Sarma Melngailis is the founder, CEO, of One Lucky Duck. She is also the co-founder and owner of Pure Food and Wine restaurant in NYC, and the co-author of Raw Food Real World and author of Living Raw Food. Visit Sarma’s website at http://www.oneluckyduck.com/

Why was it important to you for the visual elements to be presented in the manner you dictated in Living Raw Food?

I wanted this book to be bright and visually appealing, like the first book. I’m a sucker for photographs, that’s why I buy other nice cookbooks and still subscribe to cooking magazines (even though I don’t cook from them). I’ve always loved food photography and find it inspiring. With this book I wanted to show people that raw vegan food isn’t bland looking or boring or all salads. In the second book I also wanted to give people a feeling for the restaurant and the staff that comprise our ‘family’. I think our atmosphere at Pure Food and Wine is really special and I hope that comes through in the book.

How did your education at NYC”s French Culinary Institute particularly with regards to expression or discipline differ from your formative post-secondary education at Wharton?

Wharton and FCI… I never thought to compare the two! Business school and cooking school are certainly very different. In undergrad business school I didn’t feel like I was doing anything creative or expressive at all, and certainly not working with my hands, which is also something I like to do. Cooking school was all about working with your hands. Though at the same time it was all about learning technique, so we were following very traditional mostly French recipes, and not working on creating things on our own. (That part I did at home).

Have you noticed traveling with a more heightened sense of awareness now that you not only  a chef but, a raw vegan?

I’m definitely always observing what people are eating. Walking around the city I’m always fascinated by what people eat. I do think that making the switch to raw food heightens your senses, smell in particular. So, I have a greater appreciation for fresh clean air, the smell of the ocean, and that of trees and grass. Living in NYC I really miss all of these natural smells. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I find cologne and perfume intolerably offensive – it’s really hard to deal with sometimes confined in an elevator with someone doused in either. Barf!

Do you advise the items in the ingredients section as staples or more of a guideline? (I noticed you have a great deal of substitutions and background to help novices)

The ingredients section is just so people get an understanding of the basics and what to look for in making selections, and to explain what the options are. (In raw food, it’s always changing, there are ingredients that weren’t available when the first book was written, and still more coming out that I might include in my next book.

You mentioned in your personal Raw story it was more of an experimental journey and later your observation post script to reading “Conscious Eating” you gave responsive insight but, do you additionally have a philosophy with regard to ethical reasoning for staying a raw vegan?(*BBQ Tortilla chips excepted? ) (LOL)

I think everyone’s responsible to do their best when it comes to cooperative living, which of course means doing what we can to turn things around with regards to the environment and caring for animals. I’m always baffled by people who call themselves environmentalists, but then will blindly eat whatever junk food or meat based food is available without considering the environmental impact of that part of their lifestyle. Why bother driving a Prius if you’re going to keep eating processed meat? I also feel very strongly opposed to factory farming (of course!) and I wish everyone would read Jonathan Safran Foer’s book Eating Animals. I just wish more people would eat with awareness.

What serves as your inspiration when you create food prepared for non-purists? Is it to challenge you professionally as much as it is to communicate food in its purist forms, complements, and accompaniments?

Surprising and pleasing people who were otherwise skeptical about raw vegan food are incredibly inspiring. My restaurant is oriented towards those people. I feel I/we can make a bigger difference by luring in the non-purists or skeptics and showing them how good eating this way can be, as opposed to just catering to already raw/vegan people. The best reward is when someone said they ended up shifting their whole way of eating (whether 100% or just partially) because of their experience with Pure Food and Wine, One Lucky Duck, or reading Living Raw Food or Raw Food Real World. That makes me happy!