Meet the team, a passionate and creative group of individuals with a common mission; To create a happier and healthier future through the power of real food plant-based cuisine and sustainable living.
Meet The Team: My plant-based eco pioneer's & friends
It's all about the team. I'm proud to have worked within many great teams throughout my career.
At Holistic Chef Academy, we're developing a talented, creative, and passionate team to share our love for delicious recipes, healthy living, and happy life.
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Jamie Raftery
Founder of Holistic Chef Academy
Lives in
Phuket, Thailand
Skills and passions
- Cookin of course!
- Running
- CrossFit
- Yoga
- Lindy hop
Why plant-based?
It's a feeling! A plant-based lifestyle is a life of abundance. I never imagined I would ever be a non-animal eater. I was a fishmonger and butcher for most of my culinary career!
My perspective started to change while I was on a culinary adventure in Denmark and Thailand in 2015. Once I started to feel the difference between eating more plants and fewer animal products, I never looked back.
I'm now running marathons and fitter than I've ever been in my life. All thanks to a predominantly whole food plant-based lifestyle, with plenty of consistent and varied exercise.
If I was a vegetable I would be a...
Celeriac! Earthy, humble, and rooted. Flexible, versatile, complex, and relatively unknown. Available most of the year!
Find Jamie
Ban Kuan Jungle in Phuket, Amazon Cafe co-working space, or Layan beach.
- Holistic Chef Academy
- Podcast - My career journey
Thara Thanmanithara
Thai Vegan Recipe Developer
A Northeastern Thai lady grew up in a family that sold traditional foods at the local markets and ran a family restaurant for 13 years. Thara has an in-depth knowledge of regional and authentic Thai cuisine from her childhood working in the family business.
Thara realized her love for cooking while living alone throughout University in Chiang Mai. Developing an allergic reaction to MSG encouraged Thara to cook her own food at home.
All the memories from her favorite childhood dishes were missing so she started cooking them again and found a passion and love for the food she cooked. Since then Thara put's a lot of love and passion into cooking and sharing her food with friends and the community.
Thara loves to mix authentic Thai cuisine with international flavors to show people that Thai cuisine goes well with so many different cuisines. To Thara, good food is a pleasure and a true connection to culture and local lifestyles.
Thara studied Tourism and Hotel Management in Chiang Mai and lived there for almost 8 years. She loves to work with tourists and show them the hidden gems and of course the northern Thai cuisine. Thara completed her internship at JW Marriott Khao Lak, Thailand, working in both the HR and Foof & Beverage departments.
Thara oversees all the food photography, videography, and Thai recipe development at Holistic Chef Academy.
Lives in
Phuket, Thailand
Skills and passions
- Cooking
- Food photography
- Videography
- Permaculture
- Painting
- Yoga
Why plant-based?
I was getting caught up with work and never really had time to slow down and think about the nutrition. I never cared about what I had been eaten, just like a lot of people out there that just eat to feed my body and back to work. Until I feel like my body started to get weaker and weaker and was crying for attention.
Then I started to realize that my way of eating is not so healthy and one day I met a new friend from Belgium and she was the one to act like a real example of a vegan lifestyle.
Then I spent a lot of time doing research about healthy plant-based and vegan lifestyles and felt so fascinated about it. In 2017 I set my goal that I will stop eating meat and start to make my transaction and 3 years later I have succeeded to change my life completely.
My body is getting stronger, I'm able to do more sports, sleep so much better, make a lot of new friends throughout my journey and still continue to grow every day.
If I was a vegetable I would be a...
I would be a carrot! because I will be so earthy, trustworthy, and highly nutritious!
Find Thara
Morgane Quinchon
Registered Dietician
Born and raised in Paris, Morgane has always been in love with food and understood its influence on one’s health and wellbeing very early in her life .
After a few years in a prestigious medical school in France, she realized that prevention was better than the cure and decided to become a clinical dietician citizen of the world and thriving on challenges, she moved to Thailand in 2016 for a whole new journey.
Not only did she discover an amazing new culture, but she opened her traditional western medical mindset to a more holistic approach, inspired by hundreds of clients, colleagues, and friends’ life stories.
After selling her own nutrition consulting company in Bangkok, she moved to Phuket to join Thanyapura Sports and Health center (a world-class sports and wellbeing destination) as their Nutrition Manager.
Throughout her journey, Morgane specialized in Sports Nutrition, Health & Life Coaching, and Lifestyle Medicine, in order to get even more tools to empower her clients to create sustainable habits
Morgane recently certified as a Yoga Teacher, convinced than a holistic approach is a key to good health As a freelance Dietician she’s now offering bespoke plans, including nutrition, yoga, and meditation, to people seeking to bring balance back in their life.
Lives in
Phuket, Thailand
Skills and passions
- Clinical and sports nutrition
- Gut health and mental health
- Hormonal balance
- Intuitive eating
- Yoga and meditation
Why plant-based?
Morgane does not like to label anyone’s choices or to label herself.
She believes that our daily food choices directly impact not only our health but also our planet, therefore everyone can decide to actively make a change.
Morgane drastically changed her lifestyle since moving to Thailand, adopting a more plant-based diet.
This type of lifestyle not only brings more variety and colors to our plates but also provides a wide range of amazingly powerful nutrients to our bodies and minds.
Find Morgane
If I was a vegetable I would be a...
Green Lettuce, fresh and crunchy!
I can not have a meal without my garden green salad, I love lettuce as you can play with the dressings, eat it by itself, or mix with other veggies… easy!