The Fresh Network Blog

Daylesford Organic adds raw dishes to its menu

Daylesford Organic is one of the UK's leading suppliers of gourmet organic goods, with a cafe and farm shop in Gloucestershire, another in London, and its own swanky department in several leading stores including Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Planet Organic.

It is nothing if not 'traditional' in the fare it offers, so I have not linked to the website as I assume that readers of this blog will not be interested in the sausages, breads, cheeses, marmalades and chutneys on sale, nor in the recipe section which reads like the menu of the Savoy Grill.

But to their credit, the choices at Daylesford's Gloucestershire cafe are not only coded to help diners easily identify dishes which are vegetarian, vegan and wheat free, but also to denote a series of all-raw options! When we saw a recent menu, the raw vegan choices included a Raw Beetroot, Ginger and Honey Soup, a Quinoa Tabbouleh with Flax Seed Crackers, a Thai Cabbage Salad, and a Seasonal Fruit Plate with Honey and Ginger Syrup and Quince Sorbet. We can't vouch for the quality of the food as we have yet to try it, but we hear it is well worth stopping off at if you are ever nearby.

Could this be the start of a trend towards all "good" restaurants (i.e. those that at least prepare their dishes from scratch using fresh ingredients) starting to offer a raw option or four? As exciting as it is to see the growth of all-raw restaurants, what will really change the world is healthy, sustainable choices moving beyond these narrow confines into mainstream establishments everywhere.

As someone who dines out a lot in "normal" restaurants, I for one will rejoice when it is possible to stay raw while enjoying something more exciting than an uninspired house salad. And when these choices are available not only to those of us who already know how brill raw food is, but to all the people who don't yet. Not so long ago it was difficult to get a vegetarian meal in many restaurants, but offering this option is now a must. How long will it be before it is no longer acceptable not to offer a raw choice?

The more people who approach restaurant owners letting them know there is a demand for delicious, pure, life-force filled food, the sooner that day will come. Why not get involved in Shazzie's Make Raw Food Mainstream campaign, which was set up to address this very issue - or start your own!

Daylesford Organic, Daylesford, Near Kingham, Gloucestershire GL56 0YG. Tel: 01608 731 700.

Global Juice Feast starts in just over 24 hours!

This Saturday, March 1, will see health seekers from around the world joining together in a powerful transformative practice that, for some, will last three months. The 92-day Global Juice Feast is the brainchild of husband and wife team David and Katrina Rainoshek.

Here is what they have to say about it on their website: "GET REALLY EXCITED for the First Annual Global Juice Feast 2008, the largest online gathering of people juicing ever! We want to create a diverse community of people from all cultural backgrounds, nationalities, religions, races, and political persuasions, united in one common, personal, yet global challenge: reclaiming our health and the health of the planet for ourselves.

This is the first time in human history that such a program of such massive personal and global potential has been available to so many, due to the fact that persons can cleanse to completion by Juice Feasting, and still maintain their daily lives at home with no interruptions financially or in their family life. The internet has made possible the dissemination of this valuable information. At JuiceFeasting.com we have made detailed instructions on all questions pertaining to Juice Feasting available at no cost, only the optional companion 92-Day Juice Feasting program requires a subscription.

This online community of persons doing the Global Juice Feast is available to all who register, again, at no cost to the public, making global support accessible to everyone. Welcome to the most accessible, significant program ever available to such a wide community of people."

So head to the Global Juice Feast site for details on how to sign up and enjoy the support and camaraderie of others around the world, and to the Juice Feasting site for all the information you need in order to get started. You can also go here to read a recent post from this site on the subject of juice feasting and be sure to check out the 'Juice Feasting Blogs Worldwide' section on the home page of the Global Juice Feast site. 

50th issue of Get Fresh! magazine now mailing

Hard though it is to believe, here is the 50th issue of Get Fresh! magazine. It wasn't always a gorgeous, glossy, full-colour journal and nor was it always called its current name; it started life as 'The Fresh Network News'. But nonetheless, the publication that was to evolve into the number one raw foods magazine in the world started life almost 16 years ago, in May 1992.

