WE began by sipping on Japanese Kangen Water, a distilled water rich in 'alkalising compounds' to help balance out our PH levels – this was the first sign I was no longer in Kansas.
You'd be hard pushed to find anything more 'Chorlton' than this new age, hyper-liberal lot searching for answers at the bottom cardamom tea pot
Well, actually, I was in Chorlton (which is as unsurprising as it is cliché) for my first experience of a detoxing raw vegan supper club - words to strike fear into the hearts of all carnivores.
Hosted by ‘anti-sugar’ and ‘anti-overindulgence’ chef Lorna Royal and therapist Hayley Jepson, I welcomed into a charming suburban home decorated with flickering tea lights, some Buddhist iconography and a chirpy little puppy. The slow-paced thuds of Massive Attack’s Teardrop played quietly in the background.
On a small dining table of ten women - some yoga instructors, others vintage stall holders - the conversation would flow through such topics as holistic healing therapies, miracle waters and the pitfalls of internet dating, while in the corner a colossal Buddha held court.
You'd be hard pushed to find anything more 'Chorlton' than this new age, hyper-liberal lot searching for answers at the bottom cardamom tea pot.
Yet good guest etiquette meant discarding any preconceived ideas of the borough and veganism. After all, not everybody in Chorlton has a bicycle with a basket, just like not all folk from Alderley Edge drive Range Rovers and not everyone's lives in Moss Side play out like a scene from Kidulthood.
The evening was an opportunity to showcase raw vegan cooking at its most impressive, with our hosts creating a slap-up meat-less meal excluding all food and products of animal origin with temperatures below 48 °C (118 °F).
And Chef Lorna planned to do far more than just dress up a salad...
Starter: beetroot, baby spinach and avocado tartletTo start, an appetising sweet beetroot, baby spinach and avocado tartlet, followed by the main course which turned out to be a bit of a revelation. The ‘Living Lasagne’ was a trick of the senses. While this was never going to be a creamy, meaty affair (as the Italians no doubt intended), the lasagne was cleverly stacked with layered courgettes and a blended cashew nut cream. To add to the deception, Chef Lorna had whipped together a concoction of vegetables which possessed a mince-meat texture lots of savoury spices. Clever, filling and tasty.
The desert, a raw cacao pie with cinnamon cashew cream, was both rich, smooth and chocolatey in a ‘are you sure this doesn’t contain sugar' way. Brilliant.
'Living Lasagne' - meat free and dairy freeThe meat, the dairy, the sugar weren't missed, and while it wasn't quite enough for me to give up meat altogether, it was enough for me to consider adopting raw veganism into my lifestyle - a little bit. Plus Royal's healthy attitude to food is infectious, and the skill that went into making the meal did not go unnoticed.
“The vegetables have to be dehydrated first, which can take around six to eight hours, as it helps the vegetables to absorb flavours,” explained Royal after dinner. While not a full-blown vegan herself, when Royal closed her old cupcake business she found she’d gained weight, this led to a passion for all forms of healthy food.
“I was drawn to raw veganism the same way I was drawn to baking, there’s something very scientific about it. It’s a bit like alchemy,” she said. “The food still has be exciting, there needs to be texture, it needs to look nice, it has to be appetising but it can also be healthy.”
Raw cacao pie with cinnamon cashew creamRaw veganism feels like advanced stage veganism, right after you give up the eggs and the cheese (level one), denounce wearing any leather (level two), you graduate to level three - eating off the land.
“It’s not the lack of meat that I’ve struggled with, it’s the lack of convenience,” said Jepson, a vegan of just eight months. The other nine guests hummed in agreement.
While veganism has found some commercial appeal in recent years there still seems to be a general lack of understanding about the diet. It seems fussy, time-consuming and incredibly restrictive. Nonetheless, the supper club proved detoxing and raw veganism can be enjoyable, fulfilling, tasty and even social. Though after reading a bunch of articles with such titles as ‘My Raw Vegan Diet Almost Killed Me’ and ‘Warning: Raw Veganism Will Steal Your Health’, I won't be banning meat from by bicycle basket just yet.
Find out more about the Sunday Detox Supper Club on their Facebook page.
