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. They felt so alive. I became curious and started reading books about raw food and making raw meals for my husband and myself. I immediately noticed a difference. I felt amazing: energised, healthy, clearer, and more alert. Suddenly I was making raw food for colleagues in my telecommunications job, delivering juices across London, and teaching raw-food classes. Then I met my business partner Rich Havardi and we opened NAMA.”

NAMA’s menu is a bright, colorful affair packed with fruit, vegetables, nuts, and herbs that have been chopped, blended, grated, spiralised, activated, fermented, marinated, sprouted, sun-dried, dehydrated, and juiced – but never, ever cooked. The shredded curly kale salad (served with sliced cucumber, hulled hemp seeds, sun-dried tomatoes, super sprouts, and the restaurant’s signature pumpkin-seed dressing) is the biggest seller, but Arango delights in being truly adventurous in the kitchen, inventing foods such as “Rawtella” (cacao and hazelnut butter spread), “mature cheddar” cashew cheese (cashew nut paste with added probiotics to give it a fermented, cheesy flavour), and a sweet pastry made from sprouted sunflower seeds, activated pecans, and coconut.

“In the beginning, raw food was all green smoothies and grated carrot, but now people are being more innovative, trying to replicate the textures and flavors of cooked food,” says Arango. “The exciting thing about raw is that there are no rules or preconceptions – it’s all new, so you can be brave and try weird things. I think we’re going to see more and more exciting raw dishes, full of cakes and dough.”

Elsewhere in the UK, cooks and food writers such as Deliciously Ella and the Hemsley sisters are extolling the virtues of a diet richer in plant-based foods, but raw isn’t something happening solely in London. People the world over – particularly in warmer countries such as Australia, South Africa, and Bali where the natural climates lend themselves to rainbow diets rich in raw fruit and vegetables – are embracing raw foodism, keenly aware of the ever-more crucial need to eat less meat and fewer processed foods for both health and environmental reasons. Some groups – such as the team behind the 2009 documentary Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days – claim a raw diet can have extraordinary effects on a person’s health. Raw-vegan restaurants are opening up all over the globe, offering gourmet dishes that are bursting with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and deliciousness. Health-food shops and even local corner shops are now stacked with raw superfood snacks and sweet treats from brands such asLoveRaw , Raw Revolution, Roobar, Go Raw, Nakd, and The Raw Chocolate Company.

(Even pets are getting swept up in the movement, with animal nutritionists recommending dogs and cats are fed diets of raw meat, raw bones, fruits, and vegetables instead of heated, heavily processed foods that have lost all nutritional value.)

“We don’t encourage people to go 100% raw overnight, just to add more raw foods to their diets,” advises Arango. “The amount of processed food people eat tends to be very high, and when you lower it you immediately feel the difference in terms of your health. And once you start doing it your body will begin to naturally crave things that are good for you.”

10 of the world’s most innovative raw- food restaurants

1. RAW at La Suite West, London, UK Voted Best Vegan Menu by PETA in 2015, RAW is a contemporary raw-vegan eatery inside boutique Hyde Park hotel La Suite West. Chef Nik Heartland is currently developing RAW’s summer menu, which will include raw tiramisu, but for now raw foodists can wrap their mouths around delicious Mediterranean flatbreads with hummus and falafel, a Thai salad with papaya, cucumber, and daikon noodles, or the chef’s selection of raw sweets and desserts.

2. Thrive, Seattle, USA An organic superfoods cafe, Thrive serves a mix of raw foods and warmed vegan meals – try the marinated kale salad tossed with kale chips, walnuts, nori, coconut maple chips, cucumber, carrots, and Thai chilli lemongrass dressing. The team also offers private culinary classes, health products, books, and equipment to support a vegan lifestyle, from spiralisers and blenders to juicers and dehydrators.

