Cheloy Ignacio

The raw food chef is a living example of the health benefits this type of cuisine offers.

The raw food chef is a living example of the health benefits this type of cuisine offers.

                                                         
                                     Thanks to raw food, Cheloy Ignacio bade bye-bye to hypertension,
                                       arthritis, and gastroenteritis—and 20 pounds in 10 days, too!
                                                         
How did you get into eating and cooking raw food?
I was suffering from hypertension, arthritis, and gastroenteritis. I had high sugar and cholesterol levels. Ang dami kong gamot na iniinom. Each time I’d see a doctor, they’d say that I needed a change in lifestyle, but I didn’t understand what they meant exactly. Until one day, I met a doctor who told me about raw food. I started eating salads and did some research. I traveled to the US and found a school [that teaches the basic principles of] raw food. Nag-aral ako. Nawala ang sakit ko. Three days pa lang, hindi ko na iniinom yung gamot ko. And in 10 days, I lost 20 pounds!

Wow, a full recovery! Explain the raw food program to us.
You use organic ingredients—no chemicals, no pesticides, no hormones. And because hindi dumadaan sa apoy ang pagkain, you consume 100 percent of the nutrients. Once you pass food through about 105ºF, you radically decrease its nutritional value. Raw food has live enzymes that the body looks for; that’s why it’s easy to digest. At the same time, you’re nourishing yourself with the right kinds of food.

But you don’t eat just fruits and vegetables? That’s the typical assumption about raw foodism.
No, marami 'yan—sprouts, nuts, seeds, grains, beans, seaweed, and dried fruits. When I discovered this, I realized that it’s not boring. I thought that it was going to be the end of good food. But I can still have fettuccine Alfredo, marinara, assorted sushi mushrooms—and they’re all raw.

So you can have classic dishes but in a different form. What do you substitute some common cooked ingredients with?
Instead of sushi rice, I use jicama (singkamas). Instead of pasta noodles, I make “pasta” out of zucchini. I also discovered that napakasarap pala ng chayote noodles. For the sauce, para sumarap siya, we use ginger, organic oil, miso, agave syrup, and other ingredients.

Since fruits and vegetables play a key role in your daily meals, where do you source good-quality produce from?
I have different suppliers. I get organic vegetables from Maawi Organic Farms in Pangasinan. They supply me with a good variety—leafy greens, basil, tomatoes, herbs, even organic eggs.

We hear you use special equipment when preparing your dishes. Can you tell us more about that?
We have a spiruli that makes strands or spaghetti noodles out of vegetables. The spiralizer turns them into angel hair pasta. We also have the dehydrator for our cakes and cookies. We dehydrate them for two to three days. And then we have an ozonator to clean our vegetables.

You also operate a restaurant with a raw food menu. Since you opened, what kind of feedback have you gotten? Are many people taking to raw food?
I have a lot of clients who are really happy to have found this restaurant. In fact, cancer doctors tell their patients to visit our place. I have a 20-year-old client who has cancer. Ayaw niyang mabuhay kasi wala na daw siyang makain. Hindi ko pa alam at that time pero yung boyfriend pala niya nasa restaurant every day. Nung natikman daw niya yung pagkain ko, in three days, nag-iba [ang pakiramdam] niya. It made her want to live again. Sabi ng boyfriend niya sa akin, “Ilalabas ko na siya sa hospital, Ma’am.” Sobra akong natuwa! Lalo akong na-iinspire. When you try my dishes, you’ll be healed. I’m living proof of that.

RawVolution is in G/F Doña Juanita Building, 112 Kamuning Road, Quezon City; tel. no.: 687-1121; mobile nos.: (0917) 386-8277, (0927) 950-5590.


Photography by Patrick Martires │ Interview by Angelo Comsti │ Hair & Makeup by AJ Baguio


This article was published in the September 2010 issue of Yummy magazine.

• joseph 7 months ago View all replies1 Report Abuse

     

  mam trying to contact the number in your kamuning place but the numbers are unrecognized. do you have other numbers, i am interested to attend your 1 day seminar. when is your next schedule. many thanks and more power
  • aimee_m 7 months ago Report Abuse

       

    Hi, Joseph :) The last two numbers are cell phone numbers, ok? You might mistake them for landlines. :)