Matthew Kenney :: An Interview + A Recipe + Book Giveaway

October 10, 2008

Before this interview, I knew a little bit about Matthew Kenney, that he is a restaurateur, a professional chef with a focus on raw foods, caterer, and an author of several recipe books. However, after learning more about him, I found him to be fascinating and inspiring.

Matthew is a creative powerhouse fueled by his passion. The words, healthy, sustainable, and modern sum up his style and approach to his work, and this clearly reflects in the way he deliciously executes a dish, in his series of books, and his websites, Matthew Kenney Cuisine and Matthew Kenney Lifestyle.

I was fortunate to catch up with Matthew and I’m grateful he was able to take the time to answer some of my questions. In this interview we learn what inspires him as a chef, among other interesting things, and he has generously offered one of his recipes from his forthcoming book “Entertaining In The Raw”.

RE: Tell us a bit about your background. How did you become interested in raw food?

MK: After college, I found that I had a passion for food and the restaurant business in general. Instead of attending law school, I enrolled in The French Culinary Institute instead. Over the next several years, I became a chef and opened several restaurants. During that time, I found my own preferences, both as a chef and on a personal level, to be leaning toward a plant based diet. When a friend invited me to a raw food restaurant as his guest, it opened a new world for me and from that day on, my primary focus has been raw food.

RE: Who inspires you as a chef and why?

MK: Artists of all types inspire me. I read a lot, visit museums, see foreign films and take in whatever I can. Rudolf Nureyev, for example, was such a driven artist in his field, simply reading about his career energizes my approach to creating unique food. A few months ago, I saw Phillip Glass’s satyagraha at the metropolitan opera - the thought and execution were so fluid, which is something I try to achieve as a chef.

RE: You are in the process of opening a raw restaurant in Orlando, Florida called Café 118? How is it going? When will it open?

MK: We have been doing menu development and recipe testing for the past couple of weeks. Our chef, Ray, has really developed a nice touch with this style of cuisine and we feel very supported by a large vegetarian community. It should open before the end of October, but with restaurant openings, one never knows.

RE: Tell us one of your most amusing behind-the-scenes kitchen stories.

MK: Without question, seeing one of my co-worker’s pants catch on fire (fortunately, he didn’t).

RE: What raw food or dish has become a staple in your diet?

MK: I never stop craving avocado - I just open them up, remove the pit and fill them with hemp seeds, lime juice and sea salt.

RE: When shopping for fresh produce, what is the most unusual fruit or vegetable you have discovered? Where you inspired to prepare it, and if so how?

MK: I’m not sure its unusual, but the most unique are the many varieties of beets I found in Maine last summer - they were white, golden, candy striped, red…just beautiful. I served them thinly sliced with a puree of fava beans with pistachio oil.

RE: What is your favorite raw dessert to make?

MK: I made it yesterday - Mango Macaroon Cheesecake.

RE: All of the recipes in your latest book “Everyday Raw” look and sound delicious, and there are more wonderful raw food recipes on the way. Entertaining in the Raw is schedule to release Spring 2009. Can you share one of your favorite recipes from this book?

*** From the upcoming book Entertaining in the Raw by Matthew Kenney (www.matthewkenneycuisine.com).
Reprinted by arrangement with Matthew Kenney.
Publisher, Gibbs Smith (www.gibbs-smith.com). Copyright (c) 2009.

Basil Black Pepper Wrappers, Macadamia Cheese, Avocado and Cherry Tomatoes

Serves 4–6

Coconut Wrappers with Basil

4 cups young coconut meat
¼ cup spinach juice
1 cup fresh basil leaves
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Blend all ingredients except black pepper until very smooth. Spread very thin on dehydrator Teflex sheets, sprinkle with the black pepper & dehydrate 3-4 hours. Remove from Teflex and trim edges. Cut in 9 squares and reserve. They hold best between wax paper, and kept cool.

Macadamia Cheese

2 cups macadamia nuts, soaked 1-2 hours
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
¾ teaspoon salt

Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth – the texture should be similar to ricotta cheese. Add more lemon or salt if necessary. If too thick, add a touch of water while processing.

