Veggie Fest 2011 Food Demos 

• Restaurant and Commercial Chefs
• Cookbook Authors and Coaches
• Guest Chefs

Restaurant and Commercial Chefs

Three Chicago area restaurants plus a number of chefs from commercial enterprises who will be doing demos this year.

Karyn Calabrese of Karyn's Fresh Corner

Veggie Fest 2011 is proud to feature local Chicago’s own Karyn Calabrese of Karyn’s “Fresh Corner” and “Karyn’s Cooked” presenting a food demo at Veggie Fest.  Karyn is a successful entrepreneur and popular holistic health expert based in Chicago.  At 64 years old she looks nearly a generation younger and enjoys boundless energy and great health.  After meeting teachers and raw food pioneers, Anne Wigmore and Viktoras Kulvinskas, Karyn gradually transitioned from vegetarian to vegan to a complete raw vegan diet.  In addition to a raw diet, she believes in regular detoxification and has developed a program that she has shared with thousands of people over the years and is now available in her debut book, Soak Your Nuts: Cleansing with Karyn.  Karyn’s business also includes 3 vegan restaurants, a holistic wellness center, and a line of all natural supplements, skin care and makeup.   Karyn has enjoyed huge success as a health expert in the local and national media including two appearances on the Oprah Winfrey Show that featured age-defying women.  Karyn was awarded the First Annual Raw and Living Foods Golden Branch Award in 2002 for introducing the idea of raw and living foods to the greatest number of people in the mainstream public.

Karyn will be demoing smoothies as well as a mushroom stuffed with nut pate and a raw pasta dish.  http://www.karynraw.com/ 

Soul Vegetarian

Here is another famous Chicago area vegetarian restaurant doing a demo at Veggie Fest.  We are excited to have Soul Vegetarian, a Chicago favorite since 1982.  What started out as a simple labor of love and desire to improve the overall health of the community, their restaurant has grown into an internationally famous institution that has set the standard for vegan fine dining.  Soul Vegetarian is warm, friendly and international, yet it is like “coming home” with their satisfying menu offering a variety of delicious choices.  At Veggie Fest, Soul Vegetarian will be demoing Scrambled Tofu and Kale.  You can also visit them at their food booth and sample more of their delicious food.  They will be in the food court in B-11. http://www.soulvegetarianeast.com/

Borrowed Earth Cafe

Danny and Kathy Living are just two regular people who watched the movie, "The Secret" 90 days in a row after writing on a piece of paper, "We opened Borrowed Earth Cafe in October of 2007." They had only been eating raw five months and had no business opening a restaurant. They were unemployed...but enthusiastic. Now, four years later, they've been rated regularly by visitors as one of the best raw food restaurants in the world, by people who've traveled and tried a lot of raw food places. Their place is like their home...a place to enjoy food made with the finest organic ingredients with that certain something that keeps people coming back for more. Come enjoy their down-to-borrowed-earth approach to common sense and good food without compromising your taste buds or feeling like you'll spend your life looking longingly at other people's plate. Nonsense! Their book "Borrowed Earth Cafe, People Like Us on Facebook" is scheduled for release this fall. Come watch this off-beat couple entertain you while they demo their yummy chocolate / coconut truffles.http://www.borrowedearthcafe.com/index.html

Nature's Path

We are pleased to have Nature's Path Organics back at Veggie Fest.  In the 40-plus years since Arran Stephens opened his first organic restaurant, he has worked tirelessly to spread the organic love far and wide.  Arran has worked to keep organic advocacy at the forefront of his company’s mission. It’s more than just digging into a bowl of cereal.  It’s eating food that is real and healthy and organic and delicious. Enjoying each bite mindfully. Sharing it in the company of friends. Knowing the food you’re eating is doing good for your body and the planet. And saying “Mmmm” as often as possible.  Come and taste Nature's Path delicious products at their demo.  http://www.naturespath.com/

Chicago Soy Dairy

Chicago Soydairy manufactures all of their own products in our their own facility using an entirely vegan staff.  Most food companies contract others to produce products for them, making it very difficult to completely eliminate the possibility of cross contamination.  Dairy products, animal products, tree nuts, and peanuts never even enter our facility, giving our vegan and allergy-sensitive customers peace of mind.  Chicago Soy Dairy will be serving up samples while demoing their products.  http://www.chicagosoydairy.com/

 Cookbook Authors and Vegetarian/Vegan Coaches

We are pleased to present these exceptional chefs who are also cookbook authors and coaches:

