ABOUT RUSSELL

Hi, I’m Russell and I'm working and training as a Raw Chef in the UK.

My Story...

I first came across raw foods in Koh Samui, Thailand, when I was on a 7 day detox fast at Spa Samui. I was on day 5 of the fast and can remember sitting in the beach-side restaurant reading a raw recipe book from their library. Now, it may have been the fact that I hadn't eaten for 5 days but I was amazed by the recipes in there. One that particularly grabbed my attention was simply mango and avocado mixed together. It's strange but I was really blown away that you could do that with mangoes and avos! I read a description in that book of what raw food is and why it is beneficial, it made so much sense and I had one of those life-defining moments, an epiphany.

From that moment on I was hooked, when I got home I went straight for the organic section at my local supermarket. I was already into juicing and Jason Vale’s books before I went to Samui, and to be honest I still think juicing is one of the best entry points to a healthier lifestyle. That was 2 years ago and since then I’ve been back twice! Samui will always hold a special place in my heart since it was there that I not only decided to eat raw but also that I realised I wanted to bring this food to others as a raw chef.

I started reading books on raw food and getting all the information I could. I actually started to get a bit overwhelmed and had to chill out a bit. It was at that time I was taking some serious abuse from people about how much weight I was losing and how stupid I was for spending all my money on organic food. This was from people that would spend double my weekly food bill on beer on a Saturday night out! Have you ever noticed that when you try to make a change for the better in your life there's an abundance of people ready to tell you why you shouldn't do it? The people I worked with at the time actually thought I had an eating disorder, they said that I was losing too much weight and in between mouthfuls of pizza and chips would tell me how they thought I wasn't getting all the nutrients my body needed! I found it incredible that they could be so concerned about me but not even think twice about what they were putting into their own mouths.

Lunch times at work became 'question time with Russell', I would get asked on a daily basis, "what the hell have you got today?" That was when I was taking in a salad, you should have seen the circus that formed when I brought in the raw burgers. I knew I was onto something from the way I felt and looked so I just kept on doing it. I started eating my lunch outside, in the car by the harbour or anywhere that meant I could just eat in peace! That actually didn't help much because no one ever saw me eat which made them think that I’d given up food completely! It's so funny now I look back on it.

I'm not around those people regularly anymore but once they realised I wasn't going through a phase and wasn't going to 'change back' some of them actually started to accept it and even told me how they respected me for it, that was a great feeling.

It's at that point that you're expected to be perfect. I was nearly arrested by the Food Police several times for crimes against healthy eating (I think I was 'caught' in the staff restaurant eating a salad with mayo on one occasion and eating a sandwich on another) and regularly heard, “but you’re not allowed that are you?”

As I said, I just kept going and fuelled myself, not just on the food, but on fascinating stories I heard about people eating raw and finding that wonderful synchronistic events would happen that took them closer to the life they wanted to live. I’ve always been interested in success and improving myself to have all the things and experiences I dream about, so I decided it would be a great experiment to see what happens.

Since then I have made clear my intention to be a raw chef and have trained as a kitchen Apprentice at the World’s leading raw food culinary arts school - Living Light International . It was on return from that trip that I had an email from The Fresh Network  waiting for me, inviting me to work with them to create some ‘raw goings-on’. That offer has lead to me moving to Cambridgeshire and being part of the hugely successful Raw Dinner Parties.

ON THE WEB

I maintain several sites that serve different purposes and will enable to you get the bits of me that you're looking for and leave the rest out!  You can navigate to my different sites from the top bar or from the sidebar on the left.  Here's a brief description of each...First up is my main and original site The Raw Chef Blog I started this site in October 2005 with the intention of charting my progress from Driving Instructor to Raw Food Chef.  I've written some quite personal posts which were perhaps a little 'off topic', which I've decided to leave in.  However, I now concentrate on all things raw and my general observations, thoughts, feelings and raw food news.

Second is my newly-formed personal journal which is more for friends and family to keep up with my manoeuvres' and keep in contact.  This probably won't appeal to anyone who isn't interested in weather or not I've bought a new sofa!

My main website - The Raw Chef.com is under construction and will be luxurious and decadent.  There'll be loads of photos on there, including some recipes and tips.  You'll also be able to buy my products such as ebooks and see a list of my services.

MY MOTIVATION

After discovering raw food and the benefits it can have on my health and the way I look and feel, my immediate desire was to bring it to as many people as possible.

My motivation to become a raw chef was born out of my experiences when ‘going raw’. I love eating out and I love socialising but there seemed to be very few options for doing either of these when living this lifestyle. I was also shocked how strongly people reacted to my decision to eat this way.

I also have a desire to provide food and recipes that really showcase raw food and all the amazing textures and flavours that can be created.  It really is the ultimate way of eating dairy free, gluten free, no refined sugars or salts and list goes on...

Thanks for visiting and I hope you find something to inspire and help you.