Stay after the Vibrant Living Expo and join Cherie Soria, Martine Lussier, and Matt Samuelson for the first level of Living Light Training!

FUNdamentals of Raw Living Foods™ with Cherie Soria, Martine Lussier, and Matt Samuelson
Where: Fort Bragg, California
When: Tuesday, August 25  (Check in 8:30 AM, Class time is 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM) - following the Vibrant Living Expo
Tuition: $365, includes lunch and samples
Location:  Living Light Culinary Arts Center, Main Street, Fort Bragg, California

FUNdamentals of Raw Living Foods™ with Cherie Soria and Martine Lussier
Where:  Santa Barbara, California
When:  Wednesday, June 3 (Check in 8:30 AM, Class time is 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM)
Tuition:  $365, includes lunch and samples
Location:  Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara
1535 Santa Barbara Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Call Living Light at 707-964-2420 to register, or register online at RawFoodChef.com

Take advantage of this opportunity to attend Living Light's entry-level class.  This class is the first in the chef training series and is a prerequisite to most of the other courses. 
 
In this class, you will discover the magic of creating fabulous organic raw vegan cuisine for optimal health and rejuvenation!  Dozens of superb culinary presentations will show you everything you need to know to create a wide variety of delicious, easy-to-prepare raw recipes.  Learn to make healthy and delicious everyday favorites using whole, fresh, ripe, raw, organic foods.  See and sample rich nut milks and creams, appetizers and pates, cultured foods, smoothies, sauces, dressings, soups and salads, simple entrees, dehydrated goodies and snacks, and desserts.  Learn kitchen gardening and sprouting, basic knife techniques, and equipment use.  You will be provided a complete recipe folder and resource guide and will sample all the foods prepared during the class.  A delicious buffet lunch will also be served!  No prerequisites are required.  This class is open to participants of any skill level, novice to professional.  Tuition: $365

Register online or call 707-964-2420 to sign up today!

We're very excited to launch our social media presence at last - we've started a new blog, Raw Food Chef, and Facebook pages for Cherie Soria, Living Light Culinary Arts Institute, and Living Light Inn, and a Cherie Soria channel on YouTube! Please join us as a friend and become a fan! On our blog, we plan to have fun sharing with you news of our upcoming events, the amazing things our students are doing, tips and tricks of the trade, and connections to the movers and shakers in the raw food world. We're looking forward to connecting with all of you in a variety of new ways! Stay tuned...

Cherie's first appearance on View from the Bay was a great success - it became one of the top videos of 2008!  Watch her second appearance online, and get Cherie's new recipes for her easy-to-make, delicious, sugar-free, dairy-free and guilt-free Cherries Jubilant served three ways:  Parfait, Cobbler, and Sauce over Ice Cream from her new book The Raw Food Revolution Diet, coauthored with Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina.

To watch the demo, click here

You make a difference!  Your clicks to view Cherie's video clip let the View from the Bay staff and ABC television know that you want more information about raw foods!  Help keep Cherie and her amazing gourmet raw vegan cuisine in the spotlight by writing to the View from the Bay - request more demos about raw foods and more appearances by Cherie on the show, and please request a segment about our school and her new book - The Raw Food Revolution Diet: Feast, Lose Weight, Gain Energy, Feel Younger.

Click here to send your story suggestion to View from the Bay!  Help spread the word about raw foods, Living Light and Cherie Soria today!
 

At Living Light we are continually thinking of new ways to enhance our curriculum and provide everything our students need in order to be able to follow their dreams as they return to their communities.  Our goal has always been to support students in developing their ability to create delicious meals for themselves and their families, as well as to share with others the benefits of the raw food lifestyle.  With our new one-day FUNdamentals of Raw Living Foods™ format, we are now able to honor student requests by offering our newest three part series:  Sharpen Up Your Knife Skills!™

The first two parts of the series, Basic Knife Skills 101 and Knife Skills 102 will be offered on the Sunday immediately following each FUNdamentals™ class, so that when students begin hands-on training during Essentials of Raw Culinary Arts™ their knife skills will be properly "honed" and they will have increased confidence as they continue with their education.  Or, students may opt to take the knife skills series at a separate date, depending on personal schedule and finances.

