We invite you to set aside the thought of bland, undressed vegetables and instead, cast your mind on a flavoursome gourmet experience without the guilt. This is what you get with the new, lighter dining option at Sofitel Hotel’s menus worldwide.

aking on board the latest 5:2 diet craze (where you cap your calorie consumption to 500 for any two days in a week and then eat whatever you like for the other five (within reason of course)), the new ‘De-Light Menu’ is set to be a major draw in during the diet season. We also think it would suit those who regularly dine out and simply seek a healthier alternative on their serving plate.

Developed by Sofitel Quiberon Thalassa sea and spa, an expert in nutrition and wellness located on France’s Atlantic coast, a series of low calorie, nutritionally sound (by that, we mean a healthy balance of fat, protein and carbohydrates with no signs of white rice, starchy potatoes, bread or pasta anywhere) and most importantly of all, exceedingly delicious recipes have been carefully developed to produce a selection of starters, mains and even sweet desserts.

Vincent Menager, Executive Chef at The Balcon at Sofitel St James’s London spent some time at Sofitel Quiberon Thalassa in order to perfect this incredible culinary technique. He then adapted this learning to create his own version of the De-Light menu for visitors at this particular restaurant only.

For example, for starters, a soft-boiled egg served melting out of a courgette egg cup, all placed in a rich, creamy (yes, satisfyingly creamy) celeriac veloute will set you scoring 110 calories and the baked tomato filled with a gloriously amplified flavour of zingy tuna mousse on finely chopped thirst-quenching cucumber tartar will only tot up 65 calories to your daily count.

For the mains, the standout item has got to be the seared Cornish sea bass with a medley of turnips and carrots and a racy red beetroot caramel sauce to enliven the palette, all at 225 calories. We also imagined the duck breast fillet coated in dry fruits and Brittany cider sauce would set the calorie count soaring with its higher level of fattiness but again, it miraculously hits the 285 mark.

Desserts of iced nougat and raspberry coulis and molten mango cake with a light coconut ice cream cleverly contain Stevia, an alternative sweetener used instead of sugar for around 110 calories.

Where no one dish will ever exceed 500 calories, you’ll be on to a fine dining winner without half as much of the weigh-in worry.

Click below to see more of the Sofitel St James’s London