This week we hosted Raw Vegan Italian workshop and dinner with Richard Havardi. This was our 2nd in the series following fundamentals of raw vegan cuisine last year.
Richard is the founder and former head chef of Nama Foods which was based in Notting Hill and one of the pioneering restaurants in the raw food movement. He shared how Nama attracted not only vegans but also plenty of carnivores who simply loved the food. Raw food tends to be both nutrient dense and packed with flavour - when you know how to prepare it well.
We had a lovely group of both regular members and first-time attendees, including a couple who run their own vegan café in Leyton and were looking for inspiration for their menus, as well as families attending with their adult children.
Alongside the recipes themselves, Richard also demonstrated the different equipment used in raw food preparation, techniques for batch cooking and prepping in advance to save time and effort, and ways to maximise flavour. Together, we prepared a delicious Italian feast featuring beetroot and cashew cheese ravioli, raw vegan lasagne, zucchini pasta with both pomodoro and pesto sauces, and decadent tiramisu for dessert.
We then sat down together to enjoy the feast we had created, and there was a general consensus that it was some of the best food we’d tasted in a long time.
Here is some feedback from some of our participants:
‘The raw cooking evening was so informative but mostly absolutely delicious. Had a wonderful time and enjoyed every mouthful’,
‘The cooking evening was wonderful. Richard helped cooked up a wonderful meal that was not only filling but extremely delicious, not to mention it was all plant based and raw. The group was easy going and a lively bunch’.
‘Fresh, colourful and delicious’.