Nestled comfortably inside the lush Kemang's COMO Park is a new eatery called The Roots. With plenty of delicious fresh salad and vegan-options, the salad bar promises to be a new respite for those who seek healthier food and greens in their bowl with affordable prices.
Jakarta Veg Bible caught up with co-founder Bianca Yanuar and asked her about the new establishment, inspirations and her favourite vegetarian menu at The Roots. Check it out below!
1) Hi Bianca, can you tell us more about yourself and team behind The Roots?
The Roots is run by the guys of HONUgroup, Chef Michelle Santoso of Forking Clean and myself, Bianca. HONUgroup consists of Sashia Rosari (founder and head designer of SORS furniture) as well as Jenda and Kevin, both ex-bankers turned restaurateurs. All food enthusiasts who studied abroad in different parts of Australia.
2) What was the inspiration behind The Roots?
We felt like most of the existing salad bars in Jakarta were way overpriced to be enjoying daily, while the more affordable ones served salads lack in flavour or portion size. Thus, we wanted to create a salad bar that is less intimidating than what we see in the market, all the while staying committed to eco-friendly practices.
We decided to team up with self-trained chef Michelle Santoso in creating our menu, and for months we tested each and every one of the salad at her home kitchen to get the perfect balance of flavours, portion, and nutrition.
3) Tell us more about your menu creation process, where did the ideas come from?
We worked with Michelle in creating our range of signature salads, wraps, and vegan desserts. Our vibrant line-up of dishes were carefully crafted for the mindful eater. We decided to take a mostly-plants approach, which is why you'll notice that our menu is highly vegan friendly, though still including animal protein to cater to the larger public. All our salad dressings, drinks and desserts are vegan too!
4) What makes The Roots different from other healthy eatery?
We want to encourage more people to eat more veggies and that means making our food accessible to all. This is why we kept our menu affordable without sacrificing portion or flavour. We are also more vegan friendly as more than half our menu does not include animal products.
We also take extra care in our sustainable practices, not just in considering the menu, but also in our construction, interiors, packaging and waste management. In constructing our space, we made minimal changes to the original location. Our interior was created using mainly reclaimed and locally-sourced materials. All our packaging (except for our salad dressing cup) is actually compostable at your home compost (i.e. no industrial composting required, such as those misleading #IAmNotPlastic straws!) and we work with our local waste bank to recycle our waste. We also reward customers for refusing single-use waste by giving them a special price for takeaways when they bring their own containers.
5) That's great to hear! We know it's challenging to run a business, especially a F&B business, can you share what are the challenges you faced while setting eatery?
At the start, we had a few complaints on the extra charges for our takeaway packaging. However customers are generally happy when they find out they can actually get a discount for bringing their own containers. We have even had some go-food customers note down "No Plastic" in their order. It warms our heart knowing there is a growing number of eco-conscious consumers in Jakarta.
6) Tell us your favourite Vegetarian menu at The Roots and why.
I think we can all agree on our latest menu, the Burrito Bowl is a favourite among all. It's 100% plant-based, but even our keto-enthusiast partner Jenda can't resist it. [Laughs].
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