Bagelman is back and on a mission to bring kosher food to the masses.

Julian Engelsman has been making the snack for more than ten years and is about to add to his Bagelman delis in Bond Street, Brighton, and on Sussex University Campus, with a 50-seat kosher restaurant in Church Road, Hove.

The business will be unique as it will only serve kosher-style food, so items like shellfish, bacon and ham will be off the menu.

Instead, customers will be able to enjoy traditional delicacies such as hot salt beef, classic chicken soup - known as Jewish penicillin - potato latkes and felafel in pitta bread.

Despite studying sculpture at Brighton University, Julian went into the business because he could not shake off the sights and smells of Sunday morning trips to the delis and bakeries of London's East End.

Setting up a mini-deli on campus seemed the perfect way to fund his way through the course while satisfying his passion for all things culinary.

Little did he know that a money-making sideline was to grow into Sussex's only dedicated bagel factory.

Julian, 41, said: "As a sculptor, I used to make things out of bread.

"When I finished university I rented a studio in Brighton to continue as a sculptor.

"But people kept coming up to me and asking if I could carry on making the bagels, so I decided to start the business.

"It is all slightly surreal and I certainly wouldn't have dreamt it when I first came to Brighton. Fate is a funny thing."

Julian's background nurtured a love for food.

He said: "I was virtually raised on bagels, salt beef sandwiches, smoked salmon and pickled cucumbers.

"Trying such exotic foods with such strong tastes made a real impression on me and coming from a Jewish background also had a big effect, as they traditionally have a passion for food."

Julian said Brighton and Hove was the perfect place to kick-start a new bout of bagelmania.

He said: "It's extremely cosmopolitan for such a small city and people are as open to new things here as they are in London.

"Bagels are perceived as a trendy food but the bagel has a very long history.

"People also think it's an American thing but there have been bakeries in England for a long time too."

Julian said the secret to his success lay in giving his bagels some substance.

He said: "A lot of bagel places are just bakeries but we have also worked hard on interesting fillings."

Friday March 28 2003