Raw Food Pioneers
Raw Food Pioneers The first thing you notice upon stepping inside a raw-food kitchen is how fresh it smells: gingery, lemony, herby, garlicky, cucumbery, even slightly pickled. Like walking into a zesty bowl of fruit salad or a tangy plate of bruschetta. Minus the bread, of course. You’ll never smell bread baking, bacon crisping, or mozzarella bubbling in a raw-food kitchen. Well, not unless the “bread” is dehydrated, gluten-free, and made of chia seeds and almonds; the “bacon” is actually wafer-thin, dehumidified eggplant; and the “mozzarella” is made entirely from cashew paste. Welcome to the world of vegan raw food: turn off your oven, pour dairy milk down the drain, and put down that meat cleaver. “The term ‘raw food’ refers to food that hasn’t been cooked, treated, or processed in any way above 42°C (115°F),” says Irene Arango, raw-food chef and co-owner of NAMA Foods, the Notting Hill eatery that’s spearheaded London’s raw-food scene since 2013. “Food cooked above this temperature starts to lose vital vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Our food is 100% meat-, wheat-, dairy-, and gluten-free. It’s vegan, unprocessed and – it’s worth saying – just as nature intended.” Arango began eating raw a decade ago after witnessing the remarkable effect the diet had on friends. “Back then the term ‘raw food’ was fairly uncommon, even in places like New York,” she says. “But two of my friends tried it and within six months were completely new people, with improved health and energy.
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