Meat free meals for all as Pontefract's first vegan eatery opens its doors

The little green bistro, an eco friendly, vegetarian eatery on Pontefracts Market Place is proving a huge success with local customers.

Owner, Deborah Maizey, is a vegan who lives by the motto ‘good food need not cost the earth.’

She creates both vegetarian and vegan versions of meat-lovers classic meals, like burgers, pulled meat, curries and full English breakfasts - making the Bistro the first of its kind in the Five Towns.

Deborah said: “I’m not from Pontefract myself, but the support we’ve received from the locals is so overwhelming.

Deborah cooks meat-lover classics and puts a vegetarian spin on them

“I’ve been meat free for four years now. It’s all over the news so I knew there was a demand for it. When I first started up, loads of people told me it wouldn’t take off. But it has! And It’s nice to bring my cooking to the people of Pontefract.

“I know a lot of restaurants offer vegan and vegetarian alternatives. But it’s somewhere people can enjoy and choose from a variety of meat free options

“People tell me they’re so happy the scene has arrived in Pontefract. They have to travel as far as Leeds to dine out for veggie variety.”

The Bistro also pride themselves on ditching disposable plastics, by serving drinks with metal straws rather than plastic ones, and not using plastic bottles.

The eatery has been a 'huge success' since opening its doors.

Deborah said: “We’re the first place in the Five Towns to do something like this. I wanted to bring a bit of the city culture to the town. It’s been phenomenal bringing the city experience of a niche, vegetarian cafe to Pontefract.

“The goal isn’t to turn anyone vegan or tell people what to eat. It’s about moderation and opening people’s eyes to a world of flavours, with more eco friendly materials and ingredients. Good food is what it’s about.”