Cooked Raw: How One Celebrity Chef Risked Everything to Change the Way We Eat

by Matthew Kenney, Donny Baarns (narrator), Familius (publisher)

Cooked Raw is the dramatic memoir detailing Matthew Kenney’s remarkable and riveting journey through the culinary world and his provocative exploration of the future of food for the 21st century.

As a youth who embraced healthy living as a teenager, swearing off processed foods to heal a body badly damaged by a poor diet, Kenney was an unlikely chef candidate. Yet, as a chef in late 80s New York, Kenney soon found himself on national television, carrying full pages in fashion magazines, and being flown all over the world to consult and appear. As his career and empire grew, Kenney became more and more disconnected from the work he was doing and searched for a way out. Eventually, his overextended business crumbled and made for years of gossip columns, shattering the life as he knew it.

This ending, while brutally painful, evolved into one of the most exhilarating stories in the food world, as Kenney embraced his passions for a sustainable lifestyle. From turban wearing guru’s pushing powders, cleanses and colonics, to sophisticated housewives searching for health, Kenney shocked the culinary world with his intention to prepare food not only without cooking but also without heat, devoid of animal products and processed a cuisine made of plants and no heat. Raw food for a new world.

Bringing to light that food and health go hand in hand, Kenney used every opportunity to improve his new raw cuisine and its methods. Speaking at TED conferences, moving to Los Angeles and raising awareness globally on how great tasting food can promote health, his brand grew. Nearly 25 years after becoming a disillusioned young chef, Kenney felt at home in his own life for the first time. Not only was he healthy and happy, he had identified the future of food.

Genres: Food, Memoir

Audible Audio

First published October 7, 2014

Reviews

[Paige Skyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This memoir completely surprised me. I have all his (un)cookbooks and because he's in the press all the time, I decided I wanted to know more about him. I've never read a biography that was a page turner before. It read like a suspense novel and had me up in the middle of the night to finish it. I was a long time fan of his food, so I'm sure I was biased, but wow, very surprised that a chef could keep me that interested. Enjoyed this read more than I expected. I just became a much grander fan of Chef @MatthewKenney_

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to inspire you to follow your passion. Matthew Kenney not only loves food, he loves the food that loves your body back. I’m inspired to stay on my plant based journey and even add in a raw food meal or day back into my routine. I liked following his life, during all the ups and downs to a place of true meaning for him. Overall it’s a good, quick read.

[Bernadette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyably informative account of Matthew Kenney's journey to plant based raw food entrepreneur/advocate.

[Tawnya · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author drove me crazy with his mindset. He kept making the same mistakes over & over again. He drove me nuts

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can see a review I wrote of this at: http://www.rawfoodsnewsmagazine.com/r...