Kakigori: London chef serving vegan Japanese dessert that 'tastes like snow'

A gourmet chef is offering City workers a new twist on one of the coolest desserts on Instagram.

Kakigori is a “snow-like” shaved ice concoction from Japan, traditionally served with matcha.

A recent Australian pop-up in Sydney, serving the treat topped with ice cream, was a runaway success, and images of the dessert are posted by social media users in Japan and New York daily.

Top chef Jason Atherton offers a version with adzuki beans at his high-end London restaurant Sosharu.

Now a health food chef is offering office workers with a sweet tooth the chance to buy a low-calorie, fruity version of the dessert.

Richard De La Cruz, who previously worked in Michelin-starred restaurants in Spain, designed his kakigori — which have 60 and 90 calories a serving, no artificial flavourings or added sugars — to appeal to the fitness fans who buy Hawaiian poke at his workplace by Fenchurch Street station, Honi Poke.

Each bowl is vegan and consists of shaved ice mixed with handmade fruit puree and is served with diced fruit on the side. Those wanting a slightly richer taste can opt for a pouring sauce made from condensed milk.

De La Cruz, who makes his strawberry and chia seed, tropical guanábana and mango flavours using a high-end Hatsuyuki machine imported from Japan, said: “It tastes like snow, not like a slush you get in the cinema... We use our in-house natural fruit syrups and purees, so it is dairy-free.

“It is quite difficult to get the equipment. Once we got it, we thought ‘let’s go for it’, because it is something very nice — it is healthy and refreshing in summer.”

The new kakigori will be available from today at £4.95 per bowl at Honi Poke Fenchurch Street only.