Vege Oasis

Sweetness-Joy proprietors Sutibra and Amantran

And comic strip author Scott Adams in similar light-hearted vein added that a human presented with a live cow would be more likely to moo at it than to attempt to eat it’s derriere. Sutibra Gibbes, owner/manager of The Sweetness-Joy of the Unknown Beyond juice bar/café in Newmarket, doesn't even attempt to persuade her clients about the naturalness of being vegetarian or the virtues of vegetarian food and lets her food do the talking – or mooing – for her.

Her new eatery at 22 Kingdon Street is quite startlingly different – spacious powder blue interior, plants and peaceful music, a scattering of armchairs to loll in, abstract art and bird sketches by artist Sri Chinmoy. Her team of young staff serve a huge range of fresh fruit and vegetables juices and endless combinations of both. And gazing at the gaily-coloured menu boards you'll need to ponder a while over what combo and health benefit most appeals – will it be the 'marathon runner' (stamina); 'energy bubble' (vigour); 'shakti' (cleansing); 'dream glow' (calm); 'berry delight' (pure indulgence); or some other treat to stampede the gastric juices.

Then what about something from the range of madly healthy wonder-food additives – there's wheatgrass juice, spirulina, protein powders, fresh bee pollen, ginseng, flax-seed oil and things you've probably never heard of, like gingko biloba. If you've any doubts about the benefits of raw juices, heads up! – two of the women staff are sub-three hour marathoners.

The Sweetness-Joy of the Unknown Beyond – fresh is best...

After tossing down your ginger root/celery/carrot/beet cleanser you can breakfast or lunch on vegan and vegetarian dishes, all freshly cooked each day. There's wraps, tofu spinach loaf, chilli-bean pie, 'neat' loaf, frittata or lasagne – and if you've finally surrendered to your expanding waistline you can wind up this landslide of self indulgence with a chocolate mousse or apple strudel or maybe a slice of sticky date pudding.

Sutibra and her husband Amantran - a super-busy corporate manager – opened The Sweetness-Joy juice bar to offer something a little different in the maze of coffee shops, delis and restaurants springing up in and around this fashionable shopping quarter in Auckland. Both long-time vegetarians and practitioners of meditation, they have been members of Auckland's Sri Chinmoy Centre for many years and see healthy food as one way of offering something positive to the community.

Sri Chinmoy at The Blue Bird in 2002

When not preparing her recipes for a growing breakfast and lunchtime trade, Sutibra is actively involved in other activities of the Sri Chinmoy Centre. She works as a volunteer for it’s humanitarian aid effort, The Oneness-Heart-Tears and Smiles, which sends medical and educational supplies to about ten countries regularly. And in the evenings teaches free meditation classes at their community room on Karangahape Rd.

Less than one mile away the organisation's other Auckland restaurant/café has been successfully operating for 11 years and is one of Mt Eden's most popular diners. Founded by former scientist and PhD graduate Dr Toshala Elliott, the two-level Blue Bird café at 299 Dominion Road also serves original vegetarian and vegan dishes with a daily changing menu. In 2002, 75-year-old spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy visited The Blue Bird in person – a photograph from that time has pride of place on one wall. Toshala the chef is also a piano accordion whiz and heads up a women's vocal and instrumental group which offers seven free concerts every year city-wide. Both café owners are unobtrusive in their views on vegetarian food and prefer to let their dishes act as their advocates.

Both regularly compete in marathons, sleep between 3-5 hours a night and have dauntingly busy lives – all with no visible signs of stress. Impressive.

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