The 3-Part Sharpen Up Your Knife Skills!™ Series (which will include Precision Knife Skills and Decorative Cuts 201) are included in the core curriculum required to complete the Gourmet Raw Food Chef Certification™ and Raw Culinary Arts Professional Chef Certification™ programs.

When you register for any of the Sharpen Up Your Knife Skills!™ classes at the same time as the 3-part Associate Chef and Instructor Training™ Series, you will receive 10% off on all classes!

When you register for any of the Sharpen Up Your Knife Skills!™ classes at the same time as the Gourmet Chef Training™ Series, you will receive 15% off on all classes!

Sharpen Up Your Knife Skills!™ is designed for all levels of expertise, from novice through professional instructor - taking a progressive approach to the development of knife skills through demonstration, hands-on practice (not in all classes) and reference materials. Basic Knife Skills 101 and Knife Skills 102 provide all necessary equipment with the exception of the required text. The 200 series requires that the student provide their own knives and chef wear.

We have 3 classes, which must be taken in order:
● Basic Knife Skills 101
● Knife Skills 102
● Precision Knife Skills and Decorative Cuts 201

Basic Knife Skills 101
This four-hour hands-on class is the prerequisite for all Living Light knife skills classes. Proper knives, equipment, and supplies will be provided for students to use during the class. Students will learn:
● Knife safety
● Proper way to grip a knife
● Anatomy of a knife
● Slicing, dicing, chopping, and mincing
● Which knives to use for which task
● Cutting herbs and leafy greens
● Keeping your knife sharp
● Hands-on knife skills practice

No prerequisite required, this class is open to the general public

Required text: Knife Skills Illustrated
Tuition: $145
Class time: Sunday 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM (no meal service)
Dates for 2009: July 5, September 6, October 4

Knife Skills 102
This 2.5 hour class is the prerequisite for advanced Living Light knife skills classes. Students will learn how to cut specific fruits and vegetables quickly and efficiently from observing these demonstrations:
● Clean, slice, and dice mushrooms
● Cut spherical vegetables, like beets and celery root
● Slice and dice celery and fennel
● Clean, slice, dice, shred, and mince leeks
● Julienne bell peppers without waste
● Section citrus fruits and zest the skin
● Prepare cylindrical vegetables like zucchini
● Cut broccoli and cauliflower into florets and discover the tender stalks
● Cut fruits like mangoes, pineapple, coconuts,apples, pears, avocados
● Chiffonade leafy greens for a finely shredded appearance

No special equipment is needed for this class.

Prerequisite: Basic Knife Skills 101
Tuition: $95
Class time: Sunday 2:30 - 5:00 PM (no meal service)
Dates for 2009: July 5, September 6, October 4

Precision Knife Skills and Decorative Cuts 201
In this six-hour hands-on class students will learn a variety of fruit and vegetable cuts, primarily those of uncommon shapes. Focus will be on precision cutting and perfectly proportioned cuts. Students are required to bring a chef knife, paring knife, mandoline, safety glove, and chef wear.

Prerequisites: Basic Knife Skills 101 and Knife Skills 102
Required Text: Professional Chef's Knife Kit Illustrated (paperback)
Tuition: $195
Class time: Sunday 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM (with one hour lunch break - no meal service)
Dates for 2009: July 18, September 19, October 17
 
Read what students had to say about our new Sharpen Up Your Knife Skills!™ Series:

Taking the basic knife skills class was very helpful to me. Reviewing all my weak points and taking them to a better understanding, about the how and why to do it right. It was a truly remarkable experience and looking forward for the advance class.
- A. R. - from Mexico

