The Raw Chef Blog

As you may have read in Karen’s eZine, I have decided to make the July 29th Mexican theme dinner party the last one this year.  We had previously advertised them as being for the rest of the year but I have had to make a decision that I will explain in a second…

When we started the dinner parties with just a few people at Karen’s house it was obvious they were going to be popular.  The response I got from them surprised and excited me.  Both Karen, Pete and myself started to gear up for larger events, the pinnacle of which has been at Vita Organic for 35 people.

As I’m sure you realise, the amount of work that goes into not just the food but the organisation of these events is huge, and needless to say, very time consuming.  So I now find myself in a situation where I need more time to concentrate on various other aspects of my life and my quest to become the best raw chef I can be.  This includes writing and publishing recipes, setting up courses and taking time out for further training at the very best raw restaurants in the world.  I’m really excited about the future and it all points to not just setting up monthly dinner parties, but something more permanent, where you truly can dine in style, whenever you choose - that’s my dream.

Thank you for all your support so far, every comment I get after an event makes this journey so worthwhile.  There’s a few places left on the dinner party this month so hurry and book your place on the final one this year!

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The noise of cutlery on plates, the excited hum of conversation and the satisfying, "mmmmmmmm" of people enjoying my food - it was worth all the effort to hear those restaurant sounds last Sunday night at our Raw Dinner Party.

For those of you that I’ve met or are regular readers to this blog, you may know that my ultimate goal is open a raw restaurant and last Sunday I got a glimpse of my dream.  I also got an idea of how much work is involved, but the good news is that it hasn’t put me off! :-)  I was so blown away by the comments and compliments I received that night, I really would like to thank everyone for being there and also for your positive feedback.  A few people mentioned that they would have like to spoken to me about the food and what I am up to so I will endeavor to make that happen next month.  Actually it was my intention to come and chat to you all but being the first event, I was a little bit busy!  Here’s a selection of the feedback we had…

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Build and they will come!  How the numbers have grown at our dinner parties since the first one back in January.  Last night was the biggest group I’ve catered for in one go - 14 people all expecting (and getting) a three course raw delight.  It was such a challenge and great experience to deliver food on that scale.

You can check out the photos in the photo album on this site and see what a great night was had by everyone.  My food was just part of the evening as everyone chatted, laughed (mostly at Pete’s jokes!) and generally had a ball.  My thanks and gratitude go out to everyone who came and made it all work.

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How would you like to sample a fantastic 3 course gourmet raw dinner, prepared for you to enjoy in fabulous company, with great conversation in a rural setting?

Well the good news is that we’ve been able to extend the number of people we can cater for at our Cambridgeshire Raw Dinner Parties from 6 to 12!!!  Even though we’ve only just announced this, 3 of the extra places have already gone so we only have 3 left.  Here’s the menu for the dinner that starts at 7pm on the 18th March…

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Last Saturday was a very important and special day for me as it was the first raw dinner party in conjunction with The Fresh Network.  It was such a pleasure to be able to create and deliver a menu of living foods for our guests and for me to get such great feedback and comments.  I really couldn’t have asked for a nicer group of people to share the occasion with.

We have chosen to host the initial few parties at Karen’s house to get the format right so it was a very intimate occasion, which worked really well.  I was able to talk to everyone as they arrived while I prepared the first course - pineapple and cucumber gazpacho.  Everyone insisted that I join them to eat, a real treat, not just because of the food but also seeing everyone enjoy my creations so much! :-)

All the time I had spent on prep that day turned out to be worth it as the main course - hemp baby spinach tart with ‘braised’ vegetables and tomato and cashew romesco, proved to be very popular!  But not as popular as the dessert….chocolate torte with strawberry coulis and cashew ginger cream.  I wanted our guests to leave with their last memory being of an amazing dessert, which, from the noises that were being made as it was eaten, is exactly what happened!  They also left with extra slices of torte!!!  Check out the photos to get some idea of the size of the torte and you’ll understand why there was plenty to go round.

I’m really excited about the future of these parties as we plan to take them to London which will enable us to cater for around 30 people.  Once again, thanks to all who came on Saturday and everyone who has already booked for future parties (Feb is already full, and March is filling up too!).  I am so very grateful to all of you for the opportunity to do what I love and provide you with an experience that nourishes you in every way. x

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