THIRTY jobs are to be created with the opening of a restaurant in south Belfast.
Slims Healthy Kitchen on the Lisburn Road aims to change eating habits, serving only "feel good healthy food".
Restaurateur Gary McIldowney has invested £200,000 in the new venture after reducing his body weight of 24 stone by almost half through healthy eating and exercising picking up the pseudonym Slim along the way.
"I love eating out but I couldn't find anywhere that served really tasty healthy food and that's where the idea of Slims Healthy Kitchen came about," he said.
"In today's modern era we are overwhelmed with busy lifestyles and deadlines, con sequently both the time and desire to prepare food ourselves is limited or quite simply doesn't exist. As a result we commonly resort to highly processed convenience meals, take away food and snacks as our main form of nourishment. Healthy food shouldn't and doesn't have to be boring and that's the ethos behind Slims Healthy Kitchen."
The restaurant will be open from early morning and throughout the day to 10pm.
"All our food is freshly prepared and made on the premises using simple ingredients and where possible local. Our chips are made with low cholesterol oil so you don't have to worry about saturated fats and everything is made in house, so there's no additives or preservatives," Mr McIldowney said.
The restaurant is aiming to target those who want to eat healthily, get in shape or simply try an alternative to junk food.