Inside BIG sister: The Nancy Café Changing the Planet One Plate at a Time

Hello and welcome to the blog!

First up, if you live in Nancy, France, you are incredibly lucky and all of us here at VCA are green with envy. That is because your city is home to the sensational vegan café, BIG Sister.

We recently got to chat with the visionary founder behind this spot, and let us tell you—they are easily one of the most inspiring people we have ever met. In fact, after finding out about everything they do, we are sure you will be ready to change the world right alongside them!

Keep reading to dive into our exclusive interview, discover what makes this amazing, one-of-a-kind eatery so special, and see the incredible impact they are making for the planet and the vegan movement…

It is so wonderful to chat with you! To kick things off, we’d love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us about your personal vegan journey and the story that led you to create BIG sister?

Nico, our Executive Chef and co-founder, and I became vegan about 10 years ago. I don’t know if I can describe the exact process of how it happened, but I remember very clearly the moment I decided I would never eat animal products again. It was 2015, the day after New Year’s Eve. We watched a documentary showing cows with holes in their stomachs, still hangover, and it completely broke my heart. I remember thinking: what is wrong with humanity? Like crying.

As French people, animal products had always been part of pretty much everything we ate. But we moved to London in 2009, and that’s where we were introduced to many more vegetarian and vegan options. Living in the UK made us question what we were eating, and even question what food actually is. I think that really helped change us. That day, we simply told ourselves: never again.

That being said, I don’t think becoming vegan happens overnight. I think it’s a process, and at some point your consciousness takes over and you’re ready. I’m very grateful to the UK for helping me see things differently, and I think being vegan is one of the things I’m most proud of.

BIG sister is actually my (and our) way of doing activism. It’s our way of introducing people to the question: what is food? And of helping people see things differently, just like we did. Fun fact, if there was one job I never wanted to do (and trust me, I’ve done almost every possible job on Earth) it was working in a restaurant. And somehow, I ended up creating one. That is why BIG sister is nothing like a traditional eatery.

What a beautiful way to frame going vegan: 'your consciousness taking over.' Also, talk about an unexpected plot twist! So once you decided to create “Big sister”, how did the name come about?

Nico is an amazing chef (like, for real, truly creative). But as a vegan, it became very difficult for him to keep working in the restaurant he was in. I told him he should work on building his own place, but even though his food is fantastic, being a chef is very different from being an entrepreneur. I decided to help him, but because I come from a completely different world, we started by looking at the values and the message we wanted to share before even thinking about the food or the organisation. I wanted to create a brand, not just a place to eat.

We defined the identity of the brand before even knowing what it would look like. I remember drawing a little character and writing words around it: open to talk, available, feminist, leading by example, suggesting rather than forcing...And while I was writing all of this down, I was drinking from an ugly Christmas mug my mum had given me that said “sacrée sœur” in French, which means something like “crazy sister”. And suddenly we realised that all the values we had described were actually the ones we would expect from a big sister.

We had our name.

Oh wow, what a brilliant backstory. It really shows how much heart went into creating this. Given that passion, for anyone who hasn't visited yet, how would you describe the vibe at the BIG sister Café?

What can people expect when they walk through the doors?

The vibe is hard to describe. I’d say it feels a bit like being at your best friend’s place, or somehow at home. Or maybe at our place. We created BIG sister as a way of sharing how we live at home: cosy chairs, second-hand furniture, plants, and a very relaxed energy (even if the place gets very busy most of the time). I can confirm that people tend to lose track of time here, spending hours just hanging around. That sense of community is really important to us. We remember people’s orders, we care about them. And the music is never random. Every selection is hand-picked, always trying to match the energy of the room.

So incredible, and since music is obviously a huge part of the experience, if you had to pick one ultimate anthem that perfectly captures the BIG sister energy, what track would it be?

I can’t choose! As you said, music is such a huge part of the BIG sister experience. We often compare BIG sister to the Wu-Tang Clan, haha. I know it sounds strange, building a food business vs building a music brand. But they created much more than music. They created something completely unique, a full brand, built themselves from the ground up, essentially bootstrapping their way forward, independently, changed the game, and are still one of the most iconic and respected hip-hop groups ever. Their sound is like nothing else: deep, complex, full of energy, and carrying strong messages. It can seem almost intimidating or difficult to understand at first, but when you really open yourself to it, everything starts to make sense. I think BIG sister is a bit like that too. It’s hard to explain, you have to experience us. There’s something really exciting and new about both of us. And just like Wu-Tang fans, the BIG sister community really shows up for us and supports us, and we are so, so grateful for that.

And beyond Wu-Tang, there’s obviously The Notorious B.I.G.,  Biggie, for sure. He’s everywhere at BIG sister. He’s even tattooed on my arm, haha.

How amazing!!! Love this comparison—you really have created something so special. Moving on to the food side of things, the menu at your Nancy, France branch looks absolutely mouthwatering—we're completely obsessed! How did this incredible menu actually come about? What was the inspiration behind the dishes?

The menu changes with the seasons. We do our best to use seasonal produce and respect the natural rhythm of the earth. The menu is really Nico’s creation. He’s incredibly curious and he cooks the kind of food he genuinely loves to eat. He gets a lot of inspiration from nature and from travelling. What still blows my mind is that he barely needs to test a new dish. He knows in his head, beforehand, exactly what it’s going to taste like. Crazy! Presentation is also really important to him. It is brunch food, but definitely with a gastro feel. We chose to focus on brunch because our goal is to reach as many people as possible.

Brunch is something that almost every generation can relate to and enjoy and this is great way to introduce vegan food. 

That is so impressive, and agreed, you really can’t beat a good brunch! If you had to pick, what is your top favourite dish on the menu right now?

I’m torn between the G-Funk Avocado (a true classic already) and the No Egg Salad Bun. A quick anecdote: when Nico created the No Egg sauce, even he surprised himself. That never happens. It really looks and tastes like egg, I swear, but the recipe is actually so simple. That’s what I love about vegan cooking: it constantly reminds you that there really are no limits, and that there’s still a whole world left to explore.

Absolutely!

We also noticed you don't treat drinks as an afterthought like a lot of spots do—your quality extends to absolutely everything. Can you tell us a bit about your specialty coffees and teas and what makes them so unique?

For tea, we serve it in a proper “tea for one” teapot and cup set. I think that matters because it turns tea into a real moment and an experience, rather than just putting a teabag in a cup and treating it like another thing to consume. Again, we try to make everything at BIG sister feel like an experience. We use Bird & Blend teas, which are amazing and incredibly flavourful. For the rest of the drinks, we create our own recipes. Our chai is really our chai. People come to BIG sister just for it, and coconut milk is mandatory with it! The spices infuse in our homemade syrup for a minimum of 92 hours. Kids absolutely love it too.

It took us almost a year to finalise our vanilla syrup recipe. For the vanilla itself, we work directly with DIVAMAD, a vanilla farm in Madagascar, and we’re incredibly proud of that partnership.

Our coffee is from Moxka. They care deeply about sustainability and about the people they work with. We use one of their coffees that is slightly sweet and not too strong, which works perfectly with our syrups. And guess what it’s called? Notorious Rob. Honestly, it feels like it was made for us, especially as huge Notorious B.I.G. fans.

Fun fact: I make little stickers that people can take for free from the toilets, and the “Team Vanilla” and “Team Chai” ones disappear within about five minutes every day, haha.

Love that! Well, everything considered, it’s clear that BIG sister is way more than just a place to grab a bite—it feels like a total revolution! Could you tell our readers a bit more about "The Hidden Side" of the brand and your "Action Plan"?

Thanks for mentioning that side of BIG sister. When we created the business, we wanted to make sure our impact on the environment was as low as possible. We didn’t want to impose yet another structure of consumption on a planet that is already under so much pressure.

So we worked on ways to serve people while using as little energy and water as possible. We are fully electric, and we use an energy management system that allows us to keep our electricity needs very low. For example, if too many appliances are running in the kitchen at the same time and we reach our maximum electrical capacity, instead of increasing our power demand, the system temporarily cuts something less essential, such as the heating, according to a priority system.

We serve around 15,000 meals a year while using roughly the same amount of electricity as a conventional apartment. Overall, our energy consumption is around 60% lower than that of a traditional eatery.

We are also proudly zero food waste. Our menus are almost choreographed around both kitchen appliances and ingredients: the same ingredient can be used in different ways across several dishes, so very little is ever wasted. The downside is that on very busy days, we can sometimes run out of certain dishes, but I’d much rather sell out than routinely throw food away. Not everything has to be unlimited.

We also developed a very simple approach to water use, allowing us to use around 80% less water per meal than a conventional restaurant. We work directly with producers as much as possible, do a lot of the grocery shopping ourselves, and prioritise organic products whenever we can, always keeping ethics in mind.

The system works amazingly well, but let’s be honest: the energy has to be spent somewhere, and a lot of it is spent by us personally! It requires more organisation, more planning and more involvement.

But the goal has always been to make BIG sister as low-impact as possible while making that effort almost invisible to the customer. When you eat at BIG sister, you shouldn’t feel like you’re making a compromise or participating in some kind of environmental exercise. You should simply have an amazing restaurant experience, even though behind the scenes, the environmental impact is radically different.

This is what I believe the future of the restaurant industry should look like. We want to lead by example. And most importantly, our model is replicable. We hope that by showing that it can be done, we might inspire other businesses to find better ways of doing things too.

You are definitely a huge inspiration, and what a phenomenal way to run a business! Your dedication to sustainability is remarkable. If you had to pick the top three eco-friendly things you’re doing that you think every business should adopt, what would they be?

First: it’s better to run out of something than to throw it away. Food waste is still treated as normal in too many businesses, and I really think that needs to change.

Second: we need to care much more about water. In professional kitchens, water often keeps running simply because it’s easier or faster that way. From experience, we know how common that is. Just turning the tap off whenever you can sounds incredibly basic, but trust me, it makes a real difference.

