Food and Drink

THERE can hardly be a more relaxing or sophisticated dining venue in Chertsey town centre than 163 Chertsey Kitchen.

The eatery, in the heart of Windsor Street, is a food venue with a difference. Classic English and Oriental food is served with a twist in settings far removed from the bustling street two floors below.

I visited the restaurant and bar last week and tried out a couple of its main courses to see if the food matched the ambience. And I can say without doubt that it did.

The dishes my fellow diner and I chose to sample were the pan-fried sea bass with roast fennel rosemary and saute potatoes served with a salsa verde and and a Thai red swordfish and prawn curry with fragrant rice.

SO there we go, it's nearly over. In three hours time, I am officially no longer a vegetarian ... and I'm pretty happy about it.

I've spent the past seven days avoiding meat in support of National Vegetarian Week 2010.

I've gone for salads instead of burgers, roasted vegetable risottos instead of carbonaras and apples instead of fish sushi. And am I happier ..? Well, I can't honestly say I am.

On the one hand, I feel 100 per cent healthier. I feel slimmer, less lethargic and more sprightly but I can't honestly put that down to not eating meat; it's because I had a better diet.

It's the end of the week and, after my initial high hopes of getting through seven days in "veggie mode", I'm now feeling the pain.

On Monday, I had couscous with roasted green vegetables; on Tuesday I had nachos because the restaurant I visited had fewer veggie options than my local butcher's shop; Wednesday was pasta with roasted veg again and, now it's Friday, I'm actually crying out for meat.

It's hard to put into words - particularly on a family newspaper website - but I now really feel that I need meat.

Three days into my life of a vegetarian and I am feeling good.

I've avoided my usual takeaway haunts and I've kept 100 per cent to the "green" way of life.

Today, however, I've had to overcome my first major obstacle ... snacking.

Now, I am happy to admit that I am your typical office grazer. Up and down from my seat every hour I'm at work, I'm always eating something and this causes problems when you are keeping away from meat and meat products.

A trip to the supermarket checkout was halted when I realised (just in time) that my sushi was fish and not vegetarian-based while even a hunt for more "fun" snacks raised a number of issues.
Sweets were suddenly a no-no for me (I'm not allowed gelatin this week) and even such things as cakes had me fumbling over the ingredients to check I wasn't breaking the rules.
And then there was yet another problem when I returned home and just wanted a small, evening meal.
Any other week, I'd have cracked open the bacon, put in a jacket potato, added a sausage and gone to town, but not this week.
Instead, I went back to my green vegetables and had pretty much the same meal I had on Monday. The variety, for me, just wasn't there.
This could cause me problems in the coming few days. Am I heading for a repalse ... only time will tell.