A raw-ing trade

I SPOKE to a lovely woman last night who owns a health food shop in Kings Heath. Her name's Jo Austin and she runs Thyme Out in Poplar Road. I called her to talk about a feature I had in mind for the newspaper I work for.
The shop's just started running demonstrations and taster sessions. Last Saturday there was a sushi demonstration and previously a quinoa tasting session.
Jo explained that she and her husband Gareth had taken over the store less than a year ago and business had really taken off since the closure of Sage Wholefoods, in nearby Moseley.
I've only visited the shop once but it stocks lots of healthy goodies such as dried pulses, cereals, nuts and seeds. There's also a fridge with packets of salad sprouts, tofu and drinks.
Jo, originally from Massachusetts, USA, told me that she grew up on a farm and by her own admission is a great cook, something she learned from her grandma. She's an advocate of the slow food movement, but also wants to be able to rustle up a quick dinner when there's little more than a turnip in the cupboard.
Of her shop venture she said: "As well as showing people that cooking healthy food is easy I want to encourage the sense of community in the area."
As part of this venture she's holding a raw food demonstration on Saturday, December 20, from 2pm until 4pm. The raw food diet is already popular in the States and is beginning to take off here. Jo said she'd recently been to a raw foods restaurant in London and was 'blown away' with the creations she was served.
Her friend Sandi Mather will be giving the demo and I am popping along to find out more with a view to writing a feature.
Hope to see you there. I don't know if I could ever adopt a wholly raw food diet, but I'll certainly be interested to find out more. And with any luck, there might be a free sample, or two.
For more details call Jo on 0121 441 4764 or pop into 48, Poplar Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham.