Set to open May 7 is Seed, a vegan/raw foods restaurant located in the former Cafe Saint Rose space. In the kitchen will be Jerri Hastey, formerly of Passages alternative healthcare and a certified raw foods chef.
If you’re not familiar with raw foods, they’re, uh, raw. The idea, in a nutshell, is that cooking food kills all the good stuff (namely enzymes), so nothing is heated past 116 degrees. Instead foods are consumed in their natural state or “sprouted” for easier digestion. A crazy idea? In the last few years, a entire food community has sprouted up around the idea of translating uncooked fruits, veggies and grains into a type of hyper-healthy cuisine. Locals may remember the hulabaloo a few years ago about Roxanne’s, an attempt at haute-raw cuisine in Larkspur which was a bit ahead of its time. Since then, the movement has gained a foothold around the Bay Area–its most popular posterchild being Cafe Gratitude in San Francisco.
Hastey plans to serve lunch and dinner Wednesday through Saturday. Seed,
465 Sebastopol Ave., Santa Rosa.