As the world’s leading Raw food expert, author of several best-selling cookbooks, television host and entrepreneur specializing in the Raw lifestyle, Founder and Chef Matthew Kenney wants to educate and inspire you with healthy, delicious and vibrant Raw cuisine. This Fall, he opens M.A.K.E. and the Matthew Kenney Culinary School, a state-of-the-art education center dedicated to the teachings of Raw and Living Cuisine at the Santa Monica Place Shopping complex.
M.A.K.E.’s mission is to use whole, organic, unprocessed, plant-based foods to achieve healthy, aesthetically refined and flavorful cuisine.
Forbes and The New York Times have hailed Matthew Kenney’s restaurants as some of the world’s leading establishments for Raw food cuisine and forward-thinking design. M.A.K.E. upholds Kenney’s commitment to cutting-edge plant based cuisine, with nothing heated above 105°F so as to preserve essential nutrients and enzymes.
M.A.K.E. will serve lunch and dinner of sharing plates, soups or salads. Highlights include Heirloom Tomato Lasagna, (layers pistachio pesto with red pepper marinara and pine nut ricotta); Kimchee Dumplings (topped with sesame foam); and Sweet Corn Ravioli (made with corn-mint pesto, tomato, pepper, and herb oil served alongside warm herb-crusted portobello, fresh corn polenta, and a cherry tomato salad). Sweet dishes include Stone Fruit and Pistachio Ice Cream (atop a black sesame waffle drizzled with orange blossom syrup) and a pistachio-dusted Macadamia Pastry (stuffed with raspberry rose mousse, chamomile whip, lemon curd, and blueberry cream).
The beverages features biodynamic wines, organic brews, housemade cocktails like sake-tinis, and juices and smoothies designed to detox and promote overall health and wellness. The Pretty in Pink combines pineapple with apple and strawberry; Thai Green blends mango with coconut, spirulina, Thai chili, and almond milk and the Oaxaca is made with cacao nibs, dark chocolate, Thai chili, bananas and almond milk.
For an intimate Raw-food experience, M.A.K.E. invites you to sample a multicourse menu at the 12-seat tasting bar, located in front of the restaurant’s exhibition-style kitchen and crafted of reclaimed wood. Featuring weekly reinvented dishes, based on seasonal ingredients, two to three chefs prepare a tasting menu in omakase fashion paired with seasonal cocktails, wine and local, organic or gluten-free beers. The market-driven tasting menu features five courses, three savory and two sweet.
In addition to the restaurant and innovative tasting bar, Kenney’s vision includes the introduction of the area’s first Raw-food culinary education center. Adjacent to M.A.K.E., Matthew Kenney Culinary offers professional chef certification in the preparation of Living Foods and Raw cuisine with opportunities for students of diverse experience levels and ages to work hands on in a state-of-the-art commercial Living Foods kitchen with a wide variety of ingredients that are available year-round in SoCal.