Speed Vegan with Alan Roettinger

Chef extraordinaire and cookbook author Alan Roettinger pairs his skill at creating delicious gourmet fare with the use of a wide array of plant-based ingredients to create easy recipes with clean, simple flavors.  Chef Alan will dish out pointers on what to have on hand and how to employ his special shortcuts to get great results.  He has been a private chef for over 28 years.  He has cooked in private homes, catered parties and provided specialty desserts for a broad spectrum of high profile clients, from entertainers to presidents.  His books on cooking include Speed Vegan, Omega 3 Cuisine and Malibu's Cooking Again.  Alan will be preparing samples for Cannelini Salad with Mint and Mexisraeli Salad on Saturday and Miso-red Curry Slaw and Nutty Chocolate Balls on Sunday.  Check out his website and blog: www.alanroettinger.com   http://veganascent.blogspot.com/

Vegan in 30 Days with Sarah Taylor

Have you wanted to go vegan but aren’t sure where to start?  Do you have family or friends who are on the fence about it but think it’s “too difficult?”  Sarah Taylor will help you to achieve a vegan lifestyle easily.  A vegan since 2002, she owns the company The Vegan Next Door where she works as a motivational speaker and trainer.  Sarah’s book Vegan in 30 Days gives advice on how to go vegan, what to eat to be healthy, how to be prepared in the kitchen, and how to elegantly navigate social situations.  Sarah holds a certificate in Plant Based Nutrition from Cornell University and is on the faculty at Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Nutritional Education Institute.  While this is a talk, not a cooking demo, Sarah has graciously provided us with snacks that are from a recipe in her new book.  http://www.thevegannextdoor.com/

Food for Life with Christine Waltermyer

Christine Waltermyer is the founder and director of The Natural Kitchen Cooking School, offering Chef’s Training Programs, personal chef service and in-home cooking classes in Princeton, NJ and Manhattan. With over a decade of experience in the field of natural cooking, Christine is a masterful chef and teacher specializing in macrobiotic and vegan cuisines. Her personal chef clients include well known celebrities.  Christine teaches "Food for Life" cooking classes for The Cancer Project. She has co-taught with legendary natural foods leader, Michio Kushi, at The Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, Massachusetts.In her book, “The Natural Vegan Kitchen,” Christine Waltermyer shows why nothing can equal the flavors of fresh, seasonal, local and organic ingredients that also offer more nutritional bang for your buck – more vitamins and minerals and no chemical residues.  http://www.naturalkitchenschool.com/index.php

Eating Healthy with a Raw Diet: Mona Grayson

Mona Grayson knows the benefits of a raw diet first hand.  She used to weigh almost 200 pounds. Mona had been vegan for several years, but definitely wasn't healthy. It was a big deal if she made it through the day without needing a nap! Choosing to eat raw food changed everything. Not only did she go from a size 16 to a size 6, but she says her skin looked younger, she felt happier, and her energy levels totally shot up. Now she travels the country helping vegans and vegetarians make the shift to eating raw food like she did. Curious? Come to her demo at Veggie Fest and stop by her website to say hi: http://www.somelikeitraw.com/. Besides imparting her wisdom about raw foods, Mona will be demonstrating three delicious recipes: Raw Creamy Garlic Alfredo Noodles, I Can't Believe I'm Craving Kale Salad, and Raw Chocolate Almond Fudge. 

Rachel's Fusion with Rachel Cantore

Rachel Cantore is a personal trainer, personal chef, and nutrition coach.  She is on a mission to get as many people actively involved in living a healthy liftestyle (from exercise, to eating well, to general wellbeing).  Rachel loves working with children as well as helping adults form healthy habits. Exericse and cooking/eating well are two passions of hers and you will soon love them just as much as she does!  Rachel will be offering a demo showcasing her vegetarian creations.  http://www.rachelsfusion.com/

Radiant Health & Inner Wealth with Tess Challis

Quintessence ("Tess") Challis is an author, vegan chef, wellness coach, cooking instructor, and personal trainer.  In 1991, she adopted a vegan diet and found it made a world of difference for her health. Since 1994, she has shared this knowledge through cooking classes, personal chef work, catering, meditation workshops, speaking events, and more.  In 2009, Tess published the 2nd edition of Radiant Health, Inner Wealth, a vegan cookbook and complete holistic health resource. Tess's second book, The Two-Week Wellness Solution: The Fast Track to Permanent Weight Loss and Vitality, was released in June 2010 and includes a foreword by Dr. Neal Barnard. Her latest book, Radiance 4 Life: The 4 Cornerstones of Ultimate Vitality, was just published in June 2011 and includes a foreword by Robert Cheeke.

Stop by and hear Tess talk about achieving radiant health and sample her Raw Catalonian Kale.  http://www.radianthealth-innerwealth.com/

Guest Chefs

Every year we invite talented guest chefs to fill out our demo schedule at Veggie Fest.  This year we will have raw, vegan and vegetarian demos that feature a many cuisines from around the world.

