Popular British vegan hostpot “Farmacy” will soon open in New York City. Camilla Fayed – author, restauranteur heiress, and vegan enthusiast – is importing her London eatery influence to help mainstream veganism into the Big Apple culinary scene.
Three years after opening her flagship establishment in 2016 in Notting Hill, Fayed decided to transport her vision across the Atlantic to New York’s Soho neighborhood. In a fresh urban scene, Fayed nonetheless still sources her food from local farmers to maintain the restaurant’s farm-to-soul brand.
“Since launching Farmacy, we’ve been working hard to challenge food conventions, combining the concept of healing and farming, connecting soil quality with human health,” Fayed explains.
Camilla Fayed Makes Vegan Food All-Inclusive
Fayed wants to help people embrace veganism as a tasty alternative to more unhealthy diets. While the menu at Farmacy contains only sustainable selections, it still caters to the comfort food taste that often prevent people from making the leap into vegan eating. The “Farmacy Burgers”, “Nachos” and “Nice Cream Sundaes” aim to show that veganism encompasses more than munching on dry kale.
Fayed also taps into cultures from all around the world to infuse flavors into her burgeoning culinary empire. Her cookbook Farmacy Kitchen, which forms the basis for all Farmacy meals, includes recipes from the Middle East, Mexico, Asia, and Britain.
In addition to making delicious food, Fayed tries to dispel misconceptions about veganism. “Everyone expects it to be boring, but Farmacy… has surprised customers, showing how tasty and indulgent plant based food can be by using lesser-known ingredients,” she notes.
Camilla Fayed Becomes a “Farmacist”
Raised in Surry, England, as the daughter of former Harrods owner Mohamed al-Fayed and former model Heini Wathén, Fayed had significant childhood exposure to the business world. After boarding school, she entered the fashion industry by purchasing a large stake in the clothing label Issa, which has been worn by the British royal family.
Though surrounded by health-conscious fashionistas and a model mother, Fayed did not consider her eating habits closely until the birth of her own child. “My eating habits were predominantly fast food,” she says. “Having my daughter at a young age propelled me into thinking my relationship with food had to change.”
She set out to create a restaurant that looked and tasted amazing. Fayed could certainly have coasted on her connections as the daughter of Mohamed Al-Fayed (and half-sister to Princess Diana’s boyfriend, Dodi Fayed). But she preferred to build the eatery via her own hard work. Fayed would wake up every morning at five to work on the farm where she lives. Her farm supplies many of Farmacy’s fresh ingredients. She also spent weeks meeting filming step-by-step videos of how to prepare her dishes.
Fighting an Unhealthy Epidemic
Fayed lightheartedly admits to being careless about her eating habits in the past. But her inspiration to go vegan has a more serious overtone. “I loved crisps and all the typical convenience food,” she reveals. “It was junk food at a maximum, which is something that’s plagued the whole country. And I definitely caught the bug.”
“You look at the obesity epidemic now and it’s not the kids’ fault, it’s the parents,’” she notes. With all her momentum of her restaurants’ success, she hopes veganism can help curb worldwide obesity. She has traveled so far as Thailand to help the US-based Hippocrates Health Institute spur a growing veganism movement there.
“The philosophy of Farmacy is that you are your own doctor, you listen to your body, and only you can truly understand it,” she says.
To try Fayed’s high quality vegan cooking, book a table for Farmacy’s SoHo location here.
