7 Basiks satisfies vegan craves

More persons are opting to go vegan. Just ask Tunde Oladele, the production manager of 7 Basiks and More Restaurant. Oladele will readily tell you that the establishment satisfies the hunger of at least 200 persons daily.

Located on Deanery Road in the Corporate Area, the anti-meat, anti-dairy business is owned and operated by the father and son team of Marlon and Erasto D'Aguliar.

"We have seen a lot more younger persons as they are more aware and educated about healthy eating. A lot of them see their parents and other persons around them having health issues, so they realise the importance going vegan. Meat has a lot of problems because most of them are high in cholesterol. Meat products, milk and cheese also add to the inflammation inside the body, and that can be really harmful," Oladele said.

It was easy to concur with Oladele's claim, as approximately 50 persons walked in to purchase tofu meals, patties and whatever other food was available on the menu over a one-hour period.

According to the production manager, only natural products are used during meal preparation, and most of these items are manufactured within the company.

He told THE STAR that he is breathing a sigh of relief since the Ministry of Health has hyped up the promotion on healthy eating. This, he said, will only benefit the nation.

"We just use herbs during our preparation. You will never see us using powdered seasoning, and we use very little sugar or none at all. I am really relieved that the Government is seeing it fit to advise persons of the health benefits from not consuming sugary stuff and so on. We have been preaching it for years, and to see other entities coming on board will only benefit the nation because persons will be more productive and have longer lives," Oladele said.

In addition to the lotions, soaps and oils and ready-to-eat meals, 7 Basiks also manufactures bread, tofu, bulla, breadfruit flour, juices and other products.

The business that was first called Country Farmhouse began operations from the home of D'Aguilar in the early 80s. Realising that more persons were becoming interested in the vegan lifestyle, he decided to expand and opened the establishment in 1990.