STUDY WITH DANIW

The Living Kitchen: A Raw Food Chef Course in Palawan

Learning to prepare living food properly, taught by Daniw and the resident chefs who prepare it every day. A level 1 foundation, held a few times a year, with limited slots.

A meal made in a rush tastes different from one made with attention.
Most people have noticed it without quite being
able to name it.

In the raw food tradition this is taken seriously. Because nothing is transformed by heat, ingredients reach the table much as they left your hand, and the state you were in while preparing them is held to travel with food.

You do not have to take that on faith to find it useful. Working slowly with your hands in the ingredients and your attention on what you are doing, changes the food and it changes you. That is where The Living Kitchen begins, before a single recipe.

What you learn.

Three days in the kitchen, hands-on from the first morning. You begin with the foundations, knife-skils, kitchen safety, how to choose and handle living ingredients, and the raw food tradition's understanding of why uncooked food is prepared the way it is. From there you move through the real techniques of the craft:

Soaking, sprouting, and why they matter

Ideal combinations of flavours

Dehydration process for texture and crisps

Fermentation and cultured foods

Raw desserts made without an oven

Plating and presentation, so the food looks as alive as it is

On the final day, each student creates and plates a dish on their own, the graduation piece, drawing on everything the three days have taught.

What is included

45, 000 pesos

ALL INCLUSIVE

Three days of instruction, accomodation on site, and meals. Paying within five days earns 5% off, as with our retreats.

Slots are limited to seven, and deliberately so. A kitchen only fits so many pairs of hands, and a larger group would mean watching rather than doing.

Upcoming courses

Held over long weekends through the year, so a course can fit around and ordinary schedule. All level 1 unless noted.

Dates	Level of expertise
28-30 November 2026	Level 1
26-28 March 2027	Level 1
11-13 June 2027	Level 1
28-30 August 2027	Level 1
27-29 November 2027	Level 2

Slots are limited, so it is worth writing to us early to hold a place.

Your certification, and who teaches it.

You leave with a Bahay Kalipay Level 1 certification in raw food preparation, and the foundation to keep building on.

The Living Kitchen is taught by Daniw Arrazola, who has prepared and taught raw food here every day since 2007. Daniw earned her raw food chef and detox certification under Elaina Love of Pure Joy Academy, whose own training comes from Dr. Gabriel Cousens of The Tree of Life in Arizona, a lineage running back to some of the founding figures of the modern raw food movement. She is certified not only to prepare this food but to teach and certify others in it.

What stands behind your certificate, though, is something no course alone can give: nearly two decades of a working raw kitchen, in the first raw food and yoga retreat in Asia. We are building this properly, a level at a time, level 1 through 2027, with level 2 arriving that November for those ready to go further.

Who it suits

People who already eat this way and want to do it well. Cooks and chefs adding raw preparation to what they can offer. Anyone thinking of opening something of their own one day. And former guests who fell for the food here and would rather make than only remember it.

The days are full and hands-on, with early starts and real work in the kitchen

Taught by Daniw Arrazola, who co-founded Bahay Kalipay in 2007, together
with the resident chefs who prepare this food every day.

Hold your place

Write with the date that suits you and a little about why it draws you.
Slots are limited to seven, so early is wise, especially if you are travelling to reach us.

ENQUIRE ABOUT THE LIVING KITCHEN

Home Detox Kit

Our Detox and Nourishment Programs are based on raw vegan food or nutrient-dense liquids, to reset the digestive system, lose weight, achieve mental clarity, and add glow to your health and vitality.

If we have car oil change yearly, wheel alignment, and regular car wash, the same is true to our body! Our body in order to function at its most efficient and effective state would first need to detox from dense and packaged foods, and allow more high vibrational food.

These programs are especially great for people who are transitioning into a new diet such as veganism (plant-based) or pescetarianism (plants and fish); those who want to lose weight immediately for a wedding or a beach holiday, or; simply those to want to reboot their energy and skyrocket their mental clarity.

We can also customize your meals depending on your health conditions. We can speak and work closely with your doctors if there is support needed in terms of food choices, recommendations, and daily food supplements. Please let us be aware of all your conditions, especially allergies to certain food or ingredients.

Three options to our detox programs:

Raw Food Detox

2,150 PHP/day
(3 meals)

Smoothie Cleanse

1,000 PHP/day
(3 smoothies)

Juice Feast

1500 PHP/day
(5 juices)

You can do a 1-day trial, 3-day experience, 5-day cleanse, or a 1-week to a 1-month weight-loss program. Each option can be done anytime in one month period for a total weight loss or reboot program. You may start and end with our Transition or Maintenance Diet, do a gentle cleanse through the Raw Food Diet, and a more intensive detox with Green Smoothies and Juices. The title of each program says it all!

Delivery would be 2-3 times per day within Puerto Princesa City proper.

Additional delivery charges apply for other places within Puerto Princesa.

*Please order 3 days in advance before beginning the juice cleanse so as to give time for us to orient you and prepare your package.

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Founded in 2007 in the island paradise of Palawan, Bahay Kalipay is the oldest raw food detox, inner dance therapy, and yoga retreat in Asia.