Dried Cherry Tomatoes

1 cup ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
Pinch of salt
Olive oil

Toss the cherry tomatoes with olive oil and salt, and spread on dehydrator screens, for 3-4 hours. Remove and set aside at room temperature.

Assembly

Basil leaves
1 avocado, halved, pitted and thinly sliced

Place the basil wrappers flat on a work surface. Put 1 teaspoon of macadamia cheese just off center of each one, and top with avocado, then tomatoes and a fresh basil leaf. Lightly wet two of the opposite corners with a touch of water and roll them from one side, with the corner just reaching over filling. Roll the other corner over that, forming a boat shape. Press tightly so that they remain together.

RE: What are some of your favorite kitchen gadgets?

MK: I’m a minimalist with equipment but I’m lost without my Vita-mix.

RE: What one word would you use to describe yourself?

MK: Analytical

RE: If you could be or do anything else – what?

MK: I’d love to be an environmental artist.

RE: What’s the one thing about you few people know?

MK: These days, that I’ve become a nature person - I’m most comfortable among the trees and water, far away from cities.

RE: You have an impressive and exciting career in the field of raw foods. What other project(s) is/are coming down the pipeline?

MK: I’m very fortunate to be working on a number of interesting projects - aside from cafe 118’s opening, Freefoods, which I am a partner in, is opening a second location in New York this year, and I’m about to leave for Madrid for work related to a project I helped open last may. I’m developing a wine product with partners and a brand of raw chocolate in 2009. As far as writing, I’m about to release entertaining in the raw in early 2009 and just started writing my next book, everyday raw desserts….and I almost forgot, I’m launching a small online magazine, Matthew Kenney lifestyle, tomorrow!

RE: Last, but not least, is there any advice you’d like to share with aspiring raw chefs and those of us who love to prepare raw food at home?

MK: My advice for this is always the same - buy the best ingredients you can find and prepare them simply when busy, and thoughtfully when you have the time to do something special. Raw food preparation is a big commitment, so it’s obviously very important to prepare what inspires you to eat.

* * *

It was such a delight to work with Matthew and fun to hear of all the exciting progress he is making in his career. I thank Matthew for taking the time out from his busy schedule to do this interview.

* * *

THE GIVEAWAY

This is the part I love. Raw Epicurean is giving away 3 of Matthew Kenney’s raw recipe books. This means three people have a chance to win one of these books (one entry and one book per person):

Raw Food Real World
Everyday Raw
Entertaining In The Raw

To enter to win, answer the question below and list in order of preference which of Matthew’s books you prefer.

Tell us one of your most amusing kitchen stories?

On Wednesday, October 15th, I will use a random number generator to pick the three lucky winners. The winning participants name will be announced in the right sidebar, under Announcements.

Tweet This: Send Page to Twitter

-->

Comments

23 Comments so far

Paul LeMay on October 11, 2008 Saturday, 1:22 am
Hi;
My name is Paul LeMay. I live in Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada. As for a favourite book by Matthew Kenney,it would be hard to pick just one so if I am a luck recipient, I will leave that up to you.
As for an interesting kitchen story, shortly after going raw I made a pesto that was extremely hot as I used too much garlic. My son and I could hardly eat it but my daughter who did not want to disappoint me manageed to eat the most of it. Unfortunately I did not keep the rest of it as a food coach said one time that sometimes you just have to “throw it out” and I did. If I had give it some thought, I could have kept it, froze it and added it a little at a time to other things for flavouring. Not much else to tell you. I have had many successes and a few failures but have managed to chalk it up to experience.
Hopefully I will be one of the luck recipients.
Thank you and take care, Paul LeMay.
Elizabeth M. on October 11, 2008 Saturday, 2:46 am
Everyday Raw
Raw Food Real World
Entertaining in the Raw

