RX ON A PLATE: Chistopher's Kitchen raw, flavorful dishes, such as this ZLT (zucchini, lettuce and tomato) salad, are full of nutrition. (Photos by Libby Volgyes/The Palm Beach Post)

Cranky, hot and feeling under the weather, I retreated to Christopher Slawson’s world of living foods for lunch on a recent day. I needed a food-as-medicine fix, but it was too hot for chicken soup or echinacea tea or any of the usual culinary flu remedies.

Slawson runs Christopher’s Kitchen, the bustling, stylish raw foods café in Palm Beach Gardens’ Midtown plaza. The vegan chef has a way with organic produce, herbs and spices. Call him The Lettuce Whisperer, for he can coax unbelievable flavor out of the most pedestrian of greens.Consider his treatment of the romaine and cabbage in the falafel salad I ordered that afternoon. He tossed the leafy veggies gently in a lemony tahini dressing and paired them with scoops of raw falafel, a sinfully good vegan mash that popped with cayenne and jalapeño notes. The composition of raw, organic ingredients proved to be powerful medicine, sending a clarifying rush through me to the top of my head.

I returned to the swelter of PGA Boulevard feeling cooled and invigorated by the greens, and I realized I had just glimpsed summer, in both its scorching temps and its coolest salad solutions.

The fit and fashionable crowd that packs into Christopher’s Kitchen at lunchtime is onto something. They’ve discovered Slawson’s world of living foods is a happening place where food is both art and nourishment.

The chef with surfer looks and ocean-blue eyes came to the raw foodist lifestyle five years ago. Researching natural recipes, he was captivated by the photos and messages in raw foods cookbooks.

Chef Christopher Slawson.

“I was so blown away by the beauty of the food, and it just made sense to me. I connected with the message: when you cook foods you kill the enzymes,” says Slawson, 28, who eats no animal products. “Everyone is different. I happen to thrive in a 100 percent raw diet. Some people prefer to do 80 percent raw or less.”

The Oregon-born, Hawaii-raised chef immersed himself in the raw foods culture in Santa Monica before landing in Palm Beach County about a year and a half ago. He went to work as a personal chef, creating raw menus and gathering a loyal clientele.

But around north county, he had a hard time finding places that served the kinds of raw dishes he craved.

“My clients would say, ‘You’ve got to open a place around here,’” he says. “So my motivation was a need for a place that served organic, clean, living foods.”

His raw foods compositions come with a hefty price – that falafel salad is $17.95 and a “super foods” smoothie is $14.95. Yes, the place is relaxed – in the resort spa sense. But his is not your retro, crunchy-vegan type of establishment. Slawson’s high-end desserts range in price up to $16.95.

But in the end what draws in the devotees is the vibrancy in the foods he serves.

“We’re not trying to change people. We’re just offering a service to them,” Slawson says. “We’re all about clean foods and helping their bodies feel great.”

WILDFLOWER HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING WITH FRESH HERBS

Chef Christopher Slawson uses all organic ingredients to make this delicious dressing.

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon raw honey

2 teaspoons hemp seeds

1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves

1 tablespoon fresh parsley

2 tablespoons coconut vinegar

1 tablespoon stone ground mustard

Pinch of Himalayan pink sea salt

Pinch of cayenne

1 cup baby cherry tomatoes

1 cup unrefined olive oil

Blend all ingredients except olive oil in a Vita Mix or any high-powered blender. Adjust salt and cayenne if needed. Add olive oil in a slow stream and blend slowly until emulsified.

Sunflower sprout salad.

This salad bursts with contrasting flavor notes and textures.

2 cups fresh sunflower sprouts

2 cups young arugula

1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley

1/2 avocado, sliced

1 cup beets, julienned

1/4 cup cucumbers, sliced

1/2 cup wild arame seaweed (available online and at natural foods markets)

Lightly toss salad components with dressing, and it’s ready to go.

CHRISTOPHER’S KITCHEN

Where: 4783 PGA Blvd.

in Palm Beach Gardens

Hours: Open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Phone: (561) 318-6191

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