If you are a subscriber, you will be receiving your copy by this Friday if you live in the UK, and shortly thereafter if you live overseas.

If you are not already a subscriber, we are now making Get Fresh! easier to purchase than it has ever been. If you live in the US, look out for this issue in branches of Whole Foods Market and other high-end health stores from mid-March. (If it is not in your local health store, why not contact the manager and ask them to start carrying it - just tell them it is available from One Source Magazine Distribution.)

But we have taken things a good deal further than that. We want Get Fresh! to be a cinch to get hold of wherever you are in the world, so we are about to make this issue available to download from our website. Better still, it will cost just £2.97 - a 25% reduction on the cover price of the print magazine (and that's without taking into account the P&P costs). Later this week you will also find several other recent issues available as e-copies, and in the not too distant future we will have all 50 issues of Get Fresh! online and available to purchase either singly, or as part of some heavily discounted package deals. We are also about to start offering great-value e-subscriptions to Get Fresh! More about all of this in a few days... 

Anyway, back to this issue of the magazine and what it contains:

UK's first all-raw cafe now open

The UK’s first all-raw eating establishment has just opened in Edinburgh. Red Sugar is a superfoods cafe, store and smoothie bar. The store stocks many hard-to-get-hold-of superfoods, whilst the smoothie bar promises “a choice of unique smoothies quite different to anywhere else.” The café boasts impressive green credentials. Everything possible is recycled or composted and all takeaway packaging is biodegradable.

We will be posting a review of this exciting new venue soon. In the meantime, for more information see the Red Sugar website or email owner Steve Monygomery.   

Red Sugar
21b Raeburn Place
Stockbridge
Edinburgh EH4 1HU
UK

Durian on demand

Often referred to as the king of fruits, the durian hails from Southeast Asia. It is a firm favourite among raw food fans everywhere with its heavenly, unique and impossible-to-describe taste. Durian has always been an expensive and hard-to-get-hold-of delicacy unless you happen to live in a region where it grows. In western countries, you’ll find it only in a handful of specialist Asian markets, and a fruit will usually set you back anything from £10 to £20.

So if you're a durian lover residing in the UK or Europe and have been limiting yourself to the occasional fix we have great news for you! We have just started selling a freeze-dried durian that is almost too good to be true. So now you can enjoy durian whenever and wherever you want it, for a fraction of the usual price.

Here at The Fresh Network we know a thing or two about this Asian delicacy, and we officially declare this the most exquisitely flavoured durian we have come across this side of Koh Samui. How could this be? How could freeze-dried fruit be better than fresh? Well, it’s not – not if you are in a durian-growing region of Asia and have access to ripe, just-picked, premium-quality fruit. But if you have been buying fresh durian in any European, American or Australian city, you have been buying a far inferior product. When durian is exported long distances, it is usually picked weeks before it is ripe, never allowing it to develop its full flavour. Our durian is picked ripe and quickly freeze-dried to lock in that perfect taste experience.

And we mean perfect! This durian is the world-renowned “Monthong” variety, widely acknowledged as the most exquisitely flavoured of all. And because the freeze drying process removes 97% of the water, the natural flavours are concentrated and intensified.

How does the drying process work? In brief, the fruit is first frozen and then the moisture is removed in a vacuum environment using a method which preserves not only taste but also shape and nutrients.

Job opportunities at Saf restaurants in London and Munich

Saf Restaurant (it stands for Simple Authentic Food and is also Turkish for 'pure') is now hiring staff for its flagship restaurant in the heart of East London, due to be opening its doors by April.

Saf restaurants offer raw and vegan cuisine with a fine dining twist and the chain currently operates two restaurants in Istanbul and one in Munich. The eagerly-anticipated London restaurant will be the showcase; as well as an elegant dining area serving the very best in green gastronomy it will also feature private catering services, a culinary training centre, and an organic and biodynamic wine and cocktail bar. The company plans future openings in Geneva, Stockholm and Dubai.

The Saf chain is owned by The LifeCo; the executive chef is the world-renowned Chad Sarno.

The following is from the man himself: