Raw Food / Real World

May 15, 2005
A few years ago, Kenney, best known for his Mediterranean-style cuisine (see "Mediterranean Cooking"), was chef/owner of a minirestaurant empire in New York City. But in 2002, it all collapsed, as he relates here. Afterward, he and partner MeIngailis became raw-food converts, and last summer they opened Pure Food and Wine, also in Manhattan. Though their menu holds to the tenets of the raw-food movement, most of their dishes are far more sophisticated than those of other health food restaurants: along with the nut milks and fruit shakes, for example, there are recipes for Asparagus and Porcini Ravioli with Lemon Cream as well as Lobster-Mushroom and Fava Bean Tarts. The book is very personal, including anecdotes about the authors' relationship and the story of their conversion to a raw-food lifestyle (an afterword provides more details on their "Adventures in Cleansing" and other topics that many readers will want to know). There are color photographs throughout, both of the recipes and of Kenney and MeIngailis "glowing" at each other. For all health food collections.

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.