I got married at a very, very young age and I was pretty naive. I was making chili one day and opening a can of kidney beans and my hubby told me that he hoped I was always rinsing those beans off because the liquid they were stored in inside the can was dangerous if eaten. I told him I always did but that freaked me out and I believed him! It wasn’t until years later that I brought it up and he told me he was completely making it all up. I was so ticked! But honestly, how could I have believed that they would store anything edible in a dangerous substance? Geez.
Penni on October 11, 2008 Saturday, 9:37 am
Entertaining In The Raw
Everyday Raw
Raw Food Real World

Penni Shelton, Tulsa OK. My most amusing kitchen memory since going raw was when my husband decided to help me in making dehydrated sweet potato chips. I had just received my new mandoline and he was eager to use it. I told him how important it would be to use the finger guard, but he said he didn’t need to. Moments later I was looking for the end of his thumb among the sliced potatoes. Those chips never happened that day, but fortunately my husband’s finger healed nicely. He’s never gotten near that mandoline since.
Paulina on October 11, 2008 Saturday, 1:01 pm
Hello! My most amusing kitchen story happened not too long ago actually. For some reason, I’m always in a hurry when I’m making something so the other day while making crackers, I accidently added 2 whole cups of soymilk when the recipe only called for 2 tablespoons! I felt so stupid and as a result ruined the whole thing :( But better luck next time, right?

Raw Food Real World
Everyday Raw
Entertaining in the Raw

Thanks!
Charissa on October 11, 2008 Saturday, 4:21 pm
When I was younger I made bread…being ambitious in my adventure I sought out the ingredients…no yeast and only our own farm-grown organic flour. We usually used a little white to lighten up the bread…but no! Today I was doing things my way. All wheat and absolutely no yeast…I decided that I would make leaven bread, like people in Afghanistan or something. So I did. This bread was horrible after I baked it!!! I decided “well, my dog can at least benifit from it” …my dog buried the bread. She had been with us for years and that was the first time she had ever, EVER buried anything.
Tamara on October 11, 2008 Saturday, 6:16 pm
I’m Tamara and I am in Los Angeles, CA. When I was a little girl, my best friend and I used to pretend we had our own cooking show called the “Isn’t This Great Cooking Show.” We did tons of experimentation in the kitchen, mostly with baking. Our cakes were always heavy and our frostings always turned out green, no matter what color we were trying to make. But, to my recollection, we only set one kitchen fire.
Now I’m raw. It’s safest that way. Haha. I’m new to Matthew Kenney so I would like to read any and all of his books.
Thank you.
mimi Kirk on October 12, 2008 Sunday, 7:57 am
i had made some hummus in my blender and used my spatula to scrap down the sides. when finished, is scraped it all into a beautiful bowl and presented it to my guests. after a few bites i felt the hummus had these hard lumps, only to realize that i had ground the top of my spatula into the mix. of course this had to be thrown out.
Antionette on October 12, 2008 Sunday, 12:43 pm
Entertaining In The Raw
Everyday Raw
Raw Food Real World

My best friend came over to my house for lunch. I told her about the flax seed crackers that I had just made. She couldn’t wait to try them. She enjoyed the first cracker. When she bit into the second one she started gasping for breath and her eyes bulged. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Then she started gesturing for water. I put too much jalepeno peppers in the crackers. Every time we get together we still laugh about it.
Isle Dance on October 12, 2008 Sunday, 5:53 pm
I love this interview! Thank you so much for sharing this with us. You are so thoughtful. :o)
Isle Dance on October 12, 2008 Sunday, 6:01 pm
Oh…

When I was in college, taking an interior design course, I had to determine a design project based on how much time I spent in my kitchen. Low and behold, the average time I spent in my kitchen daily, was three minutes. The whole class heard and laughed, along with the instructor. :o)
Heidi on October 12, 2008 Sunday, 8:59 pm
I was a vegetarian for many years before doing the raw thing, and subscribed to Vegetarian Times in college and for a few years after. There were always fun articles and granola coupons, and I felt like I was part of a community that didn’t seem real in the small midwestern town where I grew up.

