Curtis Ross is a chef who developed the Africala cooking style, which blends African, Caribbean, and Latin American cuisines. He grew up surrounded by fresh ingredients in Trinidad and began learning cooking from his herbalist parents. Ross has since traveled extensively, learning techniques from places like Africa, Costa Rica, and Nigeria. His Raw Roots cooking sessions provide specialized nutrition education, preparing unique dishes that enhance flavor and health. Sessions include shopping, food preparation, and cultural discussions. The goal is to help clients improve their relationship with food and address dietary challenges.

1. Curtis Ross

2. Raw Roots Private Cooking Session
Curtis Ross
Chef/ Practitioner, founder
As a native of Trinidad, West Indies, Curtis Ross grew up along palm-lined beaches and rolling hills with
a year-round bounty of fruits, vegetables, and spices. This setting served as a rich environment and laid
a foundation for his pursuits as a chef, culinary consultant and lifestyle specialist. He has been named
the ‘Chef of Choice’ by an array of prominent clients with sophisticated culinary tastes nationwide. His
unusual marriage of dishes from the Americas through the Far East was an innovation that led Chef Ross to
develop his unique Africala cooking style, best described as an elegant fusion of the cuisines of Africa, the
Caribbean, and Latin America.
Raised in a family of herbalists, Chef Ross began learning his craft as a child. His parents encouraged his
natural gift to blend spices and create enticing dishes with fresh, organic ingredients. Today, Chef Ross
blends his own distinctive spice mixtures, which adds a signature flavor to every dish in his ever-expanding
collection.
Ross refined his craft while traveling to villages and cities around the world. He journeyed throughout
Costa Rica, Panama, and El Salvador, sampling the rich traditional foods of these regions. Then it was on to
Africa, where Ross voyaged from Johannesburg to Cape Town; where he studied Cape Malay cuisine. He
then ventured through Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal.
Working alongside the people of the local marketplaces, he learned firsthand the intricacies of native
cooking techniques. In each new place, Ross immersed himself in the culture, establishing ties to the
customs and histories that bred these rich, vibrant cuisines. What he found was a magnificent collection of
virtually underexposed cuisine, which he has infused into his menus. Chef Ross believes that a meal cannot
be fully enjoyed without acknowledging the traditions it represents.

3. Concept
The Raw Root cooking program provides specialized health education. Raw Root clients learn to achieve
optimal nutrition through the preparation of unique, seasonally appropriate dishes accented by the use
of herbs and spices that enhance flavor as well as provide nutritional value. Special attention is given to
nutritional requirements that have been ascertained by each client’s healthcare provider.
Chef Ross’ plates are bountiful and beautiful, full of fresh dark greens and rare items such as goji berries
and creating a amazing sauce .Each chosen with its particular health benefit in mind. Chef Ross believes that
food is nature’s first medicine. He also reveres food as a source of beauty, pleasure and joy that can help
transform lives.
An example of one of Chef Ross’ meals might include a mixed greens and watercress salad with garlic-
cilantro dressing; zucchini and sprouted chickpea lasagna with a basil-tomato sauce and very berry raw pie
on a sprouted almond crust.
Clients begin with three private cooking sessions and can take advanced courses as desired. Clients
are referred by a nutritionist, MD or other healthcare professional who ascertain certain dietary needs.
Clients are encouraged to observe their relationship to food throughout the course and to address their
challenges to healthy eating. They are asked to keep a journal of their experiences throughout the course
as a means of recording noticeable changes in concentration and overall health as well as personal growth.

4. Raw Root Private Cooking Sessions
Session One (3 hours)
Reintroduction to your kitchen. We will look at your pots, pans, knives, etc. to see if you have the
necessary tools to prepare your meals. We will make a shopping list to purchase whatever might be
needed.
Discussion of dietary needs and a menu. A shopping list for the necessary foods, herbs, etc. will be
organized.
Exploration of local farmer’s markets, community gardens or supermarkets in your community where organic
produce is sold.
Discussion of how to pick produce and store for freshness. Purchase of herbs, spices, etc. to help make
foods flavorful ... Southwestern, Indian, Caribbean, southern, etc. - introduction to new flavors and culinary
styles.
Washing, preparing, and storing foods for next class.
Discussion throughout session to help you to examine your core beliefs about your relationship to foods.
Session Two (2 hours)
Experience Africala* and learn to integrate healthy and organic foods into your daily life.
Explanation of traditional and medicinal uses of herbs, spices as well as produce and staples.
Learn to build a foundation of staple seasonings and sauces to use in your own dishes.
Demonstration of several dishes using these seasonings and sauces.
Participation in preparation with some basic knife skills.

5. Reflect on the significance of each culinary dish to its cultural ancestry and use of certain herbs, spices,
vegetables, etc.
Take notes to help in designing your own menu for next class.
Enjoy dishes prepared and store leftovers and sauces.
*Africala creates a new contemporary cuisine that traces Caribbean dishes back to Africa .As a style of cuisine that merges two cultures,
Africas the historical impact those certain regions of Africa had on the Caribbean. These traditionally complex recipes have been updated
into simple to prepare, healthy alternatives with a deep sense of flavor and tradition.
Session Three (3 hours)
Incorporate new ideas learned in Session 2 into a balanced meal of protein, grain and vegetables.
Use sauces prepared in Session 2 or create your own.
Enhance your self-awareness and be willing to explore challenges to changing old eating habits.
Honor and appreciate your growth in the kitchen and your ability to nurture yourself in a better way.
Come away with a profound appreciation of new foods and customs.
Bring new foods to yourself, friends and family table ... invite someone to join you in the meal you have
created!

6. Chef For Hire
Menu
(Tap As Cuisines From Around The World)
•Sample Menu•
Oysters’ (Blue Points) With Salsa Verdé
Pan Fried Cornish Hen With Mole Sauce
Grilled Prawn With Cape Maley Sauce
Fresh Grilled Temple With Mole African Favor
Mix Grilled Seasonal Vegetables With Fusion Blend Spice
Sautéd Chinese Bok Choy With Caramelized Garlic
And Cinnamon Stix
Moroccan Lamb Shanks With Sautéd Garlic
And Onions In A Coconut Ginger Sauce
Desert
South African Chocolate Bread Pudding With Vanilla Cream Sauce
Velvet Cake With Butter Madagascar Vanilla Cream

7. Raw Root Private Cooking Sessions
Investment Breakdown
Consultant Fees $ 125.00
Preparing The Health History
Nutrition Consult $ 275.00
(2 Hr. Session With Nutritionist To Discuss Your Medical)
Situation And Nutritional Needs.
Three Private Cooking Session Module
Eight-hour Total Sessions
Fee Per Person In Private Home: $675.00
Family Rate Up To Four Persons:
Extension Private Cooking Session
Sixteen-hour Total Session
Fee Per Person In Private Home $ 1475.00
Family Rate Up To Four Persons