Biographical note

Julian Metcalfe, co-founder of global success Pret A Manger, is dedicated to his next crusade, itsu... a revolutionary and refreshing take on affordable, healthy food.

itsu's delicious but light menu and confident flavours are attracting millions of loyal fans. Years spent listening to the ideas and demands of Pret customers encouraged Metcalfe and his team to build a new type of food place altogether... They call it 'eat beautiful'. High-protein, low carb salads, brown rice dishes, freshly made sushi, soups and noodles - fresh food that tastes as good as it looks.

There are now around 75 itsu shops in the UK. itsu has also developed a growing range of Asian-inspired healthy food products and is distributing them through supermarkets.

Blanche Vaughan is a food writer and chef who worked at the River Cafe, Moro and St John. She has written for the Guardian and published four books with Weidenfeld & Nicolson including One Pot and Egg. She wrote itsu: the cookbook with Julian Metcalfe. Blanche is Food Editor at House & Garden.