I’ve been curious to sample what raw, vegan-friendly dessert tastes like. Laura from The Raw Kook sent me some dairy-free snacks to try. Here’s my review.
I love to experiment with my food and will try anything once (well, within reason of course). Having already tried raw vegan-friendly food at The Raw Kitchen in Fremantle a while back and really enjoying it, I’ve been curious yet again to sample what raw dessert tastes like. One of my friends so happens to have her own business, Raw Kook, and I asked to sample some of her “plant-goodness” creations to see just how well they measure up to tasting like real dessert. Scroll further down for the review.
What is Raw Kook?
Raw Kook specialises in selling plant-based raw dessert snacks that are dairy-free with no gluten, no refined sugars (except natural from date or agave syrup), no wheat and no honey. Rather, she uses only raw natural ingredients to give her food great taste – like edible oils, mesquite, lucuma, cacao powder, nuts, dates, coconuts and other superfoods to name some.
Laura is the creator and founder behind Raw Kook, an inspirational wellness and lifestyle platform based on clean eating and spiritual empowerment. She is vegan; believing raw, clean-eating is nourishing for both mind and body; and her main mission is simple: to prove to non-believers that vegan raw food can still taste just as good as the real deal (without the guilt of hurting animals in the process).
Using primarily Instagram and Facebook, she shares her raw food creations for people to drool over and purchase.
Why Raw Food?
Laura wasn’t always a vegan. She moved to Perth from Estonia several years ago, a northern European country (approximately the size of Tasmania) located south of Finland. Famous for its rich, medieval, Nordic heritage against a backdrop of untouched nature, she grew up in the old town of Tallinn, the capital and largest city with a population of 1.3 million.
Estonian cuisine is traditionally based around meat and potatoes. As the weather is very cold there, the food is therefore heavy and warm – with sour cream, potatoes, dairy products, pork, rye brad sauerkraut and other German-influenced dishes being main foods eaten while living there. Arriving in Perth several years ago, she fell in love with the contrasting lifestyle offered here in Western Australia – the warmer climate, the beaches and more lifestyle choices to choose from.
Struggling with her weight and going through a personal struggle three years ago, she decided to do something about it. She began focusing on herself more; researching more into nutrition, avoiding processed food, counting calories, exercising and learning how to create food from scratch. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing she says, admitting she found it a struggle to commit to being vegan, but once she saw positive results in feeling better and losing weight, she attributed it to raw clean-eating.
In March 2015, she launched Raw Kook (Kook being a double meaning; meaning Cake in Estonian), creating vegan dessert and snacks, spreading her passion for clean-eating plant-goodness for others to try; proving that vegan treats can still taste good. Buying from local farmers markets, she focuses on simple recipes with few ingredients, so to not make it too complicated to make or too complicated in taste.
Sampling Raw Kook
Laura sent me a sample box of her food for me to try. I will reinforce again that I am not a vegan, however, I am open to trying new foods all the time. Please note that although she has provided me with samples, my review of each is honest and unbiased, coming from someone who has never tasted vegan raw (plant-based) dessert snacks before.
Behold, the ‘I can’t believe there’s no bad stuff in these things’ snacks that await to tingle my tastebuds, hopefully, in a good way.
PEANUT BUTTER CUP – $5 ea
First up, I tried the Peanut Butter Cup. First bite, pleasantly surprised. This tasted like the real thing, yep, exactly just like the famous Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups (without any controversial ingredients added into it). It tastes like rich dark chocolate with peanut butter that isn’t too strong and not too buttery. Off to a good start. This will probably stay a favourite.
MINTY BALLS // SUMMER BALLS – $3 each
TOP: Minty Ball.
I love anything with mint in it, so I was excited to try this one. It was indeed minty, with the aftertaste being mild and not too strong. Was a bit chewey. Tasted pretty similar to one of those raw protein food balls you find at health-gourmet cafes.
BOTTOM: Summer Ball
Similar to the minty ball, but without the mint aftertaste. Tastes a bit more like a rum ball (but of course, without the rum). These balls are VERY filling, but very tasty too.
COOKIE DOUGH – $3
Was expecting a bit more from this cookie dough, it didn’t have a main taste as such (no flavours stuck out), however it was light and fresh. I think I would have liked some chunky ‘cookie’ bits through it.
LEMON LAVENDER DONUT – [Testing out]
This one is under trial at the moment, and I’m the first one to try it! Well, it’s certainly a unique, acquired taste, with the combining of lemon and lavender. I felt the lemon was slightly too strong and then there was a big burst of lavender – it was a little rich for me and I don’t like I could eat a whole one of these. With that being said, an acquired taste.
SALTED CARAMEL // HAZELNUT CHOCOLATE BARS – $6.50 ea (I received love heart samples, but they come in a bar for $6.50 ea)
LEFT: Salted Caramel
This was a unique taste and I’d go back for more of it because it’s left me curious. Despite a slightly salty aftertaste and tasting more lemony, the play-doh texture made it really fun to snack on. It is quite rich. I didn’t mind it.
RIGHT: Hazelnut Chocolate
One of my favourites out of all of them. Oooh yeah! Rich, creamy and delightful, again, tasted like real chocolate, it really did. It was nice and soft. I loved how creamy it was!
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIE (DEHYDRATED) – $3.50
Very dry (but of course, it’s dehydrated). It left me wanting more of it. Great tasting. maybe a bit too soft for a cookie, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good, because it’s great, it had a nice taste to it, felt light enough to snack on.
SALTED CARAMEL SLICE – $4
A healthy twist on the salted caramel, and it tasted just like it. Light and tasty, but not filling to leave you sick. I found this to be a delicious take on the caramel slice with an additional coconut-flavour (it did taste a little like coconut, not a bad thing) – this was another one of my top favourites.
Overall, I was surprised at how close to the real deal vegan-friendly raw food desserts tasted like!
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PRICING/ HOW TO ORDER:
Laura at Raw Kook offers pick-up or delivery* (dependent upon amount purchase and South of River location). She can meet up in a mutual meeting place.
She what you like on the Raw Kook Instagram. Mail your order to hello@laurasummla.com.
SEE HER AT THE MARKETS
Alternatively, you can catch Laura at the below markets to taste little samples:
- St Stephens Community Farmers Market in Carramar: From September 5th 2015 – every second Saturday
- Scarborough Feed Box Market: From October 10th – every second Saturday
- Perth Vegan Festival: 13th December
FOLLOW RAW KOOK:
Instagram | Facebook | Website
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This article was made possible thanks to Laura at Raw Kook who provided me with her foods to sample.
This article is intended for informational purposes only, for those interested in sampling what raw-vegan food tastes like. Please remember that vegan way of life isn’t for everyone, some people react to it differently. Always consult your doctor or GP should you wish to make any long- term drastic changes to your existing nutritional diet.
2 comments
Hi Tahnee, I own a small café in West Perth and we are interested in stocking a small selection of RAW treats. Do you distribute to cafes? And if so do you have a pricing list?
Please call me 0449168667
Hi Orla,
Thanks for your comment! I’ve put you in touch with Laura (the lady behind RAW treats) who will ring you shortly.
Thanks for reading Perth Girl!
Tahnee