From the threshold Piotr, whose appearance somewhat explains the mysterious name of the place, greets us smiling from ear to ear. It has a vegetable based cuisine refer to the time of Jesus, when people ate much less meat than today. Bearded Piotr welcomes us to one of the five tables and talks about the food, which Ewelina is preparing in the kitchen. We don’t get menus but appetizing-sounding menu of the day. Every day something else is offered: depending on the season, weather or mood. On cold days, all cold guests get a hot soup, on hot days there is a cold soup (chłodnik). In the asparagus season there is an asparagus day – from breakfast through lunch, dessert and dinner. Then at the crack of dawn – before any resident of Poznań even thinks of asparagus – Ewelina and Piotr go near Poznań to buy supplies for the day. They pay a particular attention to ensure that all the products are fresh (they don’t use a freezer), from trusted suppliers and local manufacturers.
While we are waiting for a meal, we have a look around. Almost every piece of furniture and appliance that you see in JE SUS is different. Tables, stools, chairs, armchairs, hangers, lamps, plates, cups and saucers, sugar bowls– are true pearls found at flea markets. Ewelina and Piotr look for old armchairs, chairs, stools and renew them at a friendly upholsterer. Countertops of two tables come from a library and still have light switches on them. Behind the bar there is an expanding collection of (more or less sacred) images brought here by guests and friends. Everything is combined with each other on a contradictive contrast and at the same time turns out to be incredibly consistent. Thanks to the atmosphere here we begin to feel more and more like home…
Meanwhile, beautifully decorated plates are served to our table. First we enjoy the sight, then divine aromas reach our noses, and after a while the most wonderful flavor melts in our mouths. With each bite, we know perfectly well that we are approaching the one of the seven deadly sins, and then Piotr suggests a compote of rhubarb, cucumber, parsley or apple lemonade, kale and strawberry cocktails etc. Freshly baked, fragrant pastries, baklava jasmine, rose Turkish delight, chia puddings, cheese cakes with tofu, meringues, vegan cakes with millet creams and everything the heart desires is tempting us. Ewelina and Piotr offer to their guests a self-baked bread. They also prepare different types of plant milk, cream and yoghurt. (They also have plans to serve vegan ice cream!) During the day we can find here a delicious soup, tasty omelets in the company of pastes, pesto and cottage cheese, potato burgers, skewers with tofu, chick peas stew and celery with jasmine rice and almonds… You can start the day with a good coffee and oatmeal, amarantus or millet porridge … A strong position is also “tofucznica”, but cashew cream cheese and pesto with radishes seduced us.
JE SUS was created with the desire and need to feed the growing circle of friends who love Ewelina’s cooking and lingered at her home. Ewelina and Piotr decided to create a place where everyone who visited them can feel the homely atmosphere and have the feeling they came to visit good friends who want to sincerely entertain them and make them happy. What’s more – they are very successful! At this point, you can satisfy the sight, hearing and hunger, but apart from that, we get mainly food for the spirit. Reluctantly saying goodbye, we are already dreaming about next time we visit JE SUS.
It’s worth keeping an eye on their actions, because they are planning to make changes – they want to expand the assortment of coffee, will organize vegan workshops, their vegetable garden is growing and god only knows what else they have for us …
Text: Joanna Bartosik, photo: Mateusz Piestrak
JE SUS: a culinary revelation