There was this recipe for tofu poundcake. On my only day off in the week, I spent hours preparing the pan, then putting the batter together, combining tofu, flour, flavor extracts, baking powder, and orange blossom honey. The oven was perfect, and I put the cake in. 15 minutes later, I started to smell vanilla, orange sweetness, and the faint tang of burning plastic.

The aroma/odor developed for another 20 minutes. I watched the cake. It became a perfect, golden brown. “It looks gorgeous!” I thought, “Grandma will be proud.” I touched my finger to the center of the cake, to see if it would spring back and test done. Spring back it did — and then some. The cake wobbled, just a little, but it discernably wobbled. “That’s odd…” Just like the extra firm tofu the recipe called for.

The cake was set out on the counter to cool. I couldn’t find the source of the plastic smell. Not a slagged measuring spoon to be found in the oven.

Later in the afternoon, my sweetheart came home, kissed me at the door, and enquired, “What’s that smell?”

“I baked a poundcake! A tofu poundcake!”

Raised brows quirked. “Really?”

It looked beautiful. It was ready to eat. I brewed tea, set the able, and as I lifted my golden sweet achievement proudly off of the cooling rack, the cake wobbled like a jello mold. I tapped the side with my finger. Boing-going-going-going. Totally gross. Totally wrong for cake.

It was time to be brave and take a taste test.

That’s one way to find the source of the burning plastic smell.

Never again! Soy is evil. In the trash it went, and out for Lao Thai at Vientienne Palace. There are some things in life that should not be altered. One is poundcake; another, the superiority of your Grandmother’s baking.

1) Everyday Raw
2) Entertaining in the Raw
3) Raw Food Real World (I have this one.)
KeepingItRaw.com on October 12, 2008 Sunday, 10:21 pm
[…] Raw Epicurean Interviews Matthew Kenney […]
Ami Smith on October 13, 2008 Monday, 3:43 am
Everyday Raw
Entertaining in the Raw
Raw Food Real world

My most entertaining kitchen story happened when I was a child. My Dad was trying out a new recipe that called for 2 cloves of garlic. He had never cooked with fresh garlic before and thought 2 cloves meant 2 whole bulbs of garlic! He had to paint the kitchen to get rid of the garlic smell!
Sara on October 13, 2008 Monday, 6:08 am
My biggest mistake was putting several tbs of what I thought was chili powder, but was actually cayenne powder, into a Mexican-style soup. Found that out the hard way…

Book preferred–doesn’t matter, they all lookk great!
Robyn on October 13, 2008 Monday, 7:54 am
Entertaining in the Raw
Everyday Raw
Raw Food Real World

My most amazing kitchen story was when I hosted a supper club for carnivores. Everyone of my friends had pooped my idea of raw food! So… I thought I would show them how GREAT raw food can taste. Well, needless to say everyone enjoyed the raw food, I did not tell them it was completely raw until the dinner was over. I think everyone has added more raw food to their diet. Some even asked for Matthew’s Carrot Ginger soup recipe. I told them to buy Raw Food Real World.
Thank you,
Raw in East Texas
debbie on October 13, 2008 Monday, 9:44 am
Hey Ingrid
I am loving Everyday raw, and Matthew has been so kind!
I have had many kitchen ‘events”.. latest one.. I roasted veggies to make a veggie fritatta for the fam.. looked great.. left them in the oven.. working on my raw dinner.. back to the frittata.. oh, I need to use the broiler.. turn it on. what’s that smell? smoke??? well, the roasted veggies were now charcoal. had to toss them use dandelion greens in the frittata instead.. not the same but some veg got in their bodies!
I would love:
Entertaining in the raw
or Raw Food Real World..
I have everyday raw of course:)
deb
Marilyn on October 13, 2008 Monday, 3:11 pm
My most amusing kitchen story? Ha, it would have to be when my best friend and I flew to Oregon to make a wedding cake for another friend (non-raw). We didn’t realize how “rural” the environment was - no hot water, no soap, using a clean floor sponge for cleaning the dishes, and to top it off, we had to ride a quad-runner from one house to the other to bake all the cakes….I’ll remember that forever!
Gail on October 13, 2008 Monday, 10:30 pm
Funniest kitchen story? This is the one that still has my boyfriend laughing: I was working with some dried peppers and I thought that I was taking the necessary precautions … until my allergies starting acting up a bit. One swipe of a Kleenex across my face made it clear that I should have been wearing plastic gloves. The capsaicin from the peppers that was on my fingers had very clearly been transferred to that Kleenex. My nose and my lip starting to burn, a mild burn that quickly increased in intensity until tears were streaming down my face and my boyfriend was doing all that he could with our resources to help: cold water, ice, even soy yogurt. That’s right - soy yogurt. I am vegan and, therefore, we don’t keep any dairy in our house. Of course, that left us in serious shortage of the necessary lactose to stop the burn. Finally, in desperation, I sent my BF to our neighbor’s house (who also happen to be close friends) for a glass a milk. He returned with milk in hand,and neighbors in tow, eager to see the show! I soaked my lips and nose in the glass of milk (no ingestion, happily!) and the burning sensation was soothed away. Phew!

