Ramses Bravo is the executive chef at TrueNorth, and notes, “I came from a regular chef’s world where butter, cream, red meat and pizza flowed daily and freely, so this was not the obvious choice for me to make.” He got in touch with Dr. Goldhamer a few times to discuss the job. He knew it would be vegan food from the start, and although he had no previous training in this type of cuisine, this wasn’t a deal-breaker. However, said Ramses, Dr. Goldhamer was clever enough to slowly and very casually mention here and there that he couldn’t use sugar or oil. It wasn’t until their last meeting that he again casually mentioned that he couldn’t use salt either. “I was so close to turning down the job when he said that, however I am so very glad that I didn’t because it was a life-changer.” Ramses quickly dropped 30 pounds without even trying and he joyfully recalls having a lot more energy and desire to play with his daughter Lulu. When asked what he loves most about working at TrueNorth, he said, “That I have been able to embrace my role as a cooking teacher. I teach adults across the country about healthy food, and I also teach children at my daughter’s school on learning how to cook.” Chef Bravo’s hobbies include photography, writing (his third book, The Love Kitchen, to be published December 2014), human behavior (it helps to have Dr. Lisle on staff), knitting, football, and making jewelry (many TrueNorth patients own a pair or more of Chef Bravo’s unique earing designs).
