TALK OF THE TOWN:
Chrissie Hynde collaborates with Karma Sanctum Soho for a vegetarian menu at Wild Heart Grill.
A star collaboration at Karma Sanctum Soho with Pretenders frontwoman and music legend Chrissie Hynde has resulted in a 24/7 ‘Vegiterranean’ (vegetarian/vegan meets Mediterranean) menu with a Michelin star and a rock and roll twist!
It’s no secret that Hynde has been an advocate for meat-free eating for a while now (since she was 17 in fact!) She ran her own vegan restaurant, the ‘Vegiterranean’ in Ohio, and even got arrested with Ingrid Newkirk, president of Peta.org (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) for their animal rights activism.
Now she is calling for more people to use slaughter-free milk and cheese. She is passionately involved with Ahimsamilk.org, a not-for-profit company which campaigns for and promotes the concept of slaughter-free milk whereby no cows, calves or bulls are ever slaughtered.
‘In her words: ‘If you don’t have to kill an animal, then why would you?’
The mostly vegan menu uses slaughter-free cheese and dairy and offers dishes such as avocado tempura with white bean and coriander, baba ganoush of roasted cauliflower, and a Wellington of king oyster mushrooms and salt-baked beetroot.
“Chef Garry Hollihead and I had been looking at the vegiterranean offering at Karma Sanctum for a while and Chrissie came up with all the answers,” says Karma Sanctum CEO, Mark Fuller. “It’s the way forward for the environment, health and sustainability and we are the first hotel to offer this in the UK. In our opinion, why shouldn’t vegetarians and plant based food lovers have a fun place too!”
As part of the launch, Chrissie has also displayed 66 of her paintings on loan throughout the restaurant and rooms. Chrissie is hoping her work with Karma Sanctum will inspire other people and places to get on board.
Chrissie Hynde’s paintings are on display at the Wild Heart Soho Bar & Grill from January 16, accompanied by the new menu.
Read more about the Ahimsa slaughter-free dairy at ahimsamilk.org →