The hands on work with personal attention from the cutting edge experts at Living Light really allowed me to solve a problem I'd been having with my knife technique. The time spent was truly worth while.
- B. McC. - from California

I have been teaching raw food classes for nearly 5 years. It wasn't until Cherie mentioned the knife skills 101 class that I realized I needed to review. We are starting a catering business and definitely saw the need to refresh my own personal skills. In class I re-learned the proper ergonomics, safety & knife holding techniques. If you are venturing into the Raw Food world this class is a must! You will learn how to be able to work hours and days at a time with out fatigue. Knife safety and handling is critical to your success in order to be able to teach others.
- S. F. - from Nevada

I thought that the Knife Skills class was great. I really enjoyed the review! It was a good class! I feel more confident regarding ergonomics. I was able to improve body posture while holding a knife.
- N. K. - from California

As a novice chef, Basic Knife Skills 101 and Knife Skills 102 were so helpful in my developing efficient and safe knife handling skills. I had bad habits! The instruction was informative, and the one-on-one time with professional chefs during the hands-on portion was worth the cost alone.
- K. F. - from Northern California

Register now for Sharpen Up Your Knife Skills!™ Series

See the Marketplace section of this newsletter for our special sale on MAC knives and Knife Skills Illustrated.

STILL A FEW SPOTS LEFT FOR EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT AND FABULOUS PREMIUMS FROM E3 LIVE AND HEALTHFORCE NUTRITIONALS - Register NOW!!!
 
Don't hesitate-- Be one of the first 200 early bird EXPO registrants, and you'll receive a special rate of $165 for a three day pass and $80 worth of great premiums from E3 Live and HealthForce Nutritionals!!!! (Regular 3-Day pass $195). Don't dream it, Be it!! This is going to be an incredible event, and a fabulous opportunity to network with Living Light alumni, students, staff, and some of the most incredible speakers and chefs you'll ever encounter in a venue that is both highly professional and intimate!

Don't miss the Don't miss the 5th Annual Vibrant Living Expo and Culinary Showcase™ August 21-23 here on the majestic Mendocino Coast of Northern California! We have the best line up of "raw talent" ever assembled, all presented with Living Light's trademark professional style and standard of excellence. The event, co-sponsored by The Institute for Vibrant Living, is designed to be both educational and entertaining: you'll experience the wisdom of top health experts, the culinary expertise of renowned raw food chefs, and presentations from motivational speakers, animal rights activists and environmental leaders. Three days of non-stop education and entertainment will include The Traveling Green Lifestyle Film Festival featuring many of the winning films! (See film festival section below). For the first time ever we are producing a free event on Saturday evening, August 22nd at the gorgeous refurbished 800-seat Cotton Auditorium: The Green Revolution:  Healing Ourselves, Healing Our Planet, will feature keynote speaker and founder of EarthSave International John Robbins, author of The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World, international bestseller Diet For A New America: How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness, and the Future of Life on Earth, and Healthy at 100. John will be joined by former cattle rancher and animal rights activist Howard Lyman, author of Mad Cowboy, with entertainment provided by the internationally acclaimed pianist and author of The World Peace Diet Will Tuttle.

We are deliciously excited about this year's great lineup of authors, health experts, and gourmet raw chefs. It just keeps getting better and better! Newsflash! Paul Nison is coming! He's a popular and knowledgeable speaker and author of several books, including The Raw Life and Raw Knowledge I and II. We are honored to welcome for the first time Dr. Tom Lodi, M.D. a homeopathic physician specializing in metabolic medicine and integrative oncology. Paul and Tom will join our most distinguished roster including health educators Brian Clement, Ph.D. and Anna Maria Clement, Ph.D. of Hippocrates Health Institute; Viktoras Kulvinskas, the "father" of living foods; fitness expert and author of The 80-10-10 Diet Doug Graham, D.C., juice feasting expert David Rainoshek, Ronnie and Minh, Happy Oasis from Raw Spirit Festivals, Jameth Sheridan, N.D., Angela Stokes and Matt Monarch, The Raw Food Doctors™ Rick Dina, D.C. and Karin Dina, D.C., Priya (Paul Turner) who feeds thousands of hungry around the world with organic vegan food, Frederic Patenaude, Kevin Gianni from the Renegade Health Show, Matthew and Terces Englehardt from Café Gratitude in San Francisco and Berkeley, and motivational speaker Victoria Moran.

