Raw Food at its Best

The unrealized delight of raw food was ignited through a scrumptious Raw Food Festival held in Montego Bay which was hosted by the master raw food chef Earl Chong.

The thought of eating our National Fruit, ackee, in its raw state may not have whetted the taste buds of many food lovers before this festival. However, upon first taste of that soft, thick mass of ackee blended together with onion, ginger, garlic, scotch bonnet pepper and liquid amino, this famous Ackee Dip was an instant hit among patrons.

Hosted at Island Juices in Rose Hall, Montego Bay the celebration of how raw fruits, nuts and vegetables can be consume saw scores of curious individuals experimenting with the delicious treat of pure uncooked meals.

One such individual was security officer Kenroy Facey who is not a vegetarian but admitted that he would indeed consider a diet of raw food similar to what was on display.

“This will be my first time eating food such as ackee in its raw state, and to be honest I like it. It is not as bad as I first thought it would be, it has exceeded my expectations so I would definitely try this raw food preparation at home and to what I understand it is even better than cooked foods” an enthused Facey revealed as he snacked on a vegetable wrap.

Among other delectable and well-flavoured treats were the Power Salad made of plantains, avocadoes, tomatoes, calalloo, cucumbers and carrots. In addition the piquant Almond Cheese and Cashew Cheese dips offered an interesting spin on how cheese can be prepared while offered high contents of nutrients.

Eating foods such as vegetables, nut, beans and fruits in their uncooked state is rather simple according to raw food expert Earl Chong.

“The body is mostly made up of cells and most of us support the body and not the cells. Cooked foods are dead cells and it cannot support living cells in our bodies and the way to healthy eating is to eat food that will regenerate the cells in our bodies” he affirmed.

Chong has successfully recovered from cancer and other incurable diseases through his transformation from a diet of cooked food to raw food. He has successfully maintained that diet for 16 years where he eats only natural, unrefined, plant-based foods (no meat or animal products. In addition to his diet he consumes BarleyMax (an all natural supplement) as well as vegetable juices and pure water.