Sarma Melngailis

Sarma Melngailis
Born (1972-09-10) September 10, 1972 (age 52)
CitizenshipAmerican, Latvian
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (BS, BA)
French Culinary Institute
Known for
Restaurateur (2001–2015),
Fugitive, convicted of fraud (2015–2017)
Spouse
Anthony Strangis
​
​
(m. 2012; div. 2018)​
Culinary career
Cooking styleVegan, Raw foodism
Previous restaurant(s)
    • Commissary, New York City (2001–2003),
      * Pure Food and Wine, New York City (2004–2016),
      * One Lucky Duck Juice and Takeaway, New York City (2007–2015),
      * One Lucky Duck, Chelsea Market, New York City (2009–2015),
      * One Lucky Duck Juice and Takeaway, San Antonio, Texas (2014–2016)
Websitewww.sarmaraw.com

Sarma Melngailis (born September 10, 1972)[1] is an American chef, cookbook author, businesswoman and convicted criminal. She was the owner and co-founder of Pure Food and Wine and One Lucky Duck, both vegan raw food restaurants in New York City.[2][3] Melngailis' restaurant appeared in New York Magazine's Top 100 Restaurants round up, and made it into Forbes' list of All Star New York Eateries for five consecutive years.[4] Both businesses closed in 2016 after staff walked out over unpaid wages. After fleeing New York, Melngailis was tracked down in Tennessee and arrested for fraud in 2016. She was convicted in 2017.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference nation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Miller, Jenny (December 11, 2009). "Chatting With Sarma Melngailis of Pure Food and Wine: Raw Food, Criticism From Vegan Purists, and Global Expansion". Fork in the road. Village Voice. Archived from the original on December 14, 2009. Retrieved December 16, 2009.
  3. ^ Frakes, Julia (March 30, 2009). "Spring Cleaning With... Sarma Melngailis". Paper Magazine. Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved December 16, 2009. University of Pennsylvania (where she earned a B.A on top of her B.S. in Economics from Wharton)
  4. ^ Biggs, Jade (March 15, 2022). "Where is Sarma Melngailis – of Netflix's newest true crime doc – now?". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved December 1, 2022.