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Pickled Ginger Place all ingredients in a container with a lid. Seal container; shake to combine. Let sit 1–2 hours (can store for up to 1 week).

Assembly Place a small mound (approximately 1 teaspoon) of pickled ginger in the empty corner of each serving dish. Place 1 teaspoon of the wasabi paste next to the ginger and pour nama shoyu in 2 small bowls to be served with the sushi and nigiri. Serves 4–6

Blueberry and Sweet “Cream Cheese” Mini Tartlet

One of the first desserts a budding young chef will learn at The French Culinary Institute is a Tarte de Fruits, or fruit tart, with traditional egg-based crème anglaise and fresh glazed fruit. I love the technique but find the dessert too sweet and sticky—whereas the raw version is so fresh and every bit as decadent. Perhaps this is a young chef’s revolution.

Tart Crusts

2 cups Nut Flour

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tablespoon lemon zest

“Cream Cheese”

2-1/2 cups cashews, soaked 1–2 hours

1/2 cup coconut meat

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup raw agave

3/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 vanilla bean, scraped

Garnish

2 cups fresh blueberries

Micro mint sprigs

Tart Crusts Combine all ingredients and press into lined tart shells.

“Cream Cheese” Blend all ingredients in a Vita-Mix until very smooth. Fill tart crusts and chill in the freezer overnight. Remove tarts from metal shells and wrap in plastic wrap. Store on sheet pans in the freezer.

Assembly Garnish tarts with blueberries and mint sprigs. Yields 2 dozen

Almond-Lavender Pie in Coconut-Macaroon Crust

Lavender needs to be used in moderation—overdoing it can create a somewhat uncomfortable flavor—but when properly used, especially in a creamy dessert, it can achieve ethereal results.

Crust

3 cups shredded coconut

1 cup cashew flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 tablespoons date paste

Filling

3 cups cashews, soaked 1–2 hours

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup raw agave

3/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon nutritional yeast

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 vanilla bean, scraped

2 teaspoons almond extract

2 tablespoons chopped lavender

Crust Mix all ingredients together well by hand. Press into 12-inch tart shells to desired thickness. (Optional: dehydrate 24–48 hours.) Chill crust in the freezer for at least 15 minutes or until ready to fill.

Filling Blend all ingredients in a Vita-Mix until very smooth.

Place filling in a piping bag and pipe into the mini crusts. Chill in freezer 1–2 hours or place in refrigerator overnight. Serves 8

Meaningful

Meaning and reality were not hidden somewhere behind things, they were in them, in all of them.

—Hermann Hesse

It was well into my raw food journey that I realized my personal preferences were mostly aligned with the Sattvic Diet, which is traditionally defined as pure, clean, and wholesome. Individuals have their own needs and tastes, and I understand that my approach may not be best for everyone; but when I learned the history behind it, food as a whole began to make more sense to me. Understanding our relationship with food is a lifelong pursuit, and being a chef can complicate that learning process even more. In addition to our own choices, we are faced with countless historic, family, and social traditions, as well as others that we pick up along the way in our own lives.

While raw food as a whole does not have many long-standing traditions, its influence is firmly connected to many foods of years past, both vegetarian and otherwise. Many people are aware of a connection between spirituality and vegetarianism but are not always aware of the reason for that. Over time, my style of raw food has become influenced by three factors: seasonal ingredients, various forms of art, and history. Food has meaning to everyone throughout the world, and in order for it to be significant, it should share one of the many connections we form in our lives.