ROOTS: The man behind the menu
William Brewin of St Leonard’s new vegan takeaway ‘Roots’ tells us about his foodie journey.
How did the idea for Roots come about?
During second phase of lockdown I started experiments with diet, fasting and removing certain habits I thought that I couldn’t live without. During those four months I found myself feeling the best I’ve been in years – being completely teetotal, a diehard vegan and doing mad scientist fermentation projects rich in probiotics all made me feel incredible. As someone who’s struggled with mental health issues in a big way I found this new lifestyle had my mind feeling incredible. I felt like I was onto something… like I had something I wanted to share with people. The domino effect was in motion and this was the initial moment that would lead to the opening
of ‘Roots’ – my plant-based takeaway.
Are you from the area?
No, I grew up in the sticks, a sweet cottage on a country road on the way to a village called Northbourne, in Kent. Most recently I spent seven months living on a small farm two hours from Athens where we practised permaculture. Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. Spending time there during the first phase of lockdown changed my outlook on life.
What brought you to St Leonards?
A good friend of mine owned a property here – he moved there in August 2020. Shortly after I returned from Greece he invited me to come down and check the place out. This was around the time of second phase lockdown. And even though most businesses had their doors closed and St Leonards was like a ghost town, I still felt a wonderful energy about the town.
Tell us about Roots…
Roots offers a vegan fusion menu of cuisine from around the world. This summer we will be offering probiotic, fermented and living salads, highly nutritious food and daily specials. Our menu is alive with what I think is truly delicious and healthy seasonal food, all served in the seaside location of St Leonards. Everything on the menu is plant-based and free from dairy, refined sugars, additives and chemicals. When it comes to vegetables we try to keep produce as local as possible – supporting other grassroots businesses is so important to us.
Our Mediterranean-inspired menu is rich in pulses, beans, legumes, fresh fruit and vegetables, perfect for maintaining good health and a very appetising diet for the summer months ahead. Fresh juices are also a massive part of what we do at Roots. Customers can Indulge in one of our own freshly made-to-order fruit and vegetable juices from our traffic light system drinks menu. Or mix, match and create the drink that suits them in that moment. I hope people find it competitively priced.
Before opening Roots, I spent almost a decade travelling around the world, from working in remote villages in India where we opened a vegan restaurant with local people, to creating a festival in Greece that offered food, music, art and workshops to everyone, which included local Athenians, refugees living in Athens and international travellers. I’ve learnt that every interaction is unique and should be handled with care and love.
• You can find Roots at 57 Kings Rd, St Leonards-on-sea www.rootsvegan.co.uk Instagram: @roots_vegan_
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