And third: be as mindful of the energy you spend as you are of the money you spend. Micro-managing energy use is actually quite simple. How much energy does a piece of kitchen equipment use? Do we really need that equipment Does it need to be running all the time?

At the end of the day, these are very basic things, but together they help us keep our electricity needs below 12 kVA.

Truly extraordinary. We are also very excited to hear about "BIG Sister Speak"! It’s amazing to see your growth—what is that all about?

Oh, thank you! This is very new. I’m trying to find new ways to share more of our story, our energy and our vibe.

I really love connecting with our community, telling our story and hearing theirs too. And people are genuinely curious about us, about BIG sister, about veganism, about what’s next, or sometimes they just want a playlist, a music recommendation or a recipe idea. 

I’m trying to find the best way to share as much as I can with everyone, and Substack felt like a place where I could speak more freely and go a little deeper. 

Hopefully I’ll manage to stay consistent with it! It’s another task I’m adding to an already very busy schedule, but I’m really committed to sharing more with the community because I know how enthusiastic and supportive everyone is and I’m so grateful for it. I’ve also started sending voice notes, which people seem to really love, and I’d love to do more of that too.

During service, I don’t always have the time to go as deep into conversations as I would like to, so BIG Sister Speak is also a way of continuing those conversations outside the restaurant.

It really is wonderful to see that kind of passion and commitment! Talking of your schedule, as a busy founder running a successful movement, what does your own ultimate, dream day off look like when you aren't working?

You said dream day off, so definitely a day in the middle of the Californian desert, birdwatching, eating fresh food and drinking iced coffee, so cliché, I know. I really need emptiness. I crave time completely alone and being surrounded by nature. That’s how Nico and I recharge. We haven’t been able to travel much recently, and I feel like I need to start investing more in our wellbeing. Still learning, you know.

A less dreamy version of a day off would simply be spending the day with my nephews and niece, watching a movie, eating vegan lasagna and listening to their stories. I’m extremely close to my family, they mean everything to me. Being an aunt makes me almost as proud as being vegan, maybe.

Awww, that is lovely! 

Okay, now we have to ask the big question on everyone's mind... When is the London branch opening? Fingers crossed it’s very soon!

I don’t know yet, to be honest. We’ve been struggling to find the right place.

We’re incredibly grateful because some amazing people are helping us along the way, shout out to John A. from Westminster City Council, who is always vouching for us, as well as the brilliant team of women at Someday Studios!

But being based in Nancy, France, while looking for a space in the UK is tricky. It can be difficult to make such a big decision from another country, and finding the right space really matters to us.

We’re hoping for the end of this year or early next year if everything goes well. Fingers crossed, I’ll need your help manifesting it! 

I’ll keep everyone updated via the BIG sister’s speak page and social media of course.. 

We will definitely help in any way we can! On that note, apart from coming in for a meal or a coffee, what can we all do to best back your initiative and support the positive influence you're having?

This is so kind of you to ask. Honestly, simply talking about us already means a lot. Sharing the word out there. 

Receiving the Vegan Choice Award is amazing, and we feel incredibly grateful for the recognition. It will really help us spread the word about BIG sister and give more visibility to all the hard work and commitment behind what we do.

So truly, talking about us, sharing what we do and helping more people discover BIG sister already makes a huge difference.

Thank you, really.

Trust me, we won’t ever stop praising or talking about BIG sister! It’s you we should be thanking <3 

Lastly, what does the future hold for the movement? And most importantly, where can our readers find you, in person and online, to keep up with your journey?

Our goal is to fight the clichés and show what veganism truly is. I truly believe the future is vegan, and I hope BIG sister can be one of the paths towards that future. Building a big BIG sister in London is our next step. It takes time; nowadays, nothing is easy anymore, but we won’t give up. We have a cookbook almost ready as well, where we give all our secrets, but we are now focusing on finding the right place in London.

No matter what people may say, I can already feel that the word “vegan” is slowly losing some of the negativity that used to surround it. We are working so hard on that. Experiences like BIG sister, and brands like La Vie or THIS™, are showing that veganism can actually be very exciting. And I think that will make a huge difference for new generations.

I believe lasting change comes from the bottom up, not the other way around, and I hope the BIG sister community will lead by example, or at the very least inspire people to see things differently. Keep bringing your family to BIG sister, we’ll take such good care of them. Our clientele is 80% non-vegan, and that is my most successful story. We want to demystify veganism and make it the norm.

To support us, learn more about us, write to us or simply follow the journey, Instagram is probably the best place. I’m very active on social media and I make sure to reply to everyone. Our website is also full of information, and now we have BIG sister Speak on Substack too.

And stay tuned, because hopefully I’ll have some exciting news to share very soon.

Exciting news! We can't wait! 

A huge thank you to the incredible founder of BIG Sister café for taking the time to chat with us and for inspiring us all. 

Now, go show them some love! Spread the word, and head over to their Instagram, website, and Substack to follow their journey, look out for the new cookbook, and catch every single bit of the adventure!