Polly
Born in “Hoosier State” (Indiana) Polly Gaza is a midwestern at heart. She now resides in New Buffalo, Michigan, with her husband of 19 years Don Gaza and her two beautiful children, Maggie Gaza age 15 and Zachary Gaza age 17.
From an early age Polly recognized the importance of nutrition. Running two full marathons and many halves. Losing her father and both of her grandparents tragically to cancer only helped to affirm her belief that bad nutrition plays a key role in the epidemic of mall health we as a people are enduring. She believes the keystone of good nutrition is understanding that its not what you take out of your diet that is important but what you put in it.
Always being health conscious, Polly followed a 40/30/30 plan (zone eating plan) with the majority of her carbohydrates coming from raw foods. She noticed a gradual change for the better the less animal proteins she ate. Mind full of questions she started researching raw food, attending CHI to further her knowledge on the subject, and to get to know the raw food lifestyle. Eating at a local raw food restaurant she ran into Carole Jones, from the moment they met they realized that they both not only shared a love for raw food but the want to share their passion with the world. This “want” expressed itself in raising awareness worldwide, or RAW.
Her passion and love for raw food not only shows in her exuberance in talking about her lifestyle, but in the food itself. While good nutrition may seem like an impossible journey remember the words of philosopher Lao Tzu; “the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step” we vow to help you make that first step in the right direction.
Carole
Born and raised in Luxembourg, a small picturesque country bordering Germany, France, and Belgium, Carole Jones grew up on rich heavy cooked foods. After falling in love with an American in Luxembourg, she decided to follow her heart and fly to Chicago to start a family. She had a son who also works with RAW and benefits from the raw food lifestyle.
After years of the roller coaster we call life and losing her husband to cancer she hit a slump, amidst this deep depression she came across Anne Wigmore’s book Recipes for a longer life. The book just spoke to her, after a little more research she fell in love with the raw food lifestyle. W. Clement Stone once wrote: “When you discover your mission, you will feel its demand. It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on it.” This sums up how she felt after discovering raw food. She changed her way of eating and her outlook on life; losing 50 lbs on raw food she felt the need to share her calling with others.
On a cold winter’s morning she decided to walk into a local raw food restaurant and apply for a job. A few days later she was contacted and told that there was a vacancy in the kitchen, and that if she was still in need of work could fill that vacancy. Half a year into her employment she worked her way up to kitchen manager, started teaching raw food prep classes; even redesigning the recipes on the menu.
As most things in life if you are spending your energy to realize someone else’s dream it tends not to feel as good as if you were to bring your own to fruition. After meeting Polly Gaza, who deeply echoed the passion Carole Jones, had about raw food they started contemplating the idea of starting their own raw food restaurant. After long nights on the phone their brain child was born, Raising awareness worldwide, or RAW in short. Fusing creativity with ingenuity it is RAW’s mission to not just provide the best raw food in Chicago, but also share our vision of a healthy great tasting alternative to the traditional heavy processed cuisine most of us are used to.
