Sarma Melngailis is the co-founder of Pure Food and Wine restaurant in New York City (purefoodandwine.com), and the Founder and CEO of One Lucky Duck Holdings, LLC (oneluckyduck.com). She is the co-author of Raw Food/Real World (July 2005) and author of Living Raw Food (June 2009).Born and raised outside Boston, Sarma is the daughter of a professional chef and a physicist. She attended University of Pennsylvania where she earned a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School as well as a B.A. from the College of Arts and Sciences (1994). In 1994, Sarma moved to New York City to pursue a career in finance. Until 1996 she worked at Bear, Stearns Inc. where she focused on mergers and acquisitions. She then moved to Bain Capital Inc. in Boston evaluating businesses for private equity investment. Missing New York City, she returned there in 1998 and joined a high-yield investment fund at CIBC. It was back in New York that Sarma then decided to follow a new direction and pursue her passion for food. Sarma enrolled in and graduated from the French Culinary Institute (1999). She then worked on restaurant and cookbook projects prior to 2003 when she discovered raw and vegan foods. Sarma (and a collaborator)opened Pure Food and Wine in New York City in 2004 and in 2005 she founded and launched the online store oneluckyduck.com. One Lucky Duck is a brand of packaged raw/vegan snacks made at Pure Food and Wine. The website also carries skin care, apparel, books, household and pet products. Oneluckyduck.com is also home to her widely read and entertaining blog, as well as other information and resources about raw, vegan, and organic living.