When you hear the phrase "raw food," what’s your initial reaction?
Do you think of delicious foods like gazpacho and pesto? How about heirloom tomato salads or coleslaw? Or do you immediately presume I’m talking about a radical lifestyle diet?
Personal Chef Karen Gill, who hosts a pop-up dinner at Amilinda, 315 E. Wisconsin 
Ave., on Sept. 27, says that she looks at raw dishes as being just another way to prepare great food.
"I don’t approach raw as a dietary lifestyle," she explains. "I just think of it as a new cuisine. It’s like Mexican or Malaysian. It’s something new to explore."
Gill, who has been working as a personal chef since 2004, says she discovered raw foods a few years ago when she was looking for a way to eat healthier without giving up desserts.
"I have a sweet tooth," she says, "And I fell into raw food through desserts. The first recipe I tried was a chocolate avocado mousse, and it was delicious."
The mousse was so good Gill decided she wanted to learn more, so she enrolled in a raw cooking class through an area organization.
"It really opened up my world to a new cuisine," she says. "And I found a lot of recipes that are healthy, easy to make and delicious all at the same time."
One of her favorite recipes is a raw marinara sauce made in the blender with fresh tomatoes and herbs.
"I loved the idea that I could whip out a pasta sauce in the blender in less than ten minutes," she says. "I mean, your grandmother’s 12-hour-long simmering sauce is delicious, but I don’t always have time for that. It’s really freeing to know that you don’t have to slave over the stove for hours to make a really delicious dish."
Gill says people are frequently surprised by just how flavorful raw dishes can be, especially when care and attention is taken to using the best and freshest ingredients.
"This is the prime of harvest season," notes Gill. "So, it’s the perfect time to do this. I probably wouldn’t do this dinner in January. But now? It’s the perfect time to enjoy all the great fruits and vegetables that Wisconsin has to offer."
Gill’s dinner, "Un-Cooked," will feature five delectable courses, including dishes like a greens and apple "mojito," aged cashew "chevre" with herbs de Provence and tomato zucchini flax crackers, a cauliflower and apple soup with pickled onions, zucchini alfredo with marinated mushrooms, spinach and pine nut "Parmesan" and cocao nib and almond cake with vanilla sauce.
Uncooked takes place on Sept. 27 at Amilinda, beginning at 5 p.m. The cost is $55 per person, which includes five courses with beverages available for purchase. For more information, or to make reservations, visit amilinda.com.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
