Little Rock's Vantage Points

September 22-28, 2014

DRAWing a sketch of That's So Raw

By Becca Bona

Although it sounds like a paradox, unhealthy vegans can exist. Nobody knows this better than the duo behind Central Arkansas’ up-and-coming raw/vegan catering business known as “That’s So Raw.” 

The chef behind the partnership, Kendalyn Mckisik said, “That’s what we want to teach people – that you can be vegan and still be unhealthy – even more unhealthy than an omnivore.” She and her social media savvy business partner Natashia Burch didn’t necessarily intend to embark on a business venture, but their love for vegan food and health certainly catalyzed the process. 

The two met at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where Mckisik was studying art and creative writing and Burch was starting her graduate studies in the applied communications program. 

Burch always had a dream of having a restaurant, but her dream was very task-specific, as she said: “I didn’t want to cook, I wanted to run (the restaurant.) … but I just gave up the idea of opening a restaurant and decided to go to grad school.”

Putting her focus into PR, Burch began to work with local Solfood Catering, a vegan catering business serving meal plans to Central Arkansas, before she met Mckisik. As a vegan herself, she recieved meal plans, and helped them journey through the confusing world of social media. “Working for them helped me learn how to do PR … especially in Little Rock,” Burch explained. 

During the whirlwind of the semester, the two met at a school poetry event, but didn’t really connect until much later, and ironically, through social media. Burch discovered that Mckisik made fruit trays through Instagram, and asked her to make her one. The two bonded over food, and began helping at Solfood catering at events and markets together. “We’ve been inseparable ever since,” said Mckisik. 

Exploring the terrain of raw veganism, they both did their research. The two classify a vegan diet as mostly cooked meals with no meat or dairy involved. The problem for the duo was that a vegan diet can lend itself to potential high processed or fatty foods. 

A fully raw diet, they discovered, after finding YouTube personality Fully Raw Kristina, is possible and takes out the problem of processed foods. Burch said the diet included, “Mostly raw fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and sprouts, and if it’s cooked, it’s not cooked over 109 degrees. It’s all about keeping the vital nutrients in the produce so that we can ingest them. It also involves no meat or dairy, however, it involves no processed food of any kind including tofu, seitan, or gluten.”

More research lead to Burch and Mckisik aiming for a partially raw diet, or raw until 4 p.m., per Freelee the Banana Girl, yet another YouTube personality. Although the two did separate research before meeting each other, they agreed to go partially raw once friends, relying on each other as a support system.

Burch’s forgotten restaurant dream resurfaced when the two discovered the lack of eating-out options, and the lack of knowledge in general on the subject. But the idea of a business wasn’t concrete until recently. Mckisik had plans to attend grad school in Alaska in the fall, but the summer opened other options. 

With Solfood Catering on the scene, as well as the newly opened restaurant in the River Market known as The Veg this past summer, a forum opened in Little Rock for vegetarian, vegan, and health connoisseurs alike. Mckisik started cooking more, and even catered her own graduation party. As it turned out: “People really liked my food,” remembered Mckisik. Burch joined in, saying, “Cooking is a God given talent for Ken, it comes naturally to her. She began to teach herself how to cook at the age of 10. She researched her mom’s old cookbooks to understand flavor combining.” 

Anyone who has tried Mckisik’s spring rolls with accompanying sauce will understand that she truly does have an understanding of flavor combination. 

Family and friends weren’t the only ones that started noticed Mckisik’s talent this past summer. After the owners at the Veg tried Mckisik’s food, they immediately wanted to sell some of her creations at their counter, and shortly after The Green Corner Store hosted a few events which That’s So Raw, the newly taken title, catered. 

At that point, they focused once again, on a restaurant. “We had talked about it gingerly. We could do this, I could do meal plans for people, you know for the summer,” said Mckisik. 

The duo felt that they had stumbled onto a responsibility, one which they had to upkeep. “That’s how

the business started – the pink spring rolls were selling out at the Veg – within two days every time. We were excited to see how many people wanted them,” said Mckisik.

Burch and Mckisik started food prepping and business prepping, becoming an LLC and finding a commercial kitchen to use. “It’s been a learning process,” laughed Mckisik.

Inspired by Bo Bennet, the force behind Garden Press, another business determined to keep health at the forefront of the mission, Burch and Mckisik hope to specialize within the small niche vegan/raw market. “We are the strict, healthy, raw crazy militant vegans that every town needs,” explained Mckisik. This means that you won’t find any meat-mimicking products within their line. 

For both Burch and Mckisik, however, the move to a meat-free and non-processed diet had meaning. 

“I’m a recovering alcoholic. I’ve been trying to recover for a long time, but I guess recently I’ve been the most successful, and eating raw foods definitely help you curve that craving for alcohol,” explained Mckisik. Burch made the move, as she felt called to do so through her faith.

The plan for now is to open a storefront in Jacksonville. Burch said, “We are focused on building our brand there and allowing people to taste our food in Little Rock through events like First Thursday and Harvest Fest.” Mckisik also occasionally teaches a cooking class at Whole Foods, in which she teaches interested patrons how to make her dishes. 

To keep up with Mckisik and Burch both, visit their new website: thatssoraw.org. It’s equipped with a blog feature that they plan to update, documenting their wellness journey and sharing with others. They are also extremely active on Instagram.