Cooked Raw is the dramatic memoir detailing Matthew Kenney’s remarkable and riveting journey through the culinary world and his provocative exploration of the future of food for the 21st century.

As a youth who embraced healthy living as a teenager, swearing off processed foods to heal a body badly damaged by a poor diet, Kenney was an unlikely chef candidate. Yet, as a chef in late 80s New York, Kenney soon found himself on national television, carrying full pages in fashion magazines, and being flown all over the world to consult and appear. As his career and empire grew, Kenney became more and more disconnected from the work he was doing and searched for a way out. Eventually, his overextended business crumbled and made for years of gossip columns, shattering the life as he knew it.

This ending, while brutally painful, evolved into one of the most exhilarating stories in the food world, as Kenney embraced his passions for a sustainable lifestyle. From turban wearing guru’s pushing powders, cleanses and colonics, to sophisticated housewives searching for health, Kenney shocked the culinary world with his intention to prepare food not only without cooking but also without heat, devoid of animal products and processed foods: a cuisine made of plants and no heat. Raw food for a new world.

Bringing to light that food and health go hand in hand, Kenney used every opportunity to improve his new raw cuisine and its methods. Speaking at TED conferences, moving to Los Angeles and raising awareness globally on how great tasting food can promote health, his brand grew. Nearly 25 years after becoming a disillusioned young chef, Kenney felt at home in his own life for the first time. Not only was he healthy and happy, he had identified the future of food.