Culinary magic will be provided by Living Light Director Cherie Soria, author of The Raw Food Revolution Diet, the "Raw Gourmet" Nomi Shannon, stellar pastry chef Vinnette Thompson, Jenny Ross from the elegant 118 Degrees restaurant in Orange County, Living Light chefs Elaina Love of Café Soulstice and Jennifer Cornbleet from Chicago. Jennifer will be introducing recipes from her latest book Raw Desserts, Delights for Everyone. We'll also be showcasing our current fabulous staff chefs Kari Bernardi-Ibsen, Martine Lussier, and Living Light Head Chef Matt Samuelson as well as a few hand-selected Rising Star Chefs. You'll learn all of the latest tricks, tips, and shortcuts, while watching dazzling presentations - some people stay in the culinary studio for the entire weekend!

Two Pre-EXPO Workshops:

New! Take a Walk on the Wild Side and discover Raw Green Superfoods from the Ocean! Local seaweed harvester Terry Nieves of Ocean Harvest Sea Vegetable Company will take you on an exciting field trip adventure along the ocean at low tide in a brand new pre-expo workshop!
August 20, 8:00 AM-12:00 PM
$95 (Water sock rentals available for $3 a pair - please reserve ahead)

New! Spend two full days with Dr. Doug Graham, D.C. on August 19-20 for an amazing and informative seminar Nutrition and Athletic Performance.
$499 - or special deal of $449 - save $50 on the admission price for this seminar when you purchase a 3-Day Early Bird Expo pass.

click here for more info about our Pre-Expo Workshops


Three Post-EXPO Workshops:

FUNdamentals of Raw Living Foods™
With Cherie Soria and Living Light Chefs
Wednesday, August 25
8:00 AM-6:30 PM
$365

Special Seminar with Viktoras Kulvinskas
Tuesday, August 24
9:00 AM-1:00 PM
$95 Advance, $125 at the door

Introduction to Raw Food Nutrition
With Rick Dina, D.C. and Karin Dina, D.C.
Tuesday, August 24
2:00 PM-6:00 PM
$95 Advance, $125 at the door

click here for more info about our Post-Expo Workshops


Don't miss over 50 presentations in three days, great exhibitors, a Rawsome Pie Contest, silent auction, fantastic gourmet raw food, parties, music by reggae DJ Larry Hacken, harpist Joel Andrews, crystal bowl performer AwaHoshi Kavan, and more!

Many thanks to our sponsors, Gold Sponsor Stanford Inn By the Sea, Silver Sponsors E3 Live, VegNews, HealthForce Nutritionals, and GetFresh!, and Bronze Sponsors Excalibur, Transition Nutrition, and Hippocrates Health Institute for making this extraordinary event possible. Click here and scroll down to the Sponsor section of our Expo web page for information about additional sponsorship opportunities. Register online now and if you are among the first 200 early bird registrants, you'll receive a special rate of $165 for a three day pass and $80 worth of great premiums from E3 Live and HealthForce Nutritionals! (Regular price $195).

Register now for the 2009 Vibrant Living Expo!

Cherie and Dan had a wonderful time at the Green Lifestyle Film Festival produced by Dorit of Serenity Spaces in March of this year. And the good news is: we are delighted to announce that many of the great films shown at the Los Angeles event will be a part of the Traveling Green Lifestyle Film Festival at the Vibrant Living Expo and Culinary Showcase™ this summer! We are adding an Abundant Health Classroom to our already amazing facility here in The Company Store in Fort Bragg, and we'll have a special film venue set up in our new space for continuous showings of the selected films throughout our three day event. Attendees will be able to choose between a talk, a culinary demo, or an amazing thought provoking film!

