Volonté is founded by two women who come from different working backgrounds, generations, ethnicity, and cultures. Their relationship began 12 years ago, as fitness trainer and client. It has since evolved into a close friendship and subsequent business partnership, during the pandemic.
Focusing on providing the pathway for people to make better choices, promoting balance and sharing energy in an inclusive social environment – Vidushi and Haylene want people to have the best possible relationship with food, themselves and the community.
Vidushi, the foodie behind the flavourful dishes served up at Volonté, graduated from Le Cordon Bleu London with her diploma in Nutrition and Gastronomy. Applying the nutrition principles, she learned in everyday practice; all the recipes were developed trying to achieve a macronutrient balance in every bite. Her goal is to make people understand that “healthy” food is easy, uncomplicated and can be packed with good flavour, and one should eat a little bit of everything, as long as they maintain an active lifestyle. Having battled obesity and then following drastic diets leading to being underweight and facing many medical problems, Vidushi understood that the only way to actually maintain a healthy lifestyle, was by listening to her own body. She is also a Great Taste Awards judge with the Guild of Fine Food, recruited by the guild in March 2022, referred to the guild by the ex head chef of Madera London, who helped Vidushi develop Volonte’s menu.
Haylene, the fitness expert behind the energy studio’s signature U360 class, has been in London’s fitness industry for over 20 years. She hails from a sprinting and weightlifting background, and also owns a weightlifting club with her husband. Over the years, she has personally trained several clients with the belief that everyone needs to build muscle and bone health, increase cardiovascular strength, and also engage in active recovery to be able to sustain a healthy lifestyle. Seeing a rise in many “gimmick” style workout classes led her to create a programme where she educates people about the importance of all types of exercise, which helps support ageing actively.
What inspired the flavours and recipes / influences you drew from when designing the menu?
Both of us come from cultures where we use lots of herbs and spices to flavour dishes, and a lot of the herbs and spices have health benefits too. It is also a great way of flavouring food without needing to add too much fat to it. A lot of recipes are inspired by different cuisines as I (Vidushi) personally love trying new foods from all over the world, and I try to recreate the flavours that stay with me using healthier techniques. Historically, our ancestors created meals that were nutritionally balanced, so taking inspiration from different traditional foods of countries all over the world is definitely a big source of inspiration.
How do the Piccadilly and Brompton Road locations work for sit-down or grab-and-go? Are there any challenges?
They both have equal amounts of eat-in and grab-and-go that we have seen so far (of course the Piccadilly site is very young so we are yet to see). The main challenge has been trying to balance creating fresh food made to order and keeping up with the quick pace our customers want. People in London are used to grabbing their meals from a fridge or heated display unit, so have very limited patience, but we are trying to change this a little by encouraging people to eat their food mindfully and understand the importance of fresh food too.
What are the most popular dishes at the site?
Reflective of our flagship that opened last year, exciting new dishes at our Piccadilly site include our hearty and high in protein Volonté Chilli Bowl, flavourful Turkish Eggs on Toast, a wholemeal halloumi Breakfast Wrap, wholesome Yogi Bowl and collagen Kinder Bueno smoothie. These are served alongside a standout mural design that embodies the feminine soul of the flourishing brand.
What are the future plans for Volonté?
Yes! We have exciting plans for Volonté across London. Having launched our flagship site on the Brompton Road in April 2022, our second ‘grab and go’ site moments from Piccadilly Circus, looking ahead to next year we’re already working on our third site in Fitzrovia with plans for a fourth and fifth soon. We’re passionate about helping busy Londoners lead healthier, fitter lives with nourishing, balanced meals.
If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing instead?
If I wasn’t heading up Volonte, I’d most certainly love to run a spin studio. I am a certified spin instructor and love the excitement and energy of a spin workout and am a fan of checking out new studios across the capital. Within our Energy Studio at Volonte Brompton Road, we have a couple of bikes that are incorporated into our workout classes. Perhaps this is something I’ll look at further down the line!