Salads Make a Meal: Ray Glend

Ray Glend , has  over 30 years of history  with natural health and plant based diets.  He is a vegan culinary expert and a vegan food chef.  Ray is also a ve

teran  of marathons as an Olympic-style speed walker, out-pacing many runners because of his strategic focus and perfected techniques.  He is an expert in Chinese food grade herbs and their contribution to vitality.  Ray leads holistic workshops and seminars educatingindividuals, families,  and executives on health, fitness,nutrition and stress reduction. He offers lifestyle coaching for many who want to significantly transform their health, fitness, or energylevel.  His wife and soul mate is Susan Glend.  Ray wil be demoing a salad and vegetable soup.  You can also visit him at his Sunrider booth at B-42.  http://www.sunrider.com/Eng/home.aspx 

Gluten-free Vegetarian: Eileen and Mark Carlotto

Eileen Carlotto is a middle school art teacher and long time vegetarian and meditation practitioner.  She has been cooking and eating gluten-free vegetarian for the past three years since she was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  Mark Carlotto has been a vegetarian for six years.  He has a Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering and works in the aerospace industry.  A descendent of Italian immigrants, Mark loves to cook.  Together Eileen and Mark have been developing delicious gluten-free vegetarian dishes that are easy to prepare (and clean up after).  At Veggie Fest they will demo gluten-free burritos with tomatillo sauce.

Power Green Shakes: Lady Prema and Debbie Bennett

Prema has been a vegetarian, practitioner of meditation, a spiritual and health activist for 40 years. She has been in a detox ministry for 20 years.  Author of Align with the Divine and just published Are you Buggin?  She says, " When people are unhealthy they cannot enjoy their lives and pursue their spiritual goals they have to spend most of their time dealing with the illnesses that come from an unhealthy lifestyle."

Debbie has been a vegetarian for 27 years and a vegan for 10. She has taught yoga for a number of years and most recently at Germanna Community College and the University of Mary Washington. Deborah has been practicing Yoga for 30 years and Meditation for the past 27 years. Deborah says, "I like to find ways of inspiring my yoga students to choose a healthy lifestyle."

Debbie and Lady Prema will demo Power live green shakes, that include spiralina and Sun Chlorella which both contain all the B vitamins including B12 which is sometimes deficient in the vegetarian diet and has 22 amino acids which make them very high in protein. You will learn how incorporating these Power live green shakes into your diet daily will provide you with the optimum health and vitality needed for a joyful life and energy for spiritual practices..

Indian Delights: Vimi Shukla and Jasbir Singh 

Veggie Fest wouldn't be the same without our favorite Indian ladies demonstrating the art of spicing.  They will be serving samples of their native cuisine that are sure to delight all those in search of exotic and healthy food. 

Vimi is passionate about cooking and is always exploring new possibilities.  Her family inspires her to try out new dishes, and it gives her immense pleasure when people enjoy her new creations. She is always looking for ways to make heart-healthy, delicious and wholesome meals which satisfiy both the head and heart. 

Jasbir comes from Northern part of India. She enjoys testing new recipes that combine healthy ingredients and faster preparation techniques. She aims to deliver  "tasty" food to family and friends with focus on healthy body and happy stomach!

Cheap College Eats: Tracy Mooney

Tracy Mooney is a foodie who loves to cook.  She searches cookbooks and food blogs for pleasing recipes to serve her family.  Inspired by her son who will be off to college soon, Tracy will demonstrate easy to prepare foods that don't sacrifice taste.

Rah Rah Raw: Katie Ivey and Malik Hodari

More and more people are curious about incorporating more raw food into their diets.  The team who presents this demo is a favorite year after year at Veggie 

Fest and will have a wealth of knowledge to impart about the benefits of eating raw

South of the Border: Teresita Sosa and Maria Aponte

Latin food is ever popular in our culture and being a vegetarian or even a vegan doesn't mean foregoing this cuisine.  Teresita Garcia-Sosa will delight us with foods from Mexico that are tasty and healthy.

Healing Spices: Linda Scotti

Every good cook knows that herbs and spices enhance the flavor of what we are cooking, but did you know that they can be healing agents also?  Linda Scotti has traveled the globe and lived on 4 continents, working as a registered nurse, educator, and counselor.  She has been a vegetarian for more than 40 years and her love for living a healthy lifestyle and keeping fit is what inspires her to share her knowledge and the research on the healthy aspects of a vegetarian diet.  Her demo will explore incorporating healing spices and herbs in your cooking.