El Vino at the Elysian display calorie content on menus
Following the recent announcement by Health Minister James O’ Reilly that food businesses had six months to put calorie labels on food, El Vino, a wine bar and restaurant, has already implemented the changes.
El Vino operates from the Elysian tower with a sister restaurant in Douglas. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland called for the changes to be implemented in a report on the findings of its national consultation published on July 4th.
Clutching her new menus proprietor Angie O’ Brien explains “It took our chef two days to work out the calorie content of our lunch and dinner menus. We did find that it was an educational and interesting exercise. We believe that eating out should be an experience that is enjoyed; however, we have noticed a trend where our customers ask about the calorie content of particular items from the menu.”
“Most people are aware of the naughty or fattening foods but some people want to make an informed choice. This will help them to make the best decision for them when ordering. We know that it is a voluntary initiative at the moment but we would prefer to implement these changes now, rather than face an extra cost in the New Year, already a difficult time for restaurants”.
El Vino at the Elysian opened in 2009 while its sister restaurant in Douglas opened in 2005. Angie continued: “While the main lunch and dinner menus will include the calorie content we will need to work out our daily specials on a day to day basis; this will prove time consuming but the report by the FSAI did say that 96% of consumers want these changes to be implemented, in our business, the customer is always right!”
For more information on El Vino or call 021 4369844. The menus are available here. Click FSAI to see their report.
