Stories
Stories
Raw, Done Well
The Kleins: welcome to "the most innovative restaurant of our time." Photo by Frankie Frost/Marin Independent Journal |
It's been five years since Michael Klein (MBA '82) has eaten anything cooked — not even tofu, which is made from cooked soybeans. I've never felt better, said Klein, who lives on about 800 calories per day, some 2,100 fewer than the intake generally recommended for an adult male.
As the New York Times (September 1, 2002) explained, Klein, who made his fortune in data communications before dropping out to hang with the Grateful Dead and become an environmental advocate, is on the well-heeled vanguard of the hottest (or, in this case, the coolest) dietary trend: raw-foodism. In Larkspur, California, Klein has bankrolled a 65- seat, gourmet raw-food restaurant called Roxanne's, named after his wife, who is also the establishment's chef.
Klein sold his final high-tech venture in 1994 and became, for a time, chairman of the Rainforest Action Network. He continues to serve on the boards of several nonprofits and is chairman and CEO of Modulus Guitars, a leading maker of guitars and basses for professional musicians. Many scientists and nutritionists scoff at raw-foodism, but Klein eschews proselytizing. Roxanne's is about having a wonderful dining experience, period, he said. It's never been about, We're going to make the world raw.'
The magazine Gourmet (October 2002), calling dinner at Roxanne's an astonishing adventure in pure, sensual flavors, declared it simply the most innovative restaurant of our time.