We believe it's vitally important for everyone to promote these films by sharing them with others, donating them to public access television, local libraries, school groups and other worthwhile organizations. They are a valuable and important resource for getting the word out about the raw lifestyle and how we can all make a difference on the planet in health, consciousness, and sustainability.

Among the excellent films we will screen are: Mike Anderson's Healing Cancer from the Inside Out and Eating; Howard Lyman's Mad Cowboy: The Docmentary (with writer/cinematographer Michael Tobias); Alex and Nicolas Ortner's Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days (with director Aaron Butler); John Robbin's Diet for a New America (producers Judy Pruzinsky and Ed Schuman); producer, writer, director Debra Koons Garcia's incredible documentary film The Future of Food and a film clip from her soon to be released film Soil in Good Heart, Lionel Friedberg's A Sacred Duty; and three films from Living Light graduate and inspiring filmmaker Valya Boutenko: Interview with Sergei Boutenko, Overcoming our Food Imprint, and Reversing the Irreversible.

The Green Lifestyle Film Festival celebrates filmmakers who dedicate their talents, income, and energy to examining what sustainability really means.

Google Santa Monica, June 2
Cherie is honored and delighted to accept an invitation to present her talk "The Raw Food Revolution" at Google headquarters in Santa Monica!  She'll be speaking to "Googlers" as they call themselves, and getting them excited about the concept of raw foods.  The presentation will go out to other Google locations via video conferencing.  It's an exciting and important new connection.  We know that Google is very good at getting the "buzz" out!

According to Google, the Santa Monica offices have grown to become one of the largest development centers in the United States.  Google Santa Monica engineers work on some of Google's hardest problems, in realms such as search quality, YouTube, Ads, Video and Photos.  Among Google's principles are active learning, and they encourage their engineers to spend 20% of their time on their own projects to inspire creativity.  We know that Cherie will inspire them to feast on fabulous gourmet raw foods!

Raw Spirit, June 5-7
Cherie Soria, Dan Ladermann, and Martine Lussier will be doing a demo and talk at Raw Spirit Live Oak Campground Santa Barbara, Friday June 5 - Sunday June 7, following FUNdamentals of Raw Living Foods™ on Wednesday, June 3. Come early and join us for both events!

RAW UNION of Matt Monarch and Angela Stokes June 20 & 21
Dan and Cherie, along with all of the Living Light family, would like to extend our best wishes for a blessed and joyful Raw Union event celebrating the wedding of Matt Monarch and Angela Stokes this summer - a June to remember! We are also absolutely delighted to welcome both of these lovely and inspirational people to the Vibrant Living Expo for the first time this year! Congratulations to the beautiful bride and groom!

Shae Lynn Baird Presents: Monday Night LIVE! @ Café Gratitude, June 29
Cherie will be a speaker at Monday Night LIVE! @ Café Gratitude on June 29 in Healdsburg, CA. Shea Lynn Baird produces this free, live, weekly, educational speaking event featuring raw food, health, spirituality and ecological living. For more information about Monday Night Live, including: a full schedule of upcoming speakers (w/ 5 minute speaker phone interviews), the past speaker video archive and related links, please go to: http://www.shealynnbaird.com/monday
The evening begins at 6:30 PM with time to enjoy a delicious Café Gratitude meal before Cherie's talk and culinary demo at 7:30. Cherie is excited to be a part of this inspiring project - it's wonderful to share our vision with other leaders in the raw community. As we say at Living Light, "Teamwork makes the dream work!"

