The West Country Café Revolutionising Fresh, Healthy Eating

Some of the best ideas are simple and straightforward. Take the selling of freshly prepared food… There is a temptation to offer a wide and extensive menu with the idea that it’s going to both impress and offer a selection which can’t be seen or tasted anywhere else. But is that always a good thing?

Not according to one young Westcountry woman. How MasterChef Finalist Kate Atlee Created a Salad Empire. Kate Atlee, a former MasterChef finalist, was thinking about dishes that are both delicious and extremely healthy when pondering the kind of food most of us eat during an ordinary kind of day - and she came up with a simple concept. One that’s so good, it has allowed her to open four delicatessen-style cafes west of the Tamar - a small chain that could easily grow if the concept catches on. And, having sampled the food at Sabzi, I believe it has the potential to do just that.

Kate Attlee

Kate’s basic idea was to develop a series of salad dishes, four of which would be served in a combined helping each day. Inside Sabzi: Fresh, Seasonal Salads That Satisfy and Nourish. Complex and intricate salads, admittedly. Not simple plates of lettuce, cucumber and tomato which so many of us grew up with. The kind of salads which saw her do so well on MasterChef. The salads they eat in countries where the diet is far more healthy than our own.

Each Sabzi outlet serves four of these freshly made salads every day, either to eat-in or take-away. And each day, those four salads change, so regular customers never get bored and never see an item that’s been hanging around since yesterday. Why Sabzi’s Seasonal Salads Are a Game-Changer in Healthy Eating. The salads are placed by the server into three different sized bowls (for those eating-in), or recyclable boxes (to take-away). An average serving of the four different offerings will contain a large proportion of the 30 different plant-based foods which are reckoned to be an individual’s recommended weekly intake.

Sabzi take-out

Eat a bowlful and you will feel full and happy. When I say full, I mean refreshingly replete - not overloaded or stuffed. The smallest “snack-box” helping of those four salads to take-away costs £5.95 - which is a bargain when a single ham, cheese and pickle sandwich from a well-known chain costs £5.45. And you could add a ladle of Sabzi’s own fabulous dhal for an additional £1.

Discover Sabzi’s Signature Dishes: Fresh Salads and Persian Treats. To grab just four of the most recent salads off the Sabzi website, there’s a Cajun spiced roasted local potatoes, New York inspired roasted garlic, pickle, dill, lemon and Greek yoghurt dressing; another containing local savoy cabbage roasted whole with sumac, butter beans, fresh herb chutney and parmesan; a third featuring an Indian inspired slaw with local seasonal veg, mango, chilli, lime and ginger dressing, nigella seeds and coriander; and finally Sabzi’s own chaat (Indian inspired savoury snacks) such as spiced and roasted local cauliflower and chickpeas, sweetcorn, dill and a sweet, hot, sour dressing.

There are a few other options, such as the house granola, or the breakfast of Middle Eastern spiced beans, roasted veg, feta and fried egg - as well as a number of sweets like Persian ‘love cake’ or cinnamon and tahini bun, or a Belgian chocolate cookie.

I loved the food and I liked the whole vibe at Sabzi’s newest outlet - the light and airy cafe to be found at the Duchy of Cornwall new town, Nansledan, just outside Newquay. From MasterChef to Success: Kate Atlee’s Story of Sabzi Cafés. And I very much enjoyed meeting Kate, the young mother-of-two who set up the business just before the world closed down for Covid.

Sabzi salads

“It was tough,” Kate told me. “We had a tiny shop in Truro, and we tried to keep trading even when everyone was told to stay home. It was challenging, especially since our whole business principle is based on freshness, with a menu that changes every day. But we got through it.”

There’s obviously a story behind this impressive young woman - not least being the fact that six years ago she reached the quarter-finalist stages on BBC’s MasterChef. MasterChef Finalist Kate Atlee’s Secret to Healthy, Accessible Dining. Was the experience relevant to building her business?

“Absolutely. I’m so grateful I did it. Even now, all this time later, the experience is so valuable. I still get asked about it a lot.”

