Soul Food Kitchen burst onto the vegan food scene almost 4 years ago with promises of a delicious, plant based menu that will enable you to eat the rainbow while nourishing your body and your soul. And they have not disappointed! We had a word with Bobby Bashir - hotel owner and brains behind the SFK, which you’ll find nestled in the basement of the Argyll Hotel in the lively & hip Finnieston area of Glasgow.


 

When and why did you decide to open Soul Food Kitchen?

We opened Soul Food Kitchen in Jan 2019. We chose a healthy plant-based theme because we believe that what you eat has a direct effect on your health. David Rabone, who helped me set up the business, is a pharmacist with almost 30 years experience. He has seen a huge decline in public health over the years, and it was on this observation that we decided to make SFK plant-based.

 

What do you do that sets you apart from other healthy eating restaurants?

We are 100% plant-based, and where we can we use organic and locally sourced produce. Our menu is made from scratch in-house. Our menu is vibrant and colourful, and we like to promote the concept of ‘eating the rainbow’. We offer ‘You and I’ Kombucha on tap, and our cold-pressed juices are made to order in the restaurant. We also offer raw vegan cakes, which we believe are as healthy as you’re going to get for a cake.

 

Tell us about your customer base?

We have such a wonderful and varied customer base. In any given week we see working individuals, students, families, visitors to the city… Lots of our customers have a real passion for environmental and social causes, as well as co-operative values. We’re proud to offer a space where customers can come and do their shopping, have a chat, ask questions and make suggestions. We try to maintain an open approach. Over the years customers have become good friends, and sometimes even co-workers.

We also have many customers who are students, and often see a fluctuation in custom that matches the term times. We offer a 10% student discount on refills products, to make our shop both more affordable and encourage the purchase of packaging-free goods. This discount also applies to people who are unwaged and seniors – 10% is not the biggest discount, but we want to make our shop as affordable to as many people as possible.

During the summer, especially in August during the Fringe festival, we get lots of tourists and performers popping by. We don’t accept event posters, but do get to engage in lots of interesting chats.

 

Tell us a bit about the workshops & events that go on at SFK?

When we opened in 2019, our vision was to create more than a restaurant. We wanted to create a community hub for Wellness. And with that in mind, we invited health and wellness professionals to give workshops and events; like fermentation, herbal medicine pop-ups, vegan cheese making, food photography, foraging, meditation, breathwork, and recently we hosted an accredited plant-based nutrition course with Be Lean Eat Green.

 

How do you feel about the Glasgow food scene and what could be done to improve it?

The Glasgow food scene is diverse, and vibrant, and we love being part of it. From our ethos, and our vision for public health, we would like to see more healthy, organic food on the scene. The Government recommends 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, but we believe that doubling that would be closer to what is needed to improve the nation’s health. Food should be fun, but also good for the body and soul. And with that, we would like to see more healthy and nutritious food more widely available to the masses. Eating plant food is not, and shouldn’t be perceived as being dull and boring, but should be explored and honoured. It’s the plants that heal the body, and give it what it needs to thrive.

 

Why do you use Greencity Wholefoods as a supplier?

We use Greencity because it’s a local co-operative, and we want to support local businesses so that as a community we can support each other and thrive. Plus, they have a great selection of what we need, and use in our restaurant.

 

If you could invite 3 people (living or dead) along to dinner, who would they be, and why?

We would invite Ram Dass. We have a quote on our walls “BE HERE NOW”, reflecting his book from 1971, a modern timeless spiritual classic. Having a spiritual teacher like Ram Dass at the table would be interesting for sure, holding us in a peaceful state of being. This is the Soul aspect of SFK that we want to cultivate.

We’d also invite Hippocrates, the “father of medicine”. What would he make of our vision for a healthier community?  We’d ask him what we truly meant when he said “Let food be thy Medicine”. And David would like to invite Aiping Wang, his spiritual teacher from 20 years ago in London. He’d love to catch up with her, and thank her for thrusting him upon his journey of spiritual discovery. He says her role in his life back then was so influential in creating the soul of Soul Food Kitchen.

 

Thanks to Bobby Bashir at Soul Food Kitchen for answering our questions - find out more at www.soulfoodkitchen.co.uk