Raw foodists say the less you tamper with your food, the more nutritious it is.
CALL it an uncooking class. Over a 21/2-hour session at Raw Food Studio last Thursday evening, cooking instructor Paul Yeoh made vegetarian ramen, sushi rolls and green tea panna cotta, without heating a single ingredient.
Instead of cooked rice, the class stuffed sushi rolls with vegetables and wakame pate, a filling, nutty paste of almonds, miso and wakame seaweed.
The ramen noodles were, in fact, strips of zucchini and the panna cotta was made from blended coconut pulp that coagulated to a mousse-like texture when cooled.
The participants - women ranging from curious and unashamedly carnivorous corporate executives to already savvy nutritional therapists - took turns probing their instructor.
"Does your protein come mainly from nuts?" asked one.
"Where can you find this in Singapore?" asked another as she squeezed and sniffed at a strand of Irish moss, a gelatin-substitute used by raw foodists.
Raw foodists are people who maintain a diet of vegan and unheated food, and the new 1,600 sq ft Raw Food Studio in Pasir Panjang Road is Singapore's first culinary institute dedicated to the global movement.
The diet is based on the belief that the less you tamper with your food, the more nutrients you can get from it.
Mr Yeoh, the studio's 27-year-old founder, estimates that there are now about 30 Singapore- based raw foodists, with varying strictness in diet adherence. He meets them regularly for potlucks.
"With me, there are no no-nos. I don't tell people to eat raw food three meals a day or that it must all be uncooked. But it's good to get at least some raw food in your diet," he said.
By using recipes that mimic cooked dishes, he also hopes to show that "there is more to raw food than fruits and salads".
He himself is a recent convert. In mid-2006, he left a career in banking, and a fast-paced lifestyle filled with alcohol and cigarettes, after a spell of depression.
A subsequent detox trip to Thailand led him to experiment with raw food and he ended up at California's Living Light Culinary Arts Institute. This is an organic raw vegan school, where he became a certified raw-food chef and instructor.
Prior to opening the studio, he shared recipes on his website Raw Food Cuisine (www.rawfoodcuisine.com.sg) and conducted ad hoc classes at his condominium's function room.
Now, he holds classes on Thursdays and Saturdays in two formats: A dine-and-demo for eight people or a four-hour fully hands-on session for up to 16 people. One session costs between $120 and $195.
Between classes, he concocts new recipes. His aim is to add a new theme each month to his current Japanese, Thai and Italian- themed classes.
Next on the schedule: Raw vegan takes on local artery-choking favourites such as char kway teow and rojak, as well as a special three-day cooking course for domestic workers this June.
He quipped: "That's the way Singaporeans eat. Our helpers make most of our food, so it's the single, most effective way to get more raw food onto the Singaporean dinner plate."
For more my paper stories click here. 