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Food loving sisters Sophie, Phoebe and Olivia Middleton are sharing their love for healthy eating with their recently launched vegan chocolate bar and wellness café.
It offers vegans and vegetarians a selection of meals and bites full of nutrients and vitamins that are good for the mind, body and soul plus a devilish selection of plant-based chocolates and desserts.
Raw Candy is Almoayyed Tower’s tasty new gem in Seef serving up smoothie bowls, protein shakes, a variety of sandwiches and salads with a lifestyle twist!
Phoebe, 32, a multi-talented Pilates instructor and actress, who worked on food programmes with the BBC, and now lives in Adliya, said: “All we are trying to do with Raw Candy is serve people ‘naked food’ … as in, no added rubbish, refined sugars, chemicals or preservatives. Our dishes are as fresh as you can get.
“People should know what they are eating and let’s not forget, every physical body is different and what may work for me doesn’t necessarily work for my sisters, for example. We simply wanted to give others healthier, more nutritious options that we felt were lacking in the past.”
The business, which Sophie described as a ‘labour of love’, started when she and Phoebe wanted to try something new and because they couldn’t find cuisine to best suit their lifestyles.
Sophie, 38, a photographer and high intensity training expert, who lives in Adliya, said: “Whenever we went out, we noticed that there were no real options for us, or food that we wanted to eat. We were those girls that would always change up our dish at any restaurant, asking servers to add or remove certain items. Eventually, we ended up making our own food at home!”
Phoebe heard of a raw food course being taught in a culinary school in Los Angeles, US, and suggested Sophie check it out. After carrying out due diligence, Sophie accepted the challenge on the condition that Phoebe went with her as she was planning to start a juice bar in Lisbon anyway.
Together, the Middleton sisters spent a month learning about raw cuisine and meeting other like-minded individuals. They returned to the kingdom with a mission to educate others … as well as share a sweet alternative to eating chocolate.
Chocoholics no longer need to feel as guilty eating their treats as the Raw Candy’s offerings are 100 per cent refined sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan.
Olivia, 34, a yoga instructor who lives in Juffair, and manages the social media accounts and marketing, said: “We also create 100 per cent raw vegan cakes which are dairy-free, gluten-free and refined sugar free, plus raw versions of the old trashy candy classics such as peanut butter and almond butter cups, coconut bars and our brand new Snickers-style bars.
“All of our items are a processed sugar alternative for chocolate lovers of all ages. Less is more, and 10 times yummier than the usual crowd of chocolates and desserts!”
In May 2016, they featured their chocolates at the Little Island Market and were sold out within the first day and ended up staying up until 3am tempering chocolates in their kitchens to make enough for day two of the family fair.
They soon began producing more bites and treats. Their Instagram account @raw.candy exploded with a growing army of followers and orders started flooding in. While the girls continued selling from home and other venues such as Words Bookstore Café, Foodlab, Roots, Trousseau and Papercup and participating in markets, their dream of opening up their own café soon materialised to cope with demand.
In April 2018, their contemporary designed café opened with a team of four as supporting cast.
The cosy café features a long, cushy grey sofa with tables and matching grey ottomans, while the counter showcases the coffee maker, jars of natural nut spreads, coconut sugar and maple syrup with napkins and stirrers, as well as a sweet display featuring pralines, truffles, chocolates and cakes.
They cold press their own juices too to maintain the nutrients, vitamins and minerals as well as making their own nut cheese and butter.
Olivia added: “Our nut butters make us stand out, especially the Maca cookie butter. Maca root is a good source of carbs and protein, it is low in fat and contains a fair amount of fibre. It’s also high in essential vitamins and nutrients. So basically you can have the maca on fruit, or toast, or in a smoothie, and it’s a great snack without being overwhelming, plus it’s a slow energy releaser.
“Our homemade cashew and almond milk is used in our smoothies and the 100 per cent organic coffee comes from the Raw Coffee Bean Company. We also have two types of cheeses – the sun-dried tomato cheese is used in the Italian sandwich – and the herb & dill nut cheese definitely makes our avocado toast stand out. It’s 100 per cent vegan, dairy and gluten-free.”
My husband, Sam and I, put the café’s best-sellers to the test starting with the Italian sandwich made up of sundried tomato nut cheese, tomato, spinach basil pine nut pesto, balsamic romaine lettuce in a wheat-free rye ciabatta which was a savoury delight.
A strawberry protein smoothie that included strawberry, banana, vanilla and plant protein provided the perfect thirst-quencher. For dessert, we opted for the peanut butter caramel bowl which featured frozen banana, peanut butter, maca and plant protein. It was topped with chia brownie and chocolate granola as well as a peanut butter cup and caramel.
This bowl satisfies anyone with a sweet tooth and, according to Phoebe, even diabetics can enjoy the taste without spiking their sugar levels.
The lunch ended with a latte and unsweetened almond milk.
The café is open Sunday to Thursday from 8am to 5pm and on Saturday from 9am to 5pm. For details, email info@rawcandyshop.com, visit www.rawcandyshop.com or call 32111062.
