Imagine a cheesecake made without sugar, without dairy products and without heat. Think it doesn’t exist? Think again.

One taste of Rebecca Irey’s chocolate cheesecake can turn doubters into believers. It will be the signature dessert in the new raw foods line being offered by Pure Market Express when it opens in downtown Chaska next week.

Raw foods are those made without dairy, without refined sugar or preservatives, without meat and without the use of heat, maximizing the nutritional benefits.

Pure Market Express is the brainchild of Rebecca and her husband Quentin. The Shorewood couple has already been in business together for 14 years running RI Transcription in Excelsior. Their second joint business venture is based on bringing their lifestyle to the masses. 

Raw food has been a passion of Rebecca’s for years. “I love the way I feel eating this way,” she said.

Rebecca, who grew up on a cattle farm and still professes to hate vegetables, began eating raw foods as a form of dieting.

“Initially, it had everything to do with my weight,” she said. “I was pregnant and I ate for me and Dom DeLuise. I gained a lot.” But eating raw foods, she realized she could eat as much as she wanted and lose weight. “It worked,” she said.

Rebecca collected every raw foods cookbook she could find and began trying the recipes. They weren’t always a success, but she kept refining them.  “After awhile everyone started to enjoy the food,” she said.

Rebecca went completely to raw foods while carrying her sixth child, Lucas, but lost some of her momentum to prepare the labor intensive foods after he was born.

“I realized that if I make food for other people, I can stay on track,” she said. The idea for Pure Market Express was born.

Pure Market Express will open Aug. 18 on the corner of Highway 41 and Fifth Street in the building that formerly housed the Chaska Bakery – though there couldn’t be a more dissimilar food operation going on inside.

“They used water and we use water,” said Quentin with a chuckle. That’s where the similarities end.

More than trail mix

Rebecca and Quentin are quick to point out that their foods are a whole lot more than just baby carrots and trail mix. Their initial menu will contain over 100 items – everything from smoothies and pancakes to bacon jalapeno poppers and steak. All of the recipes are ones that Rebecca has created and perfected over the years to satisfy her own cravings.

She trained in New Hampshire with Chef Alissa Cohen to get her raw foods certification and has been tinkering with recipes ever since.

Through trial and error, Rebecca has been able to create foods that are guilt-free indulgences. There are chips packed with pizza flavor, banana crepes drizzled with a sweet strawberry puree and even lasagna.

Her foods are a master class in healthy food substitutions. The lasagna, for instance, contains oregano-marinated zucchini in place of pasta noodles and uses pine nuts to make a mozzarella cheese.  And yet, it still tastes like lasagna.

“The goal is making Rebecca the Martha Stewart of raw food,” said Quentin. 

Rebecca is a bit more modest, always touting the benefits of the food.

“Look at how easy it is to be a little healthier,” she said.

The Ireys aren’t advocating for everyone to go raw, though. They aren’t even all raw.

“We’re not that family that has the tofu turkey at Thanksgiving,” said Quentin, noting that they do offer their guests raw sides.

“That’s the thing,” said Rebecca. “You can mix and match.”

Take out or order in

“We wanted to impact people,” explained Quentin of the decision to build a raw foods business.

“This allows us to help people be well,” said Rebecca.

Pure Market Express will offer raw foods for take out or for mail order. All food is handmade to order at the Chaska building. The downtown storefront will also offer tastings of their menu items.

For those a bit skeptical about raw foods, the Ireys suggest trying the bacon jalapeno poppers as an appetizer before moving onto the lasagna as an entrée and then finishing with the chocolate cheesecake for dessert. “It satisfies all my cravings,” said Rebecca of the cheesecake.

Though they don’t use sugar in their sweets, they do use natural sweeteners like agave and stevia. Other common substitutes in their foods include coconut meat, goji berries, hemp seeks and flax.

“Look at our ingredient labels,” she said. “There’s nothing you can’t pronounce.”

They work with local farmers as much as possible to purchase ingredients for their foods. They know their biggest obstacle will be changing people’s perceptions about raw food, but Rebecca is confident that the quality of the food speaks for itself. “Just try one bite.”

-Mollee Francisco, staff writer