Coming Next: Associate Chef and Instructor Certification™ Series

June 7-June 27

This all-inclusive series of courses takes students to the next level of confidence and expertise: exploring world cuisines, developing and writing recipes, transforming traditional cooked dishes into health-promoting gourmet raw cuisine, organizing large events, and learning about the science of raw food nutrition. You'll go home empowered and confident in your ability to produce incredible new dishes at any time—without the need for recipes. You will also learn to write recipes suitable for publishing.

Once the Associate Chef and Instructor Training Series is completed, the following subsequent courses may be taken in any order, as long as they are completed within two years:

Ethnic Flavors in Recipe Development™ is an exceptional 5-day hands on course that teaches how to create the flavors and textures of the most popular world cuisines. Travel around the world to exotic places like Italy, China, Thailand, Mexico, France, and India. Each day, students explore two different world cuisines, reaching for new levels of creativity, as they learn to develop exciting new recipes. The grand finale is an ethnic extravaganza.

RawFusion Gourmet Spa Cuisine™ is a 5-day creative course that explores the light and lively fare we serve at our exclusive retreats in exotic locations. Every day an entire feast is created using a small number of ingredients with various textures and flavors to produce an unlimited assortment of dishes. High in fruits and greens, and low in fat, this deliciously light yet satisfying cuisine is a favorite of the Living Light staff.

Do you love preparing scrumptious desserts, learning new recipes and dessert plating techniques? Explore the world of raw pastry arts with two master raw dessert specialists, Cherie Soria and Vinnette Thompson. Discover the secret of making raw desserts that are better and healthier than their cooked counterparts! In this hands-on course, you will learn to work with various raw sweeteners, thickeners, binders, gelling agents, and emulsifiers to recreate familiar gourmet sweet treats. All desserts are dairy-free and gluten-free and contain no white sugar. Learn to make Lemon Chiffon Pie, Tiramisu, California Mudslide Pie, Lemon Poppyseed Cake, Gelato, Sorbet, Chocolate Fondue, and much more!

Living Light Associate Chef and Instructor Graduates only.

Vinnette Thompson

Join us for Living Light Center’s 3rd Anniversary Party and Cherie’s new book launch! The Raw Revolution Diet™ Feast, Lose Weight, Gain Energy, Feel Younger is hot off the presses, with important guidelines for how to:

The bonus 21-day Weight Loss Program included in the book has over 150 delicious recipes, and great sample menus! Cherie will give a brief talk and you’ll have the opportunity to purchase an autographed copy of her new book.

Delicious gourmet food catered by Living Light Students will include Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms, Zucchini Hummus with Crudité, Dolmas, Falafel, Hibiscus Cooler, and Apple Baklava.

It’s also Cherie’s birthday and we would love for you to be there for this spectacular Celebration Trio!

Cherie’s coauthors for the book are respected dieticians Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina:

Testimonials for The Raw Revolution Diet™
“Cherie Soria, Brenda Davis, and Vesanto Melina are highly professional people in the plant-based food field and know as much as anyone about this topic.  If you want to consider really getting healthy and staying healthy, this a very good place to start.”
T. Colin Campbell, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry, Cornell University, Author, The China Study

What makes Living Light’s Vibrant Living Expo and Culinary Showcase™ unique? The event, which takes place August 22-24 on the beautiful Mendocino coast of Northern California, will highlight some of the top raw chefs on the planet, who will join our own Cherie Soria in one of the most spectacular line-ups of raw culinary artists ever assembled, anywhere! Let us drop some names! We're excited to announce newly confirmed presenters and restaurant celebrity chefs from the Los Angeles area: Jenny Ross of 118 Degrees, and Rachel Carr of the restaurant Cru. Other stellar chefs include Chef Lawrence of Terra Bella in Redondo Beach, CA, "The Raw Gourmet", Nomi Shannon, Elaina Love of Café Soulstice in San Francisco, Vinnette Thompson of The Raw Underground in Florida, Ronnie and Minh (whose film Going Raw was shown at the 2nd Annual Raw Lifestyle Film Festival), Jennifer Italiano, a wonderful chef at the delightful Live Health Cafe in Toronto, and others TBA. Gourmet raw food chefs Cherie Soria, Victoria Boutenko, and Rhio will also be doing talks at the Expo, in addition to demonstrating their culinary expertise.

Keynote speaker Dr. Gabriel Cousens will be joining Living Light directors Cherie Soria and Dan Ladermann this year, as well as Viktoras Kulvinskas, Dr. Doug Graham, Victoria Boutenko, Dr. Fred Bisci, Happy Oasis, Dr. Ruza Bogdanovich, Drs. Rick and Karin Dina, Dr. Leslie Van Romer, David Rainoshek, Matt Monarch, and Angela Stokes, whose amazing weight loss journey (from 294 pounds to 133 pounds) has been an inspiration to many all over the planet! And we're pleased to welcome our newest presenters, Kristie Phelps from PETA, and Jan Allegretti, author of The Complete Holistic Dog Book, and Listen to the Silence. Jan will share with us her wonderful insights on home health care for our canine companions! We'll have over 50 talks, 6 Ask the Experts discussions, and 25 culinary presentations, so this year's expo promises be an extraordinary event!

