Vegetarian Star

Otarian, a chain of casual, fast food vegetarian restaurants which offers a menu displaying the carbon count of each item, has opened in Soho.

Created by Radhika Oswal, wife of billionaire Pankaj Oswal, Otarian keeps green by doing more than serving the Indian Chutney Burger and Vegetable Lasagna. Otarian doesn’t transport ingredients by air and will exclude them from a dish if no reliable from of ground transportation is available.

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“Vegetarian food is the most sustainable food in the world. We need to think about our future generations and the sustainability of the earth. Each and every individual consuming an Otarian meal makes a small but meaningful difference to the planet and all its inhabitants. And if one Otarian meal saves a kilogram of carbon emissions and grain, or a litre of water or oil, imagine the cumulative benefits of Otarian eating.”

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Sure, she may be the queen of dispensing advice on eating right on a vegan diet, but Skinny Bitch author Rory Freedman used to be a junk food lover, as she reveals in this latest video during an interview with PETA.

“I’m the girl who used to eat fast food every single day of my life,” Freedman says.

Veganism should be about health, but that doesn’t mean it always needs to be the brown rice and kale Freedman is getting cozy with in the camera. Veggier versions of desserts and vegetarian fast food restaurants are popping up around the globe.

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Otarian, the chain of vegetarian fast food restaurants created by the female half of the famous billionaire Oswal couple, provides a menu to its customers that indicates the amount of carbon used in creating the plant based meal versus a similar meat version.

Is that too much information?

An article at MNN, discusses whether we are getting information overload when we’re hungry, and if the calories, fat, carbon count and source of food may overwhelm the average consumer.

“At some point, having too much information might actually hurt, because it may start to confuse,” said Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

As vegetarians, we usually never have enough information, as we demand all ingredients, the surface the food is cooked on, what it touches, etc.

Seems like there is nothing wrong with providing a pamphlet of information about the food you eat, as long as it is accurate. And it helps you make more healthful decisions, as some cities like New York and Seattle are requiring places to post calorie content next to items.

When it comes down to it, the hungry consumer will treat the extra information like a spouse treats a nagging partner: Take what you need from the conversation and tune out 99% of the rest.

Or, they’ll just double check for trans-fat before devouring the potato wedges.

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Radhika Oswal just opened the New York outlet of her string of fast food vegetarian restaurants, Otarian.

The restaurant, which has a location in London, was constructed from recycled materials and lists the environmental impact of each dish on the menu compared to a meat one.

When she wasn’t counting carbons for a future menu item, Radhika took time to speak with Black Book Magazine on several matters, including her favorite foods and why a vegetarian fast food restaurant works.

On fast food v.s. fine dining:
We wanted to reach the masses. Vegetarian food is really misunderstood at the moment. I didn’t think people would be willing to sit for hours in a place to eat vegetarian food when they could spend $14 in 10 minutes. It’s just simple logic, really.

Favorite vegetarian dishes:
I like the Tex Mex Burger. I love the Biryani. I love the flatbread. I am Indian by culture, so, I love the spicy foods.

Typical mistakes that vegetarians make in their dietary choices:
Vegetarians who have been vegetarians for long don’t make many mistakes. I think it’s people who are trying to eat more vegetarian food make the mistake of not knowing the correct nutritional requirements around the carbs or not knowing the daily servings of vegetables and fruits. Balancing, especially things like vitamin D and B, in your diet are important.

For the entire interview, visit Black Book magazine.

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Radhika Oswal was a “hungry vegetarian” traveling with her husband, Pankaj Oswal, chairman of Burrup Holdings Ltd. in Australia, when all she could find left and right were pizza and burger joints.

This was the reason she decided to launch Otarian, a global chain of vegetarian fast food restaurants, with a recent opening in New York City.

The couple is the same one that forbid construction workers from eating meat while building their billion dollar mansion in Australia.

Oswal jokes starting the restaurant was like getting her “PhD is vegetarianism and sustainability.”

The menu is lacto-ovo with several vegan options and according to Planet Green, the corporate office is aiming for a 98% recycling and composting rate.

Plus, there are carbon values for each item on the menu, comparing it to the carbon value of a meat item.

And how’s this for a fast food reminder? Otarian offers combo meals.

The carbon combos on the menu save at least 3 kilograms of carbon compared to a similar meat one.

“What’s really big is that three kilograms of carbon is equivalent to the amount emitted by driving 21 miles in an eco-car or 7 miles in a normal car, and is more than the average person’s journey to work every day,” Radhika said.

Counting calories is so yesterday.

Start scribbling in those carbon food diaries today!

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Mary Kate Olsen and Ugly Betty‘s Mark Indelicato stepped into New York City’s Otarian restaurant recently to celebrate the grand opening.

“Otarian is a new global, quick-service restaurant and retail brand based on the principles of vegetarianism and its benefits to human health, the well being of all living creatures and the natural world,” said David M. Israni, Managing Director of Broad Street Development, about the restaurant in the heart of Greenwich Village that originated in Australia.

Otarian offers a selection of veggie burgers, pastas, wraps and soups with Indian themed flavors.

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