So was she the kind of kid who helped out in the kitchen when she was growing up?

“Yes, I was. My dad is Iranian, and my mum’s British. My mum cooked because she had to, but my dad cooked because he loved it. He worked full-time, so he cooked when he could - and looking back, that’s where I learned about creative food. He travelled extensively in India and lived in Spain, so his cooking was this fabulous mix of influences.

Sabzi Truro

“We moved around when I was younger, but eventually settled in Cornwall. When I started cooking, I wanted to learn more about Iranian cuisine, and it became a way for me to connect with my heritage. I’d cook, and my dad would tell me if it was how he remembered it. It was a learning process. But, I’m self-taught when it comes to cooking. I did train in high-end service, though. I started in London, at places like the River Cafe, focusing on Michelin-star service. That was my training ground.

“At Sabzi, I’ve tried to bring together that focus on both exceptional food and exceptional service. I want our food to be accessible, but I also want people to feel valued when they come in. It’s all about community for us, and we stay open all year round.”

So where had the idea for the business come from?

“It was after I had my children. My husband and I lived in London for a bit, then moved back to Cornwall. I was at home with the babies, and I started cooking more and more - that’s when I launched a supper club. It was Iranian food, and we had to carry all the furniture out of the (small) house to fit trestle tables in. That was my first real taste of cooking for others.

Sabzi interior

“My first place had an open kitchen - I wanted to cook, and I wanted to serve, so I designed it so I could do both. Sabzi grew out of that. We started with four dishes every day, which changed daily - and one hot dish, as well as my Persian love cake, and different cakes and pastries. That core menu hasn’t changed much in five years.

Sabzi Cafés: How Seasonal, Fresh Ingredients Build a Community. “We work seasonally, which is really important. We plan our menu each week based on what vegetables are coming out of Cornwall. The menu changes all the time, but the style remains the same: lots of citrus, delicate flavours, fresh herbs. We want our food to be nourishing and exciting, but also accessible. We try to make our lunches affordable - the price doesn’t change based on what’s in the meal. We want people to know they can come in and enjoy something healthy and delicious without worrying about the cost.”

The food is so popular that Sabzi now has a range of products which you can find online. “It’s been really exciting - people from all over the UK can now buy our spice blends, our granola, and other products. We also give people tips on how to use them.”

Sabzi products

From Cornwall to Your Plate: Sabzi’s Journey to Healthy Eating Fame. I tried some of the products like the Sabzi roast blend of spices and they really are delicious (check out https://www.sabzideli.co.uk).

Recipe: Sabzi Carrot Salad

Sabzi’s Carrot Salad Recipe: A Taste of Fresh, Healthy Perfection

Kate Atlee says: “I love coming up with ways to bring a delicious edge to something we may have eaten many times. Carrots rubbed with a sweet and spiced lemon oil dressing and left to marinade for a few hours really captures the essence of Sabzi.

“Use the dressing on other slaws or to flavour warm bulgur wheat. Make double and keep a jar in the fridge - I suspect you’ll find many ways to use it.”

INGREDIENTS — SERVES APPROX. 6 PEOPLE

1.5kg of your chosen carrots, grated or julienned
Fresh coriander (1 large bunch from the supermarket is perfect)
Nigella seeds (a sprinkling)

DRESSING
1 tsp ground coriander
1.5 tsp ground sumac
Pinch of chilli flakes
1.5 tsp cumin seeds
2.5 tsp garam masala
200 ml lemon juice (bottled is fine)
200 ml your oil of choice (olive or a high-quality rapeseed)
90ml agave nectar
Generous seasoning with salt and pepper

Mix dressing ingredients together in a large bowl. This dressing should have bags of flavour but feel balanced; tangy with enough lemon to slightly ‘cure’ the carrots, but still with a nice sweetness and aromatic spice. Shred the coriander and add to the carrots. Start with half the dressing and a couple of teaspoons of nigella seeds. Mix by hand, really working the dressing into the carrots. Add more dressing if required. Leave to sit for at least 30 minutes before eating.