Danke an Declan aus Schottland für diesen tollen Blog mit einem kleinen Blick hinter die Kulissen von aphrohdisia und b.alive! bei der Rohvolution in Berlin:

There have only been a few photos from the weekend uploaded so far and none of me (I plan to steal them all from Facebook) – likely because everyone that was there is just exhausted – so I’ve decided to blog in two parts. So for now unfortunately all you’ll get is words, the lovely photos will come later.

For those of you not in the know, Rohvolution (site only in German) is the world’s biggest Raw Food trade fair and takes place three times a year in three German cities, Berlin, Speyer and Augsburg.

Preparations really began on Friday, when Melanie, Boris and I jumped in the car and drove to FEZ (which is so East German it’s unreal) to set up the stall. Then it was back to prepare all the food we’d be serving the next day – lasagne, falafel with hummus and tabbouleh, chocolate mousse cake, tiramisú, and chocolate orange cheesecake. OH MY GOD. So good. We were up until all hours trying to get everything ready, and then because the fair started at 10am on Saturday we were up at 7 to get ready and get there and set up in time, joined also by Melanie’s friend Hanne. It was so worth it though – the atmosphere was great, first of all, the people were all great, the other exhibitors were all so friendly – it seemed to be like a family reunion for some of them, Melanie herself actually said it felt like one for her – and the people that came to shop and buy stuff also had a great energy about them. Also, anywhere that can offer me a breakfast of durian followed by a coconut and some raw vegan ice cream is good by me! I got to sit in on one of Melanie’s talks (“From Snickers to Raw Food”, a relatively personal account of her journey into raw foods packed with transition advice and elegantly slotted into a one-hour time frame) and run around like a mad person finding lost things and talking with the good people at Keimling that no, they didn’t give us the right jug for the Vitamix and yes, we really do need coconut oil for the workshop. It wasn’t all work though, I also went wandering and bought some books (The Sunfood Diet Success System by David Wolfe, in German, along with Rohköstlich by by Christine Volm and Wir Fressen uns zu Tode by Galine Schatalova) and ran into the infamous Chris Wood at the Raw Living stand where he recognised me (I write reviews for them sometimes) and got some Dedicakeshun.

It was a really good day and we actually sold out of all the food we’d prepared, cakes and all. There were a few falafel patties left over which we sold the next day but other than that I think it’s safe to say the day was massively successful.

We got back into the city proper to begin work preparing for the next day and due to some technical difficulties the two chefs had to share a blender! I ran between two kitchens a few times with the vitamix and with Boris spiralized twelve kilos of zucchini. I never want to see another spiralizer again. With Melanie I chopped a massive amount of lettuce and then Hanne and I made summer rolls together whilst up the road Megumi put together some Chinese dumplings. Because the clocks changed we didn’t get to bed until about 4 (Melanie even later) and then were up again not long after 7 to et ready to start again. I’m sure I must have looked like a zombie for most of Sunday but the photos indicate otherwise as you’ll hopefully see in the next blog. On offer on Sunday we had a variety of cakes along with a Mexican sprouted wild rice dish, some delicious pad Thai, and a starter plate of spring rolls with almond sauce and Chinese dumplings with spicy sauce. It was all delicious and I dread to think how much of it I actually ate. There was much less wandering this day but I did get to hang around in the preparation kitchen chatting with a nice Tirolese woman who runs a raw guesthouse with her husband in Austria. I also helped out at one of Boris’ presentations on the vitamix which was fun if somewhat stressful. The end of the day came, a brief clean-up operation ensued and then we headed back to Boris’ to eat together to celebrate and then have a much-needed sleep!

Overall it was a really great experience, despite the exhaustion and possible adrenal fatigue brought on by sleep deprivation and overdosing on cacao (Hanne and I were both actually sick from it on the Saturday night). It was a great experience and I got to meet so many people. It also made me realise that, if I can work through a trade fair in German (I don’t think I spoke much English at all that weekend) then my German really can’t be that bad at all – encouraging! I can’t wait for next year’s fair already, exams or no exams I’m going to be there! Today was also a nice day – breakfast of green smoothies and chocolate-orange cheesecake, lunch with Boris and Lea, a walk around Friedrichshain (former Eastern area), leftover pad Thai (which we unfortunately didn’t sell out of) for dinner and then went to see Pina at the cinema, which wasn’t at all what I expected but was surprisingly enjoyable. Now it’s off to bed again – still catching up from the weekend!