Mr. Trainor

Food & Beverage

In the Raw: Turning the Raw Cuisine Trend into Raves for your Restaurant

By Robert Trainor, Exec Chef, Hilton

For a long time, the hotel industry's interpretation of "vegetarian cuisine" was a sad selection of scantily seasoned grilled or steamed vegetables, or ethnic dishes denuded of their spices to make them more palatable to an American marketplace. Vegetarian cuisine was perceived as a time-consuming specialty that really had little place in the high-volume, bustling kitchens of a busy hotel industry. Changes in Americans' awareness of healthful cuisine, as well as the industry's movement toward spas in hotels, are creating a need for better-tasting, interesting and cost-effective vegetarian alternatives.

Raw cuisine is an ideal solution. Chef Roxanne Klein of Roxanne's in Larkspur, Calif. has been a leader in putting raw cuisine into the mainstream and getting the word out about this great alternative. Raw cuisine takes vegetarian cooking to a new level and opens up many new paths in the preparation of non-meat dishes.

Health experts tell us that the minerals and nutrients found in raw vegetables are key to good health and longevity. The natural process of cooking tends to remove many of these nutrients and destroys the natural enzymes needed for the remaining nutrients to be metabolized by our bodies. Raw cuisine advocates believe that by cooking vegetables at a temperature no greater than 118 degrees you can both preserve the food's nutritional value and achieve diversity in your preparations and presentations.

Raw cuisine combines seasonal, organic vegetables, which are totally raw or have been slightly cooked, to create compositions that are a marriage of textures and flavors. To these, the chef adds vinaigrette, vegetable purees, juices etc.

Many Asian products, such as miso, nori and kelp, are useful accents to these combinations. Dairy is replaced with liquids such as almond milk, which is made be soaking almonds in filtered water, processing them and then straining the "milk" from the pulp. To create a substitute for cheese, combine cashews soaked in filtered water with sea salt and Rejulelac (fermented water from sprouts that have soaked for one to two days). After a few experiments with these simple recipes, you realize the possibilities for vegan dishes are endless. You may wonder how you could have served something as simple as a grilled vegetable plate. I know I did.

So why should we, as hoteliers as well as food professionals, consider incorporating raw cuisine into our menus? Because an increasingly knowledgeable and health-aware dining public has raised the bar for chefs to create vegetarian dishes with as much passion and creativity as they would invest in any fish or meat dish on their menus. Raw cuisine takes this thought to the next level. For many advocates, raw cuisine is not just a way to prepare vegetables, it's a lifestyle. As food professionals, we can give our customers a taste of this lifestyle without sacrificing our fundamental objective of running a successful operation.

From an operations point of view, there are very few challenges in adding raw cuisine to your menu mix. If your property has a spa, you already have an audience who will likely welcome the chance to try raw cuisine. Since little or no cooking is involved in prep, raw cuisine will not affect the amount of stove space available. Labor demands are also decreased since the preparation process is streamlined without cooking. And most kitchens are already equipped with the essential tools of preparation for raw cuisine.

All kitchens have food processors that can be used to grate, chop, mince and make vegetable mousse. A strong blender, also found in most kitchens, can be used to make sauces, purees and soups. Vegetable and fruit juices, extracted without any pulp by using a juice extractor, can be used to make drinks, vinaigrettes and sauces. The only piece of equipment you may need to add will be a dehydrator. This device is used to extract the moisture from vegetables and fruits while leaving all the enzymes and nutrients intact. From dehydrated slices of vegetables you can make crisp chips to enhance your recipes. This can also be accomplished with a convection oven set on its lowest temperature and the fan on, or in an electric warming cabinet set at a low holding temperature.

The two biggest challenges of raw cuisine will be the creativity of your culinary team and your commitment to using only the finest quality ingredients. There is no wiggle room in terms of ingredients. You cannot hide a lower quality ingredient with deep-frying, creams or flavorful sauces. In raw cuisine, the whole is not just greater than the sum of its parts, the parts have to be good enough to stand on their own as well. At Hilton Short Hills, we have added raw cuisine items such as Lavender Accented Plum Tomatoes with Cashew Cheese, Asparagus Marmalade, Parsley Jus and Micro Basil Greens to our menu, along with Summer Squash Soup with Guacamole and Organic Cilantro Salad. These dishes, and other raw cuisine selections, have been welcomed by our guests, who find the same fresh, seasonal, top-quality ingredients in these dishes that they enjoy in our more mainstream menu items.

My passion for vegetarian cuisine has come a long way from the days when I was challenged to come up with an entirely vegan menu for 1,500 people attending the PETA annual awards dinner at the Waldorf=Astoria. Then, the concepts were new to me and I still viewed vegan food as a specialty or a challenge, not a staple part of my menus. Now, with the discerning patrons of the Hilton Short Hills' popular Spa to feed, raw cuisine has helped us create a food service experience that is indicative of the lifestyle a spa represents, yet unique at the same time. Our banquet and restaurant teams are also committed to offering vegetarian alternatives for all meals and events.

Ultimately, raw cuisine fits well with our up-scale image, the health consciousness of our Spa guests, and the culinary adventurism of many of our patrons. It's a cost-effective way to keep our culinary team at the forefront of the industry while supplying our customers with the healthful vegetarian cuisine they increasingly demand.

Robert Trainor is executive chef of Hilton Short Hills. He manages all aspects of menu and meal preparation, staffing and training in the hotel’s restaurants, room service and all banquets. As Executive Sous Chef at the Waldorf=Astoria, retooled the menu of Oscar’s, while maintaining elements of the restaurant’s tradition. Educated at Johnson & Wales University, Trainor’s achievements include becoming a certified sommelier, serving as the 95th Distinguished Visiting Chef of Johnson & Wales University, and garnering numerous gold and silver medals in international culinary competitions. Mr. Trainor can be contacted at 973 912 7974 or Robert_Trainor@Hilton.com Extended Bio...

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