It’s been 30 years since Yvonne Hope began to explore her gastronomic skills. From packing lunch boxes of vegan meals and encouraging persons to try them to now standing at the head of her very own restaurant — there’s no doubt that she has finally caught the eye (and palate) of a once reluctant Kingston clientele. With the onset of Lent too, foodies have another option besides fish, to indulge in while abstaining from eating meat.

Hope’s restaurant which was once situated at the Hope Royal Botanical Gardens has relocated to the the Pulse complex on Trafalgar Road — a long-awaited dream for Hope, who has always wanted to open a lunch spot near, or close to the New Kingston commercial hub, with comfortable outdoor dining. This move precedes another stride being made by Hope which will see her opening yet another eatery — a fine dining vegetarian restaurant at the newly renovated and redesigned Villa Ronai.

The eatery specialises in all-natural fruit and vegetable juices, soups, vegetarian wraps and veggie burgers (they make their own buns, by the way), in addition to lunchbox specials, which include rice and one or a combination of proteins. There are plans to add ‘raw’ foods to the menu as well, all of which include all-natural seasonings and ingredients — nothing is processed.

And it’s not just lunch that they do, but also breakfast — peanut and plantain porridges, plus traditional favourites such as ackee — served from as early as seven a m have also become a great convenience for their loyal customers who find it easy to ‘grab and go’. The last Sunday of each month too, Ashanti hosts a vegetarian brunch.

“I try to make sure that the quality is consistent,” shares Hope, who admittedly finds it difficult to stay away from the kitchen, since as she says, “a lot of love goes into our food, and I have to be there to make sure the love is there; it’s not just people putting food into a pot.”

And how does she come up with her creative vegetarian recipes? “I-ditation,” she states simply.

It’s these recipes and her culinary skills that have led Hope to be featured on the Discovery channel, and alongside famed chef Gary Rhodes, to name a few. In fact filming will soon commence for her appearance on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern for the Travel channel.

Of the food at Ashanti she says, “It’s not just cooking. I simply want to share my way of life with everyone else. I’ve seen where eating like this has helped my well-being, so if I see something good for me, why not share it?”

No arguing that point! So while we await the June opening of what she describes to be her ‘top-class, toppa-toppa’ restaurant opening, we’ll simply indulge in a few samplings of her vegan delights.

(Photos: Bryan Cummings)

Visit Ashanti Oasis Vegetarian Restaurant at:

The Pulse Complex

38A Trafalgar Road,

Kingston 10

906 6465/441 4312