémie
Another challenge they have had to face is being dependent on getting all their produce from organic farms. There have been weeks where the farms were unable to supply sufficient produce and the monsoon and summer affect the crops as well which affects the type and amount of produce they get.
“Towards the monsoon, because we can’t get all the produce, we change the menu according to what we have. And if there is a short supply, we will have a blackboard informing our customers which ingredients are organic and which are not.” – Antonia
They are now working closely with the farm to have our own kitchen garden greenhouse to help with the monsoon supplies.
The Future
Having introduced this new concept of running a restaurant in india, the locals are getting more aware about local produce and organics foods.
“People are getting more health conscious. It’s not just about going to the gym but its about the food. The response was great in the beginning and many of our customers told us that this was what they were waiting for.” – Jérémie
#LittleGreenSteps
At Green Is The New Black we believe that there is great power in small actions. And here are a few #LittleGreenSteps so that you can #LiveMoreConsciously.
1. Plant your own kitchen garden. Get some seeds from The Seeds Master and plant your favourite herbs & veggies in your own kitchen. Plantui’s smart garden is a great way to kick start you kitchen garden.
2. Support your own local and organic restaurants like Kitchen By Food Rebel and if you’re in India drop by Kitchen Garden.
3. Look out for trusted organic labels such as the USDA Organic seal and Non-GMO Project label. Here is a certified organic label guide to help you.
