He’s better known for serving up smash hits rather than mash and chips.
But superstar DJ Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim is eyeing up a tasty new morsel, a vegan cafe belonging to former model Heather Mills.
The chart topper is poised to take over the VBites venue in the former Big Fish Café at Hove Lagoon.
The new venue will be called The Big Beach Cafe – and non-vegan visitors will be glad to hear that meat will be firmly back on the menu.
Although ownership has not yet changed hands, insiders told The Argus yesterday the deal was nearly done.
It will be the DJ’s second venture into the city’s culinary scene. In 2008 he relaunched Japanese restaurant Okinami in the centre of Brighton overlooking the Royal Pavilion and he also has a stake in New York gastropub The Spotted Pig.
Heather Mills opened the first VBites in Hove Lagoon in July 2009 with dishes featuring meat substitutes made from plant-based ingredients.
Within a month, it was claimed between 700 and 1,000 vegan products were being sold at the cafe every day.
This week she has opened a new outlet in East Street which is managed by her sister Fiona Mills, who said the new location was more suited to the vegetarian café.
She said: “This will allow us to be open all year round and the mix of customers in the Lanes will help us.
“I’m sure that the Big Beach Café will be a great success. Norman Cook is well-known as a local figure rather than a famous face and I am told it will have a strong community feel.”
Councillor Garry Peltzer-Dunn, who represents the Hove Lagoon area on Brighton and Hove City Council, said the planned takeover would be “fantastic”.
He said: “I would be delighted if it goes ahead. It’s a very good idea. “The previous restaurant was purely vegetarian which was very good for those that want vegetarian products, but not so good for everyone else.
“Apparently the new cafe will offer a general menu which will offer a range of foods. It’s most welcome news.”
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