FAQ

For me, holistic cooking is an all-around lifestyle approach and mindset toward food. Eating is an emotional experience that is becoming more complicated due to advertising, conflicting messaging online, and an abundance or lack of available foods. My holistic approach to cooking incorporates the who, what, when, where, and why we eat what we eat!

On this site, we use it to describe a diet that revolves around eating vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and fruits, but with no animal products.

If you want to save money, be healthy, help the planet, and save animals, all at the same time, plant-based eating is a good choice for you. Even if only for a few days a week.

Don’t worry! It’s not all-or-nothing. Give yourself credit for making better choices, one meal at a time.

The recipes and meal plans on this site don’t use any animal ingredients and are mostly comprised of whole foods (foods that are close to their natural state). This site is designed to make plant-based eating familiar and enjoyable to make the transition as easy and welcoming as possible for newcomers.

No! You can still shop at the same grocery stores. You can buy fresh/frozen/tinned produce, beans, pasta, rice, oatmeal, cereal, and so much more! Check out the recipes to find out just how easy and cost-effective it is!

Holistic Chef Academy is a culinary education platform dedicated to wholefood, plant-based cooking. We share recipes, meal plans, and educational content to empower people to cook with health, sustainability, and joy in mind.

The Academy is led by Jamie Raftery, a classically trained chef with 25 years of global experience. Alongside his partner Thara Thanmanithara, they share their passion for plant-based cuisine, permaculture, and mindful living.

We’re currently based between Thailand and Ireland. Our future home will be Tanglewood Retreat, a cookery school and permaculture farm in the west of Ireland.

Yes. All recipes on Holistic Chef Academy are 100% plant-based. We focus on whole food ingredients and avoid ultra-processed vegan products.

All our recipes include basic nutrition and allergen details.

Please don’t republish our full recipes or photos without permission. You’re welcome to share with proper credit and a link back to the original post.

Our courses in Phuket are fully booked for 2025.
We are scaling back our courses in 2026 in preparation for moving our cooking studio to Ireland.

We aim to launch our online courses in 2026!

Our courses will include topics like juice cleansing, raw food mastery, plant-based meal planning, fermentation, healthy desserts, Thai cookery, and general conscious cooking.

Yes. Our course material is designed to be accessible for beginners while offering depth for experienced home cooks and professionals alike.

We champion seasonal, local, and organic ingredients wherever possible. Our recipes often include suggestions for regional sourcing and substitutes. Wherever we cook, we always connect with local growers as much as possible.

Yes. We are currently establishing Tanglewood Retreat, a regenerative farm where we grow food using permaculture principles and teach others how to do the same. This will be open to visitors in 2028.

Yes. Sustainability is at the heart of what we do - from promoting zero-waste kitchen practices to reducing food miles and prioritising ethical sourcing.

Yes. We’re open to working with like-minded, ethical brands that align with our values of sustainability, plant-based living, and integrity.

We naturally incorporate sponsored products into our recipe development, studio photography, and content creation. We only work with brands we genuinely use and believe in.

We work with brands across food, kitchen tools, wellness, and lifestyle sectors, as long as they meet our ethical standards.

Please visit our contact page or email us at jamie@holisticchefacademy.com to start the conversation.

You can subscribe here to receive fresh plant-based recipes, blog updates, course announcements, and kitchen inspiration.

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We’re always happy to hear from you. Email us at jamie@holisticchefacademy.com and we’ll get back to you soon.