Where are you from?
I grew up in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts.
Do you have any organizations or causes you support/partner with?
We usually work with an organization that helps bring healthy vegan food into school programs, and I always do what I can to support animal rights organizations, as well as the rescue shelter from where I adopted my dog. Factory farming needs to be a thing of the past, and I know it will be, I just hope to help get us there faster.
Whom do you admire in the entrepreneur sector?
Richard Branson… I like that he’s honest, and fun, and has always been unconventional in how he does things, and he’s not arrogant or pretentious in the least bit, and he’s now also actively doing so many good things for the world. And of course, he’s been hugely successful.
Making my own schedule. There are lots of great things about creating and running your own business but also a lot of challenges. The creative part is by far the most rewarding, and doing something that helps make people’s lives better.
SARMA
How did you get into the raw food concept?
It was over ten years ago, and happened by accident. Someone brought me to a raw food café, I was expecting to hate it. I’d never considered going vegan, and at the time I didn’t even know what “raw food” meant. The dinner was much better than I expected and my very knowledgeable friend explained the philosophy behind it and I was hooked.
How did the concept of One Lucky Duck and Pure Food and Wine come about?
At that same dinner described above, there was a pretty girl sitting at the next table and we spoke with her about raw food. She said it changed her life, she felt so much better, but then she said her friends would never come to a place like the one we were in. She said “I wish someone would open a cool raw food restaurant”. It just so happened at the time my partner and I were in the beginning phases of working on a new restaurant, and when this girl at the restaurant said that, I knew in that moment that we would be the ones to open a cool raw food restaurant, and Pure Food and Wine opened the next year.
Is it hard to convince New Yorkers to try raw cuisine?
Usually it’s men that are the most reluctant but they always love it. I always hear about people that were dragged in and then end up loving it and wanting to come back. The restaurant very intentionally doesn’t look or feel like the stereotype of a vegan or healthy restaurant, and we have a great wine list and amazing sake cocktails, which always helps. Our big outdoor garden is also a huge draw in the Spring/Summer, it’s one of the most romantic outdoor dining spots in the city.
Your blog post are massively popular, particularly oil pulling! What is that process?
We read about this and so some of us in the office decided to give it a try. It’s very cool! You put a spoonful of oil in your mouth (virgin coconut oil is best) and swish it around for a while and it cleans your mouth and pulls out all kinds of impurities… it’s strange at first but it feels really good.
What is the best part of being an entrepreneur?
Making my own schedule. There are lots of great things about creating and running your own business but also a lot of challenges. The creative part is by far the most rewarding, and doing something that helps make people’s lives better.
Love the name, One Lucky Duck, how did it originate?
There are photographs of ducks in the dining room at Pure Food and Wine. I love them, and when someone designed our menus they put little ducks on the cover. When I decided to create the website and brand, I knew I wanted something that evoked fun, and would be easy to remember, and then with a logo that was easily recognizable. One Lucky Duck seemed to fit all those criteria. As soon as I had the logo designed, I went and got a tattoo of it… a bit risky since the website hadn’t been built yet.
Tell us a bit about the benefits of eating raw food. How can one incorporate moving into a full raw-food diet?
Eating raw food is like giving your body pure nutrition. Because it’s not heated to high temperatures (or, grilled over a flame or fried in hot oil, etc) the ingredients retain their nutrients and enzymes. The enzymes help with digestion so when you eat raw food, you never have that tired, “food coma” feeling, instead you feel full of energy, which means your body is free to spend that energy on life activities, or healing from an illness. It’s also great for easily losing excess weight and for clearing up skin problems and holding onto a youthful appearance.
Replacing breakfast with raw food is a great place to start… whether it’s chia pudding or granola and almond milk, or green juice or a shake full of fresh, healthy ingredients, it will make a noticeable difference in how you feel starting the day. As for other meals, you can simply begin incorporating more salads and fresh foods and cutting back on everything else. How easy it will be depends on one’s routine, time, and resources.
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