The Top 10 Gourmet Raw Food Chefs

THE BEST OF THE BEST GOURMET RAW CHEFS

These guys (and gals) are my absolute favorites, and when we asked you, you actually chose a lot of the same folks too! Do you agree? Who are your top choices? If you want to add to the list, let us know in the comments!!
 

1: Russell James

Can I just tell you, I LOVE RUSSELL JAMES’ FOOD! It’s so beautiful. Truly. I’ll be honest and tell you that I usually only make his recipes when I have a lot of time on my hands, but when I do, every single time, without fail, the recipe is divine.

Just, divine.

In fact, when I was only a couple years into my food journey (this was in 2008), I flew to the United Kingdom just to take a class with him. And I felt it was worth every penny to indulge.

Website: {http://therawchef.com/}
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The international flavor of Omid’s raw food creations is sooo inspiring. I feel like I’m traveling all around the world with his food. Truly. And it’s SO GORGEOUS!!

Website: {http://botanicalcuisine.com/}
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One word: cupcakes. (Her cupcakes are out of this world. But you probably guessed that.) Natalia’s food is not always gourmet, but it always feels gourmet. I was so very pleased when she partnered with us at Uncooking 101, and you can find Natalia KW’s recipes from that delightful week right here.

Website: {http://www.nataliakw.com/}
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Chad, oh Chad. He’s seriously just beyond amazing when it comes to blending flavors and making gourmet foods that feel absurdly indulgent. He’s another one I would travel to attend class with in a heartbeat. I went to London to learn from him at SAF (his restaurant) several years ago and learned more in a short time than I had in any class, to date.

Anything you find him involved with, or any class he teaches (it’s not too often these days) would be worth it. Without a doubt!

Website: {http://rawchef.com/}
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While she does have some simpler recipes too (let’s face it, with all the uncookbooks and experience she has, she has some of eeeeverything at this point!)… Ani’s take on gourmet foods is such a pleasure. One of my first uncookbooks was her “Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen” and I still recommend it as a great starting point, with finesse!

Website: {http://aniphyo.com/}
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Oh, my, GOLUBKA. “Golubka” is actually not “her/their” name, but it’s how we refer to this mother-daughter team. Every creation, every dish, every photograph, every everything is pure artistry. It has so much soul, so much color, so much of everything good in this world.

I was over the moon (you have no idea) when these amazing women wanted to partner with us, and you can find seven days of Golubka’s raw food treasures here.

Website: {http://g0lubka.blogspot.com/}
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Owner of the Matthew Kenney Academy and Restaurant (formerly 105 Degrees), along with the amazing Cafe 118 in Orlando, Matthew Kenney is really taking the raw food world (get it?) by storm. Even though I don’t “need” to, it would be a dream to take classes with him.

Anyone out there been to classes at the Matthew Kenney Academy? I hear nothing but love from their students, which is really no surprise of course!

Website: {http://www.matthewkenneycuisine.com/}
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One Lucky Duck. Gorgeous, stylish, funky… she brings her pizzazz to the food and the environment. She’s the co-founder of Pure Food & Wine (which is pretty much THE place to go in NYC for raw foods if you want to indulge), the creator of the fun “One Lucky Duck” enterprise of sorts, etc. etc. etc.

And really… She’s Sarma Melngailis, but simply “Sarma” is enough to imagine her and her food.

Website: {http://www.oneluckyduck.com/}
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I don’t remember how I found Cristina, but it was a ways back, and I remember that possibly even hours passed of me soaking in the photography on her site. Which really means the food. It was all so… special… beautiful… amazing.

And it turns out her recipes are also really darn good. I’ve made a bunch of them, and I’ve been pleased each time. Actually, one in particular (her stuffed heirloom tomatoes, I’ve made MULTIPLE times. You can find Cristina’s week of artistry right here. Just make sure you have some time to peruse. I’m just sayin’.

Website: {http://rawfoodartist.com/}
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You know, I was actually only very recently introduced to Doug McNish. It was really really hard to choose this final chef because so many folks are so amazing at making gourmet raw food. But the more I saw of Doug’s work, the more it became clear that I had no choice but to include him on The List.

Not only is he super inspiring (he lost 100 pounds with this diet!), the way he introduces raw food and veganism to others really resonates with me. I really think he’s one to look out for.

Website: {http://www.dougmcnish.com/}
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