Popular Palm Beach restaurant gets plant-based makeover

A FORMER Ninja Warrior is preparing to give a popular Gold Coast restaurant, which sold up to 40kg of meat each week, a completely “plant-based” makeover.

A POPULAR Gold Coast restaurant is about to get a plant-based makeover after being bought by a former ninja warrior.

Goodness Gracias in Palm Beach, previously selling up to 40 kilograms of meat a week, has had its menu completely revamped.

Former ninja warrior and vegan fitness model Crissi Carvalho has bought Goodness Gracias in Palm Beach. Picture Mike Batterham

Fitness coach and long-time customer Crissi Carvalho bought the business with her husband Alex after seeing it listed on Gumtree, and said it had always been a dream of hers to make the switch.

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Crissi Carvalho is also a vegan body builder. Picture: Jerad Williams

“Having a cafe is the way to everyone’s heart, so if you can show people how easy it is to make that change over you can change their mind,” said Ms Carvalho, who appeared in Australian Ninja Warrior last year.

“That’s why it was a goal, I really just wanted to show it was possible.”

She said it was the first time she had heard of something like this being done in Australia, and said regular customers were already responding positively.

Inside her newly-converted restaurant. Picture Mike Batterham

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“There was a cafe in South Australia that changed to all plant-based milks and there was a bit of hoo-ha about that,” she said.

“Mainly because there’s no nut based milk that tastes like milk, whereas a lot of the replacements I’m putting in, once they’re in a burrito they taste like the real thing.

“I can only see what happens so I’m being positive about it, I know once people try it they’ll think it’s good and want to give it a go.”