The first time Adele Pilato went to Wanganui's Reflections Cafe there was nothing there that she could eat.
She was a vegan, and all it could offer was a toasted sandwich with no cheese to hold it together.
Now the cook at the Virginia Lake cafe herself, she makes sure people like
her have a few choices.
When the Chronicle visited there was the bulghur wheat salad, a gluten-free brownie and dairy-free carrot and ginger soup.
Mrs Pilato and her husband and daughter embarked on a plant-based diet last year, and were feeling good for it.
She has seen off the asthma that afflicted her for 30 years.
She said the three of them were not into deprivation either.
"We, as a family, are big on nice flavours, but not overpowering the natural flavours of the fruit and vegetables and nuts and legumes."
She's planning to keep introducing foods that will suit specialised diets into the Reflections menu. Cafe owner Zee Herdman said she hadn't tried any she didn't like.
Ms Herdman has run the 32-seat cafe in the former caretaker's house at Virginia Lake since 2005.
Among her many staff were grandmothers and grandchildren.
"I have always enjoyed it, because it's my passion," she says.
