Bindu Patel, who spent spells in the kitchens of Michelin-starred and Gymkhana and Trishna restaurants and staged at Le Gavroche in London, is to open her own restaurant, Sanctua, in Leicester in January.
The 40-seater venue, is located on the site of the former Geeta’s Krupa on London Road in the Oadby district of Leicester, Sanctua will offer a completely plant-based eclectic menu, employing mostly fresh, local and seasonal ingredients.
Changing regularly, the use of ‘wonky’ fruit and vegetables, organic where possible, helps reduced foo waste. Located in one of Britain’s most multiculturally rich environments, specialised ingredients will be sourced from reputed ethical suppliers.
Besides the restaurant's signature dishes, there will also be a Platter of the Week, featuring a selection of Eastern, Indian, Mexican or Italian dishes.
Although the cooking draws its inspiration from the best of several cuisines from across the globe, it embraces Ayurvedic principles from the earliest Brahman traditions of Hinduism. Ayurvedic cooking, where food is viewed as medicine. It Is not just about balancing foods’ tastes and textures – it is about knowing which food combinations can cause indigestion and bloating – because different foods digest at differing rates. Overcooking through deep-frying and burning is believed to not only kills its ‘spirit’, but also the taste.
Bindu, who samples new dishes on her meat-loving friends before adding them to the menu, said, “I want people to eat my food because they really enjoy it. We’re not here to preach about lifestyles and animal welfare. Whether customers, are fully vegan, ‘demi veg’, flexitarian, pescatarian or cutting back on meat consumption for sentimental, environmental, or health reasons, isn’t the issue - I want people to eat here because the really love the cooking.”
