Not all great-tasting food has to be bad for you

Derek Suffling admits to over-indulgence at Christmas and takes his first step along the road back to healthy eating.

SEARCHING for the antidote to a festive season of foodie over-indulgence? Looking for something healthy and nourishing, but which won't leave you craving a sneaky mid-afternoon snack?

It's no easy task, as a colleague and I discovered when dispatched to Beaconsfield in search of the perfect healthy meal.

Having missed the cut-off point for canteen servings at Lanes Health and Beauty by a matter of minutes, my colleague and I went in search of low-cholesterol solace at Jung's in The Broadway, Beaconsfield.

A cake in the window proclaiming "New year, New You" alongside an icing sugar sculpture of a man struggling to get into a pair of jeans two sizes too small, seemed to sum up our dilemma.

In fact, I have decided that this should be the logo for this month's series of reviews. The feature's editor agreed and you can see it at the top of this column.

We were greeted by the most authentic continental patisserie aroma I have ever encountered in this country as we passed through the mouth-watering bakery/delicatessen area and up to the cafe above.

Once installed within the faintly 1980s glass and chrome decor, marbled tiles and abstract paintings, we dared the waitress to bring us the healthiest goddam thing she could find.

The result; warm mozzarella and avocado baguette for me and ciabatta bread filled with roasted vegetables and mozzarella cheese for him; was hardly straight out of a Weight Watchers menu.

Still, it was nourishing. The bread; as you might expect from a shop above a continental bakery; was beautifully fresh and crispy and the roasted vegetables were unusually tasty, perhaps thanks to a basting of quality olive oil.

The mozzarella was a little bland, which was a shame considering how heavily it features on the menu. Each dish was accompanied by a slightly disappointing amount of fresh salad.

We washed the whole thing down with two glasses of bog-standard orange juice, in a vitamin C-crazed frenzy.

Jung's cafeteria-style restaurant is extremely clean and convivial, especially with the watery mid-afternoon sun peeking in at you from underneath the shop's awning.

It's probably a good place for illicit trysts and secretive shopping trip chocolate cake binges, especially since you have to walk through the shop itself to reach Jung's staircase to heaven - a bit like entering another world through a changing room, like the protagonist in the 1970s cartoon Mr Benn.

On the downside, it wasn't really clear whether we should go to the bar to order or wait for waitress service.

There were no more than five customers besides ourselves when we entered, but after perusing the menu for quite a while, we got up and met the waitress half way to order. Having done that the waitress was very helpful, with a nice line in sardonic humour.

Clearly, she took one look at us and figured that we were only on a temporary health kick so that we could smoke more cigarettes and drink more whisky at a later date.

In fact she said as much. In this she showed remarkable perception.

Both dishes came in at under a fiver, though I was surprised to find the superior vegetable ciabatta combination the cheaper of the two.

Orange juice at 99p a glass was a bit over-the-top considering the quality and quantity.

One or the other should change if the price is to be fair.

I'd definitely go back, but trying to avoid the fattening sweet and savoury delights in Jung's must be a bit like a sultan practicing celibacy in a hareem.

Whatever.

Warm mozzarella and avocado baguette: £4.95

Ciabatta filled with roast vegetables and mozzarella cheese: £4.25

Four glasses of orange juice @ 99 pence each: £3.96

Total: £13.16

Quality of food: Great bread and vegetables.

Quantity of food: Plenty for a light lunch. More salad please.

Staff: Unassertive but good humoured.

Would you recommend it: Yes, especially the great patisserie aroma.

Satisfying sandwiches: Jungs, 6 The Broadway, Beaconsfield. (01494)

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.