There are a few different food styles which I like to use within my cooking, as with everything variety is key. Here are a few of my favourite;
Naturopathic:
A naturopathic diet will promote self-healing within the body. As a naturopathic chef I use whole, natural foods which are processed as little as possible. Cooking with an emphasis on eating local, seasonal and organic produce whenever available. Since moving my career in the direction of holistic, naturopathic practices I have seen great changes within my own health, which has driven me to want to share what I have found with others. I am happy to cater menus for all kinds of events based solely on the naturopathic principles of eating for people who wish to experience food in its most natural and therapeutic way.
The image below shows the Alliance for Natural Healthcare (ANH) International FOOD4HEALTH guidelines. Which is what an ideal, balanced diet should look like for adults and children over six years old. This diet, essentially consists of unprocessed, diverse, low carb and high nutrient-dense foods which are the main priorities when embarking on eating a healthy diet.
The daily consumption of a diverse, varied and balanced range of fresh, largely unprocessed foods between 5h periods of fasting by day and 12h overnight (standard intermittent fasting), along with regular physical activity, is the foundation for living a healthy lifestyle.
Plant Based:
Having worked in many different plant based establishments and as a plant based cookery teacher I have been surrounded by a wide range of different techniques and recipes to cater for all sorts of ‘eating without’ requirements. Eating a diet full of many different whole, plant based foods really is so beneficial to health. By ‘eating the rainbow’ we allow ourselves a varied diet our diets full of many different phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals! If you are already living a plant based lifestyle or would like to try out some plant based eating please let me know, a completely plant based and utterly delicious array of food can be tailor made to suit your needs!
Raw:
Drawing from the time I worked at NAMA (London’s only fully raw, vegan restaurant), I felt inspired to learn more about raw food and the philosophy behind it. This intrigue led me to study it in more depth so I went on to train at the prestigious Plant Lab, Mathew Kenneys inspirational and innovative course. This course was such an eye opening experience. I was able to think about and use ingredients in ways I had never even imagined using all kinds of different equipment to help transforming a simple vegetable or ingredient into something EXTRAordinary. During the course, (which entailed three months intensive training, covering everything from the fundamentals of raw cuisine and advanced raw cuisine through to professional practice) we learnt about fermentation, nut milks, plant based cheese making, sauces and so much more (for more info on course content please see here; http://www.matthewkenneycuisine.com)!
On completion of L1-3, I feel confident and inspired to implement these new techniques and the mindset towards creating beautifully presented, high frequency, ALIVE food! An utterly delicious and restorative way of eating, please feel free to contact me to find out more.
Mediterranean:
From working in an Italian restaurant, Petersham Nurseries to spending time out in Greece as a private chef and traveling around Italy, Spain and more wonderful Mediterranean countries I have a great love for this cuisine and way of eating. There is no doubt that the sunshine plays a huge part in the quality of the ingredients in these areas but studies have shown that people who eat a Mediterranean diet are healthier than in other areas over all which raises the question, why? I like to incorporate the key principles I think make of this style of diet so great in to my cooking not just for the health benefits but also for the wonderful flavours that come with it as well.