It's all about the team. I'm proud to have worked with 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.
Jamie: Holistic Chef
Jamie Raftery
Lives in
Phuket, Thailand
Skills and passions
- Cooking 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.
Find Jamie
Ban Kuan Jungle in Phuket, Amazon Cafe co-working space, or Layan Beach.
- Holistic Chef Academy
- Podcast - My career journey
Thara: Thai Recipe Developer & Director
Thara Thanmanithara
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 attending 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 puts 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 nutrition. I never cared about what I had been eating, 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.