We are expecting several other very special guests, including world renowned crystal bowl performer AwaHoshi Kavan and Dorit of Serenity Spaces with her host of filmmakers, and musical performers JahSun and his Reggae Beats, The Human Revolution, and The Living Raw. We’ll keep you updated with all the latest Expo news in future bulletins!

Pre-and Post-Expo classes and workshops are slated with top experts in raw food nutrition, including Dr. Douglas Graham's Natural Hygiene Raw Nutritional Science Certification Course Monday and Tuesday, August 18th and 19th, and Maximum Athletic Performance seminar Wednesday and Thursday, August 20th and 21st.

Due to popular demand Dr. Graham has added a second day to his Maximum Athletic Performance class, therefore The Natural Hygiene Raw Nutritional Science Certification Course has been moved to the 18th and 19th of August.

On Monday, August 25, raw food guru Viktoras Kulvinskas will offer a special seminar and Raw Food Doctors™ Rick and Karen Dina will present their popular Introduction to The Science of Raw Food Nutrition™ course. This year's Expo promises to be an event to savor! There will be an opportunity to take Living Light's one-day FUNdamentals of Raw Living Foods™ Intensive (the first step in the Living Light certification process) on Tuesday, August 26. Those of you who have already attended know how incredible this event is, and for those who have not yet attended, SIGN UP NOW FOR THE EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT !

The three-day Expo ticket:
$165 before July 1st, $195 July 1st and after

The spectacular new 4-day workshop, Pastry Arts-Unbaked!™ with Cherie Soria and Vinnette Thompson on August 18-21 is already filling up! The 4th Annual Vibrant Living Expo and Culinary Showcase™ will be THE place to network, to learn from nutrition and raw food experts, holistic visionaries, and to experience the culinary magic of the best raw food chefs in the world. A new wellness pavilion this year will include dance, music, yoga, bodywork, and other therapeutic modalities, as well as Exhibitor Booths offering a variety of dazzling delicacies and products for conscious living. Last year's exhibitors were awed by the knowledgeable attendees at the Vibrant Living Expo. It's a target audience of informed planetary citizens, making a difference in their own lives and in the world! Health Panels, Living Light's famous Raw Pie Contest, a Rising Star Chef Showcase, and a Mini Film Festival with appearances and Q & A with the filmmakers. Sign up now for the most professional, well-organized, detail oriented, awesome raw food event ever!

ATTENTION EXHIBITORS: Book your booths early, as spaces will fill up! Volunteer opportunities are available. See you on the Mendocino coast this summer!
EXPO Raffle Winners!
Congratulations to three lucky winners of 3-Day Expo Passes! Mark Welch of Willits, CA was the raffle winner at the Ukiah VegFest, and Chris Slawson of Redondo Beach, CA won at the Raw Lifestyle Film Fest in Los Angeles! And our newest winner, Michele Nerino from Brampton, Ontario! Stay tuned for future winners!

This month’s spotlight: Viktoras Kulvinskas

In honor of our 500th guest reservation (May 9) at Living Light Inn, we are offering a Summer Mid-Week Special: Stay 2 midweek nights and receive dinner for two at the Living Light Café and Cuisine To-Go ($40 value)

We know that with the increase in gas prices, food costs, and a spike in seasonal summer inn rates traveling can be difficult, so Living Light Inn is helping you cut your travel costs this summer—we will not raise our rates during the busy summer season! Visitors to the coast will enjoy our eco-friendly accommodations at reasonable prices from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  You and your traveling companion can pamper yourselves with a midweek two-night stay at the eco-friendly Living Light Inn, and have a lovely dinner for two at Living Light Café (A $40 value).  Experience the beautiful Mendocino coast and dine on organic, vegan cuisine at Living Light Café. You’ll sleep soundly and comfortably on organic bedding, and our windows open to let in plenty of delightful coastal fresh air! Take a break from the heat—come to the coast and save this summer!  A two-night stay ranges from $220 to $350 pending availability.

On June 14, Living Light Inn will donate a two-night stay for the auction at the Chocolate, Wine and Ale Festival, which benefits the annual (and very famous) Mendocino Music Festival.  The inn stay is valued at $350, and is redeemable pending availability.

At Living Light Marketplace we’re seeing red—appliances, that is! We just love how the color red brightens up our kitchens, and looks both modern and clean! Start with the Kyocera ultra light ceramic paring knife with an easy-to-grip-handle. Blade length is 8 cm. The ceramic blade leaves no metallic taste, is stain-and rust-proof—the ultimate cutting tool for slicing fruits and vegetables. Ceramic blades are nearly as hard as a diamond, resulting in a razor sharp blade that retains sharpness 10 times longer than a steel knife! $29.95

Move on to the Cuisinart Mini-Prep plus, the perfect little helper for small jobs, from chopping herbs to fine chopping nuts, seeds, vegetables, and making quick pates. Designed in Italy, this little gem features a 24 ounce work bowl and dishwasher safe parts! Great little traveling companion, too! $42.95

Both the Vita Mix Pro and Blendtec high-speed blenders now come in red. Vitamix has variable speed control, and one of our favorite features—a great tamper tool to help push thick or dense ingredients into the stainless steel, laser cut blades. Wonderful for making almond cheese! We love this one at Living Light! $499

Our other favorite is the Blendtec with 30 pre-programmed blend cycles and 10 blending speeds. Choose the cycle for your recipe. You get real commercial power, and you don’t need to stand by the blender while you are preparing food. You can get your smoothie going while you brush your teeth! $430