A Whole Truckload of Raw Food Inspiration

I’ve been quiet for a while…sorry…but all in a good cause. Life has been super-busy. Almost two weeks ago I tripped off to Auckland for three intense days of Raw Chef Training with Rene Archner, and it was amazing.

Amazing because the food was outstanding. Every meal was sensational. Every nibble, every bite (oh besides one thing which I made, and I’ll keep that to myself as it’s purely a matter of personal preference!).

Also amazing because it was fantastic to be surrounded by other people who shared the same interest in eating wonderful plant-based food that tastes delicious and also happens to be raw.

And particularly amazing for me, as I was away from home and got to immerse myself in it.  We were staying in the middle of nowhere on Auckland’s North Shore, and every morning I got up with the birds (literally – the dawn chorus was quite something!) and went for a beautiful bush walk. And even the donkeys appreciated the whole raw cuisine thing.

For two of those days, all I ate was raw food and I felt fantastic. (I didn’t manage to make it through three days of eating 100% raw – on one of them I was corrupted by my friend Jo, who made me party with her at Britomart – although I have to admit I was a pretty willing participant.) The only downside was that leaving, and returning to reality, was a bit of a shock. Where were the other 17 people to prep my meals? Where were those magical helpers who whisked away all the dishes and cleaned up the spectacular mess that we made? And most importantly, where were the 15+ course meals??? So that leaves me with even more enthusiasm for how incredibly delicious raw and plant-based food can be! Filled to the brim with new ideas, some of which we’ve tried out at home with great success, and others which will be put into action at this Sunday’s Super Snacks workshop (read about it in the post from 25 September if you want to know more!) Thank you Rene for all of the inspiration – you are very generous in terms of sharing your knowledge and experience! I know it takes a massive amount of time and effort to put something like this together, and I appreciate all of your work – along with that of all of your willing helpers, and the other lovely trainee raw chefs!

P.S. The instagram photos were taken by me and these ones at the end were taken by the very clever and talented Tereza Poljanic from Teresamisu. Thanks for sharing your work, Tereza!