Viswa Vanapalli
In May 2016, Sarma Melngailis and Anthony Strangis were arrested in Sevierville, Tennessee, far away from Sarma’s busy and fast-paced life in Manhattan, New York. The story of how Sarma suddenly disappeared, abandoning her successful restaurant business and funneling the money to Anthony instead, was a national storyline.
The December 2016 cover issue of Vanity Fair titled ‘From Vegan Food Queen to Fugitive’ provided the backstory to what happened. The author of that piece, Allen Salkin, was interviewed by the creators of Netflix’s ‘Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives.’ So, let’s find out more about him then, shall we?
Who is Allen Salkin?
After Allen finished high school, he headed to the University of California, Berkeley, to pursue a political science major and a minor in American literature. After that, Allen went across the coast to New York University to get a master’s degree in journalism. But before becoming one of the most-established writers regarding food culture and politics, Allen held several odd jobs.
He cast industrial films in Hong Kong, sold rubber duckies in Las Vegas, Nevada, went door to door in Western Australia selling oil paintings and picked oranges in Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. In the 1990s, Allen worked for the New York Post, reporting on various areas that included the death of John F. Kennedy Jr and the corruption in the surrogate court system. In the late 2000s, Allen wrote for the New York Times, covering major scoops involving Annie Liebovitz and Jared Kushner, among others.
Apart from this, Allen has been featured in documentaries, podcasts, radio, and TV shows, in addition to hosting his own podcast called ‘New Books in Food.’ Allen’s piece for Vanity Fair on Sarma provided a chilling account of what happened to the successful restaurateur after she met Anthony Strangis on Twitter. She had transferred more than $1.5 million from the business to her account, most of which Anthony gambled away. The article suggested Sarma was coerced into funneling money away and was manipulated into going on the run with him for nearly a year until their arrest in May 2016.
Where is Allen Salkin Now?
Allen continues to work as a freelance writer for outlets such as Vanity Fair and Food & Wine, writing primarily about food. Apart from that, he has authored a book about the history of the Food Network and, more recently, co-authored ‘The Method to the Madness, Untold Stories of Donald Trump’s 16-Year Quest for the White House.’ Allen lives in Los Angeles, California, on a ranch and seems to be in a steady relationship. He also has a scripted comedy in development based on his book about the Food Network. Furthermore, Allen is an approved movie critic on Rotten Tomatoes, although he hasn’t reviewed anything since 2017.
Read More: Where is Ilze Melngailis Now?
