Courtesy photo

Name: Heidi Garrabrant

Age: 28

Home: Roanoke

Occupation: Recently started a catering company called Blossom Raw Food Cuisine.

Nominated by: Friend and associate Jim Vodnik, who wrote: “I have a nominee for your feature, but with a twist I’ll call it ‘Look Who’s Uncooking.’ My nominee is Heidi Garrabrant, Roanoke resident and excellent raw vegan chef. All of her creations are pleasing to the eye and palate and besides that are healthy, even the desserts.”

Why I love cooking: I love putting energy into foods that not only heal and nourish the body, but taste amazing as well.

Who taught me: I am self-taught. When I first got into raw food I decided to try it for a month, mostly as a detox. But I had a lot of extra energy, mostly because I wasn’t having to digest all of that crappy food that my body is not meant to digest.

I also got to a healthy body weight, my skin improved and my mood improved. I did a lot of research, a lot of experimentation and a lot of reading.

A lot of people aren’t familiar with soaking things or sprouting. They aren’t familiar with a lot of the ingredients, like raw vegan gelatin or agave nectar. It is mostly just trial and error.

To read the rest of this profile, click here.

To see Garrabrant’s recipe for raw tacos, click here.