| Columns
:
City Beat
|
Last Updated:
Jan 19th, 2010 - 13:22:35 |
Detroit Evolution Laboratory
Revolution or Bust
Eating food can be almost as enlightening as reading Walden or staring into a Dali painting. You don’t just chop a carrot; you have to understand it. No one knows this better than Detroit Evolution Laboratory owners Angela Kasmala and Gregg Newsom. They don’t just eat food to consume it, they think about it, perfect a dish and then teach it to hungry students at the DEL.
Opened in June 2007, the DEL took shape as the couple looked for a way to help out the community. “We were both working at Irene’s Myomassology Institute in Southfield,” Angela Kasmala says. “The school was going through financial troubles and we kind of knew if any jobs were eliminated, I would be the first to go.” The young couple ventured out on their own and started teaching lessons on healthy living from their loft on the campus of Wayne State. “This was our decision and reaction to an economic crisis in our lives,” Gregg Newsom says. “We wanted to put other people first and this was our answer to that.”
The formula of helping others get healthy was so successful that Kasmala and Newsom relocated to a loft near the food mecca that is Eastern Market. At their new location, the duo holds weekly classes on learning how to make a wide variety of meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. “Angela is a really great cook and when we fell in love it was like the whole ‘through a man's stomach’ thing,” Newsom says. “She really has something to teach people.”
In addition to the cooking lessons and catering, Newsom encourages patrons to also take a stab at the yoga classes that the Laboratory holds on a weekly basis. “We really wanted to get into servicing people and have that be our guiding light,” Newsom says. “We just want to make people feel better, not just with food, but also with the practice of yoga.” Led by Newsom and fellow yoga instructor Shelley Smith, the classes are held on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and cost just ten dollars for an hour and a half session.
Detroit Evolution Laboratory is clearly not just about food. It’s about a way of life that results in a longer and happier existence. “Before I met Angela I really thought food was just this mandatory thing,” Gregg states. “She’s really changed that and really brought it into perspective and we are really trying to tell other people about it.” Kasmala had reason to try and change other people’s dietary habits after her father died an early death due to heart disease. “I came from a meat and potatoes family and eating vegetables out of a can. I’ve been there,” Kasmala laments. “We just want people to become more aware of how food makes them feel and get them thinking about the larger picture.”
This week, Kasmala and Newsom will pack up their DEL belongings and take them across town to the Fillmore Theatre. Joining in on the fun of the Detroit Urban Craft Fair on November 15, the couple will be crafting their very healthy culinary creations for patrons of the event. “This is going to be the biggest vegetarian/vegan catered meal ever in Detroit,” said Kasmala. “I don’t know if I should announce that. Someone might try and top it! Oh well.” | RDW
More info: detroitevolution.com
|
|
|
 |