3. Greens & Vines, Honolulu, Hawaii Sylvia Thompson began cooking vegan meals after her husband Pete had a heart attack two days after Thanksgiving 2003, eventually going raw and opening Greens & Vines in 2012. Everything in her gourmet vegan restaurant is raw, and delicious dishes include green papaya and coconut salad, French onion soup, living lasagne, and chocolate tart made from cacao, coconut oil, maple sugar, agave, and almond crust.

4. Rockin’ Raw, New York, USA Rockin’ Raw is a mix of Peruvian- and Creole-style cuisine made in the “raw-vegan realm”. Expect raw lasagne (layers of zucchini, mushroom, pepper, tomato sauce, sunflower ricotta “cheese”, and spices), raw burritos, raw “cheezburgers”, and raw coffee mousse pie.

5. The Seeds Of Life, Ubud, Bali Ubud in Bali is a hotbed of raw eating – its lush climate, abundant farmland, food diversity, and laid-back way of life all lend themselves to a colorful, vegan diet – and The Seeds Of Life is one of the main centers for sampling it. “We combine the elements of fun, flavor, vibrancy, and integrity through raw living foods, yoga, and holographic kinetics,” say the founders. They offer raw chef training, retreats, and workshops, and their cafe serves treats such as raw burritos, eggplant bacon, South Indian vegetable curries, and raw sushi.

6. Shokuiku, Melbourne, Australia Described as a “true heaven of wellness, conscious living, and connection,” Shokuiku’s philosophy is based on raw- and living-food cuisine, contemporary and traditional ideas of macrobiotics, and Chinese philosophy. The restaurant’s smoothies are legendary (try The Ultimate – a wild medley of coconut water, coconut meat, berries, hemp, cacao nibs, goji berry, ashwagandha, astragalus, MSM, camu camu, fulvic acid, reishi, maca, marine phytoplankton mega hydrate, vanilla, and lakanto), but the chia puddings, savory cakes, and raw sandwiches served on vegetable, chia, and nut loaf are also fantastic.

7. Plant, Cape Town, South Africa Plant was established in 2013 “to promote plant-based food choices and provide a space in Cape Town where vegans and people with food allergies can find amazing food without sacrificing taste.” Aiming to become South Africa’s leading franchise with an exclusively plant-based menu, Plant makes its own dairy-free cheese and eggless mayo, and smokes its own tempeh bacon. Try the raw basil pesto pasta and raw chocolate cake.

8. Judahlicious, San Francisco, USA This raw-vegan restaurant opened in 2004 offering juice cleanses aiming to “flush the body of toxins and rest digestive organs,” and a raw menu featuring dishes such as Dark Side of the Shroom – a tamari-marinated Portobello mushroom topped with zucchini, kale, cauliflower, pepper, onion, sunflower seeds, sprouts, and pineapple, drizzled with cashew cream sauce and avocado cheese.

9. Rawlicious, Toronto, Canada “Raw food can take your health, emotional happiness, energy, and vitality to a whole new level, and be unbelievably delicious,” says the team behind Canada’s Rawlicious. “By eating foods in their natural state, with all of the innate vitamins, minerals and enzymes, you are becoming a more beautiful you with each meal.” Try the nori rolls (alfalfa sprouts, marinated mushrooms, avocado, and fresh vegetables), BBQ burger (almond and sun-dried tomato patty on a sprouted buckwheat bun with BBQ sauce, cashew cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce, and tomato), and blonde macaroons (coconut, cashew, vanilla, and maple syrup). 10. Kaliyoga, Órgiva, Spain Embrace raw food on top of a Malaga mountain during one of Kaliyoga’s Raw Yoga Cleanse retreats. You’ll be treated to a diet of “high-vibration living foods” and nutrient-rich superfoods including spirulina, maca, hemp, acai, chia, bee pollen, and barley grass. Dishes include raw sushi, cashew and cucumber tzatziki, millet tabbouleh, pumpkin and sunflower seed tacos with cashew “cheese”, and cashew, coconut, and saffron ice cream. Raw chef Amanda will also teach you how to “cook” raw at home.