Blogs
Vitality – The Journey from DARE till now
We’ve made it through January – congratulations! It’s a time of year well known for making promises we can’t keep, with ‘eating better’ always ranking high on the list. Statistically, 31%[1] of people who set a resolution don’t stick to it! Come February, those of us that have given up are left feeling deflated. January is also a prime time for fad diets and new ‘health trends’. But chronic dieting can have negative consequences to our physiology and can lead to weight gain[2].
Vitality Kitchen
At bartlett mitchell, we are firm believers that healthy eating isn’t just for January. Vitality Kitchen is our flagship healthy eating concept – focusing on the promotion of a balanced range of foods. What once was DARE (delicious and responsible eating) has become Vitality. The vitality manifesto details our healthy eating commitments based on recommendations from Public Health England[3]. Veg-centric dishes are at the forefront of our vitality menus – illustrating our commitment to the Food Foundation’s Peas Please pledge [4] and sustainability.
The Vitality Range
The Vitality range highlights the importance of health and wellbeing at bartlett mitchell. We recognise that for many people their relationship to health is always changing. And it does not relate to what once was simply ‘low fat’ or ‘low sugar’ dishes. Vitality moves beyond healthy eating as a ‘trend’ and to an accessible part of every day. Healthy options can be the most expensive – so a key aspect of vitality is that it’s inclusive. For many years, healthy eating was the boring option for taste, flavour, and variety. Something, which is of personal annoyance to me. When I’ve told people I’m a nutritionist there’s an assumption that all I do is eat raw lettuce leaves – which is not the case. I love to see food celebrated. I am impressed at bartlett mitchell, that the emphasis is on health and taste, flavour, and accessibility.
Vitality Pop-Ups
Vitality Kitchen’s pop-ups move from site-to-site, led by chef extraordinaire – Raouf Mansour. Pop-ups are a great way to highlight concepts and our amazing dishes. Our teams have proved that health and taste are not mutually exclusive. These events have highlighted the importance of providing a customer experience that increases engagement in Nutrition. They’ve received great enthusiasm from team members and customers alike, leading to high sales and sell-out dishes.
I’ve also been really impressed to see bartlett mitchell’s commitments to sustainability. Sustainable diets have been hitting the headlines over the last month. Recent reports [5] addressed the question – what is a healthy and sustainable diet? We need collaboration in the food industry to reduce the negative impact of food service on the environment. Seeing bartlett mitchell’s commitment to this has been wonderful. I will use my knowledge to continue to implement sustainability in our dietary strategies.
A little about me
I started working at bartlett mitchell at the beginning of January. I am their first Wellness Manager. I am a registered associate nutritionist (ANutr) and hold a BSc (Hons) in Nutrition from King’s College London. It has been a whirlwind of new experiences and I’ve enjoyed getting to know the people and the business. Before I joined bartlett mitchell I spent five years working in the food industry and that’s how I developed my passion for food.
Hebe Richardson
Wellness Manager
[1] Ballard J. Exercising more and eating healthier are this year’s most popular New Year’s resolutions | YouGov. Today.yougov.com. 2018. Available from: https://today.yougov.com/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2018/12/13/new-years-resolutions-2019-exercise-healthy-eating
[2] Sumithran P, Proietto J. The defence of body weight: a physiological basis for weight regain after weight loss. Clinical Science. 2013;124(4):231-241.
[3] Public Health England. The Eatwell Guide. London: Public Health England; 2018. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-eatwell-guide
[4] Peas Please – Food Foundation. Foodfoundation.org.uk. 2019. Available from: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/about-peas-please/
[5] Willett W, Rockström J, Loken B, Springmann M, Lang T, Vermeulen S et al. Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. The Lancet. 2019;393(10170):447-492.