Everyday Raw
Entertaining in the Raw
Raw Food/Real World
Michelle @ What Does Your Body Good? on October 14, 2008 Tuesday, 5:50 am
Everyday Raw
Raw Food Real World
Entertaining in the Raw

During a period of experimenting with Japanese food, my husband had a bag of bonito (dried fish flakes) on the table while he made broth. We noticed a bit too late that our cat had his head in the bag, eating all the bonito!
Kelly Lael on October 14, 2008 Tuesday, 5:59 am
“Entertaining in the Raw” is the only Matthew Kenney book I don’t have. So if I win–whooh hooh! But the other two books would make great gifts.

I’d say my funniest kitchen story has to do with learning how to properly grocery shop. I once found a great deal on a box of organic mangos and packed it in with the rest of my produce-laden cart. I was chomping away through the week when I suddendly realized my mangos were awfully ripe. The only way I could think to salvage them was to make a puree and drink it straight. The first day I was absolutely delighted by the deliciousness of my breakfast and felt energized and alive. The second day this delicious concoction sent me racing away from a coworker into the bathroom. I irritated a lot of coworkers that morning who had to use the bathroom. Now I am much more aware of the quantities I buy and consume.

Best to all,
Kelly
Zara on October 14, 2008 Tuesday, 4:12 pm
Great interview!

Everyday Raw
Raw Food Real World
Entertaining in the Raw

One evening I was in the mood for popcorn. I did the usual, poured the popcorn kernels in a pot then some olive oil to coat the kernels. I covered the pot with the lid and went into the other room. I started listening to music forgetting all about the popcorn.

The next thing I knew my boyfriend was telling something was burning. I yelled “The Popcorn” and we both ran to the kitchen. I turned off the burner and he opened the lid and a massive puff of dark smoke billowed from the pot. The whole kitchen reeked of burnt popcorn. It gets worse. He ran to get a bag and I dumped the burnt popcorn into it. The still burning popcorn was so hot it burnt a whole in the plastic bag! We had to open all the windows and doors to air out the place. Never walk away when you are popping popcorn.
Sue Vogan on October 15, 2008 Wednesday, 3:33 am
Sue in N.C. — My husband, not being able to rise much above boiling water in the kitchen, decided to surprise me with a meal. Knowing we eat mainly raw and organic, he wasn’t sure how to prepare anything more than organic scrambled eggs. He had the “organic” with the eggs, but wondered how to get the “raw” in there. He came up with a clever idea — he took his shirt off to serve the meal.
Entertaining in the Raw : Raw Epicurean on February 28, 2009 Saturday, 3:24 am
Read my review on this exception newly released book Entertaining in the Raw.

Get The Raw Epicurean Report free monthly food news in your inbox

For Email Marketing you can trust

Receive the latest raw vegan recipes and related posts via email alerts | RSS subscription

Let's connect via Twitter

Join our fabulous community

Herb of the Month

Rose is the featured herb for February. We'll highlight its benefits, showcase it in raw vegan recipes, and at the end of the month a reader's name will be drawn from the comments, and our sponsor