Café Gratitude
206 Healdsburg Ave (inside the Olive Leaf)
Healdsburg, CA 95448
Phone: 707-723-4461

35th Annual NAVS Summerfest July 8-12
Cherie has been a culinary presenter at the North American Vegetarian (NAVS) Annual Vegetarian Summerfest for many years. This year's event will take place at the conference center on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, PA - a 650 acre mountaintop wildlife preserve with 40 acres of hiking trails. Educational sessions include health and nutrition, lifestyle issues, animal rights, compassionate living, earth stewardships, and exercise and fitness. This year both Cherie and Dan will give talks and Cherie will give offer 2 culinary demos.

Living Light Receptionist, Amanda Durigan, is our April Employee of the Month. Coworkers describe Amanda as having great energy, fun, and always helpful. In fact, people say that no matter what is going on in her own life, she always greets people with a smile! We know that Amanda is also bright, efficient and diligent in her job.

Amanda loves children and animals. She is past president of Parents Club and a volunteer for many other organizations, especially those benefiting families. Her favorite charities are Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and Safe Passage. Amanda enjoys making cards and scrapbooking, and loves going to the park with her kids, biking, walking, kickball, and aerobics!

Amanda says she feels great about herself and her workplace because, she feels, at Living Light we are all one big family. Amanda is well deserving of the Employee of the Month award. She is greatly appreciated by staff and management, and is a great asset to Living Light International.

Living Light Graphic Designer, Inga Peterson, is being honored as our May Employee of the Month. Inga is regarded by her team mates at Living Light as creative, focused, positive, and very much appreciated. She is a talented artist and hard worker and no matter what is going on, she always treats people with loving kindness. Inga is known for her humility and good nature.

Inga especially loves cats and horses, but it is obvious that her circle of compassion reaches to all living things. She also loves drawing and painting, and enjoys traveling and being outdoors. Inga especially appreciates working for Living Light because it is a company that values health, delicious food, and regard for the planet we all live on! She also enjoys the people who work at Living Light.

Inga's primary goal in life is to stay healthy, happy, active, and to always continue learning. She is greatly admired by her peers and is well deserving of this award. Inga is appreciated by both staff and management, and is a wonderful asset to Living Light International!

We love you, Amanda and Inga!

Living Light Inn business manager Karen Fraser is adding Admissions Manager to her job description! She's excited about her new combined position, which integrates both inn bookings and student enrollments/inn stays. The enrollment team is also growing - Amber West is the newest part-time enrollment specialist, joining our amazing enrollment specialists Hilloah Tanner and Mary Sandkamp. Karen is excited to combine her two teams, including resident innkeeper Karma Rae Plaisted, and housekeepers Tim Plaisted and Maria Rodriguez to create a professional and welcoming experience for students from the registration process through their stay at Living Light Inn.

Karen is a vegan working on being raw who has lived on the beautiful Mendocino coast since 1999. Born in San Francisco and raised in the East Bay, Karen began working her way through U.C. Berkeley as a legal secretary. During her career, she's been a public relations executive, independent bookstore marketer, and academic advisor. She joined Living Light in July of 2007 as a receptionist/administrative assistant, quickly advancing to Living Light Inn Business Manager. "With the assistance of my wonderful team, I'm excited to take on the responsibility of helping make our students dreams become a beautiful reality!"
Karen is an avid backpacker, beachcomber, and book reader who lives in downtown Fort Bragg with her fiancé David, and dog, Max.

Summer Rates Stay Low at Living Light Inn!
We know that with the current economic situation, and the annual spike in summer gas prices, a seasonal summer inn rate increase can make traveling difficult, so for the second summer in a row Living Light Inn 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.  Experience the beautiful Mendocino coast and dine on organic, vegan cuisine at Living Light Café, Ravens Restaurant at The Stanford Inn, and other fine dining establishments in the area. Gather some delicious picnic items like hummus, nori rolls, and yummy salads and desserts from the café - we even have eco-friendly picnic hampers at the marketplace!  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 Mendocino coast this summer!  A two-night stay ranges from $220 to $350 pending availability.

Call for rates or book online:

To make reservations, click the "Book A Room" link below or call 877-964-1384 (toll free) or 707-964-1384.

Book A Room at Living Light Inn