After Fyre and Tiger King, Chris Smith has put his name in a four-part docuseries called Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives that dropped on Netflix on 16 March 2022.
The show explores how the runaway fugitive Sarma Melngailis, aka the Queen of Vegan Cuisine, ran one of the hottest restaurants in New York, a raw-food vegan place called Pure Food and Wine for years. That is of course before she ended up defrauding her employees and running from law enforcement. Allen Salkin, whom we are going to talk about in the rest of this ‘Allen Salkin BIO’ also features on the show.
He is the author behind the 2016 article about the case for Vanity Fair, which for the first time animated this story for many readers.
Allen Salkin On Bad Vegan
In May 2016, Sarma Melngailis and her husband Anthony Strangis were arrested in Sevierville, Tennessee, far away from Sarma’s busy and fast-paced life in Manhattan, New York. By then the story of how Sarma suddenly disappeared, abandoning her successful restaurant business and directing the money to Anthony instead, was a national storyline.
Then in December 2016 a cover issue of Vanity Fair titled “From Vegan Food Queen to Fugitive” had provided the backstory to what had happened. The author of that piece was none other than Allen Salkin. Therefore, concerning this and seeking his expertise on the case, Allen was interviewed by the creators of Netflix’s Bad Vegan.
Allen’s piece on Sarma provided a chilling account of what had transpired. Allen was the one to reveal how the successful restauranter transferred more than $1.5 million from the business account to Anthony whom she met on Twitter. And most of this money was gambled away by Anthony.
The article suggested Sarma was conned into funneling money away and was manipulated into going on the run with Anthony for nearly a year until their arrest.
Allen Salkin Career
On his official website, Allen Salkin claims to be a world-renowned writer on politics, culture, and trends. And that, he appears frequently on television news, on radio and podcasts, and in documentaries as an expert on politics, culture, and media.
He was a featured player on the E! channel reality series Lisa Loeb: #1 Single (2006). In the Los Angeles Times review of the Jonathan Gold documentary City of Gold (2015), Allen was quoted from the film, extolling its subject as “the food-writing equivalent of Raymond Chandler.”
Further, Allen has authored/co-authored the books From Scratch: The Uncensored History of the Food Network, The Method to the Madness, Untold Stories of Donald Trump’s 16-Year Quest for the White House, and one more.
Over the course, Allen also held several odd jobs including that of actor and stand-up comic. He used to cast industrial films in Hong Kong; sold rubber duckies in Las Vegas; went door to door in Western Australia selling oil paintings; picked oranges in Crete in the Mediterranean Sea.
In the 1990s, Allen reported to New York Post on various areas including the death of John F. Kennedy Jr, the corruption in the surrogate court system. Then, in the late 2000s, he wrote for the New York Times, covering major scoops involving Annie Liebovitz and Jared Kushner.
So, we can say Allen is an author, screenwriter, documentarian, actor, journalist, and rancher.
How Old Is Allen Salkin?
Every year the 2nd of April marks Allen Salkin’s birthday making him an Aries. On this day in 2021, he turned 56 years old.
Allen Salkin Wife
Allen Salkin does have someone in his life. But we could not be sure if she has also been married to him. It is Sara Ventiera that we are talking about. From what’s been told on her Instagram @saraventiera, she is a mother of goats, animal lover, and reporter who covers food, travel, pets, real estate, and random things.
Sara is a freelance writer of Maplewood, New Jersey now based in Los Angeles, California.
By the look of things, they have been together since at least 2015. And the last time we saw them together, was February of 2022. Turns out, Allen runs the Shady Acres Ranch with his seeming partner Sara.
Is Allen Salkin On Instagram?
Yes. Allen Salkin could be found on Instagram @allensalkin where he entertained 2,067 posts and 1,181 followers as of 17 March 2022.
For some reason, Allen Salkin was shadowbanned on Twitter @allensalkin as of this time. So, requesting the issue be solved, he took to write “For real, can someone provide me a great media contact at #Twitter with the power to remove my shadowban? (If you don’t know what a #shadowban is, move on.) I’m featured in a new Netflix doc series (Bad Vegan) and would like to be found” on 15 March 2022 on his other social media platforms.
Allen Salkin Family
Allen Salkin’s mother Toby Salkin Jacobson is an artist based in Southern California. She sells her paintings via Instagram @salkin.
Meanwhile, Allen’s dad Jay Salkin is no longer alive.
Then, there’s Douglas Salkin, Allen’s brother (52-year-old as of 2021). As per LinkedIn, Douglas is an award-winning post-production executive with 25 years of experience in the film industry.
Related FAQs
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Where Is Allen Salkin From?
Moreover, Allen Salkin is a Los Angeles, Southern California native.
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Where Did Allen Salkin Recieve His Education?
Following schooling at Calabasas High School, Allen Salkin headed to the University of California, Berkeley. There he studied Political Science with a major and a minor in American literature. From there, Allen attended New York University for a master’s degree in Journalism.
