A Health Aficionado’s Food Heaven

Around 20 or 30 years ago, many Filipinos would have scoffed at the mere suggestion of health food. Especially for veggie-loathing youngsters and carnivorous teenagers, anything that didn’t fall under chicken, beef, pork, or McDonald’s was out of the question. Health consciousness was at an extreme low and Filipinos would pretty much eat whatever they wanted to. The usual ripostes to healthy diets relegated vegetables to being rabbit food, tofu as simply distasteful, and spinach as Popeye’s strength formula. Fortunately, such ignorance has been replaced by a keener awareness of diet and nutrition principles. The tide has slowly turned in recent years as foreign health crazes have been amassed into the local culture. Spas, gyms, health resorts, yoga, Zen philosophies, and organic supermarkets have suddenly become popular. Inevitably, the concept of healthy eating and renewed lifestyles is catching up and has ceased to be ridiculed. Never before has the health food wagon attracted more and more palates to the freshness of what is organic, leafy, raw, and ultimately life giving.

Nowhere else can the perfect eating habits be exemplified more than at The Farm at San Benito. This sprawling, 24-hectare health resort in Lipa, Batangas boasts of its very own gourmet restaurant— the first of its kind in Asia. It is the 85 / 15, haven for vegetarians and health food aficionados. The Farm philosophizes that holistic living involves feeding the body only what it really needs. Hence, at the 85 / 15 food is not cooked; it is prepared. Eighty-five percent of the meal is served raw and the remaining 15 percent heated at temperatures no higher than 42°C. Thus, the unique moniker of The Farm’s sole source of nutrition.

Residents take a scenic walk to the 85 / 15 for the required three meals of the day. The restaurant is situated amidst a sprawling landscape of well-manicured gardens, inviting pools, secluded spots, and charming fountains. Its wooden motifs, halogen lamps, glass doors, and high-ceiling architecture give it a refreshing country-style appeal. Upon entering the restaurant, vases of fresh flowers greet the customers with a visual feast, as waiters are poised to give them a warm welcome.

I had the pleasure of experiencing this gracious hospitality during my five-course debut lunch at The Farm. The bill of fare was presented in take-home pamphlets that explained the Farm’s reasons behind the raw-food diet I was about to embark on. Absolutely no signs of meat. I ordered a vegetable curry while perusing the rest of the set dishes for the remaining four courses. After a few minutes, a waiter appeared with two tempting glasses of mango-banana shakes. The first sip didn’t disappoint. Slightly chilled and fruity, the drink tasted like a regular shake minus the sugar rush. It was shocking to discover that no sugar, no milk, and no preservatives had been used to make it, just pure fruit blended with a little wild honey to taste.

Halfway through the shake, the appetizers arrived. A platter of colorful, homemade crackers made of desiccated coconuts was set on the table, followed by a Thai vegetable roll. I had a ball just observing how the food was presented, the rolls and crackers looked too pretty to eat! But I couldn’t resist so I munched away at the roll, savoring along with it dollops of zesty oriental sauce. The saltiness and uneven texture of the crackers disagreed with my palate but I enjoyed trying them all anyway. The soup followed shortly, a concoction of basil and cauliflower nutritionally heated below the standard 42°C temperature. Its piquant lime flavor seemed to make up for its not being ultra-hot like regular soup. Then a salad of Romaine lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, shaved singkamas, and leafy greens galore was presented in a sizeable vegetable bowl. Complementing it were three dressings to choose from: miso dill, lemon garlic, and tangy mustard. In my entire life, I don’t think I’ve ever seen as much vegetables fitted into a single plate. Crunchy and refreshing as they were, I was already beginning to feel stuffed. And if the salad weren’t enough, more vegetables came with the main course—the curry dish I had ordered and the 15 percent un-raw part of the meal. After wolfing down the curried vegetables, a final surprise came with the dessert: apple pie and ice cream a la The Farm. Kudos to the chef for it actually looked like regular apple pie and ice cream. Turns out, unlike customary apple pie, the healthy version tasted like the assortment of nuts, dates, and dehydrated apples it was really made of. And as for the ice cream, it’s natural sweeteners accounted for its bona fide healthiness. Only in The Farm can you get away with eating all this without gaining a single pound.

Luckily, I had the chance to uncover the mysteries behind the nonfat apple pie and ice cream, along with the other dishes served at the 85 / 15. The secret lies in the preparation. "It’s a labor of love," says resident chef Allan Vergara of the way food is prepared at the Farm. All kitchen activities rely on the principle that true nutrition comes from living food. From the agriculturist to the gardener to the chef, everybody contributes to maintaining food as raw as it can possibly be, when it has its most vitamins and minerals. Chef Allan was kind enough to demonstrate this process as he took us through the The Farm’s own vegetable garden. There, food basked under the sunlight in its most unrefined state.

Coming up with homegrown ingredients to prepare raw dishes is serious stuff. It’s a long, meticulous process that entails strict discipline and being mindful of details. The nuts in an apple pie, for instance, take 12 hours to prepare, and have to be rinsed every four hours. Blending cannot go on for longer than a minute. All-important enzymes essential to the body will die if heated above 42°C. The compost levels in soil affect vegetable growth. All this, Chef Allan knows by heart. He and his team at 85 / 15 have mastered manipulating uncooked nuts, seeds, grains, spices, fruits, and vegetables to make appetizing gourmet feasts. "It’s not as simple as it looks", says the seasoned chef. Things like the correct percentage of seeds to fruits have to be considered when preparing raw dishes. The right seasoning is also important, because it accounts greatly for taste. To learn raw food preparation techniques, The Farm hired the expertise of two established vegan chefs, Chad Sarno from California and Kristin Suratt from Hawaii to train Chef Allan and his kitchen crew. The two are no longer there but have left behind priceless methods and recipes that are continually being developed by the 85 / 15 team.

The constantly changing menu helps newcomers adjust to the raw-food diet. First time vegans are more encouraged to taste something they haven’t tried before. Being a greenhorn myself, I wasn’t keen on going completely organic when I first heard about The Farm’s health principles. But when I saw the fantastic meal presentations, I couldn’t help sampling all that was offered. And I would gladly repeat those meals. Although I still refuse to renounce fast food joints, I will always look back to the two days of eating organic food that got me feeling like an exquisite human being again—both inside and out. My nerves were far from their frazzled state, my mind untroubled, and my gait relaxed. After just two meals at the 85 / 15, a good night’s sleep at the Palmera suite, and the most divine massage at the Salus Per Aqua (S-P-A), I was in good health and cloud nine happy. Notwithstanding some vegan dishes that still have to grow on me, the drastic change in diet has inspired a trip to the deli and a rare trip to the vegetable section of the supermarket. To think my sojourn lasted for only two days. If I had stayed longer, who knows, I’d probably be as relaxed as Budda and healthy as Hippocrates himself. One thing’s for sure, my first visit to The Farm won’t be the last.