Ani Phyo facts for kids

Ani Phyo (born July 17, 1968) is a Canadian-born American organic chef and author. She loves healthy, whole foods and believes in sustainable agriculture. Ani Phyo is known for promoting a "raw food" lifestyle, which means eating uncooked and unprocessed foods that are organic and good for the planet.

Early Life and Education

Ani Phyo was born on July 17, 1968, in Nova Scotia, Canada. She grew up mostly in upstate New York, near Buffalo. Her family is of Korean descent.

Her father raised her on mostly vegan, fresh, and raw foods. They even had their own organic farm where they grew their own fruits and vegetables for eating and juicing. This early experience helped shape her love for healthy food.

College Years

Ani Phyo went to Ewha and Yonsei Universities to study international business. She then graduated from Cornell University in 1990 with degrees in human ecology design and business management, and a minor in nutrition. She also did more studies in social psychology and computer art at SUNY Buffalo.

During her studies and early career, she discovered that eating raw foods helped her think clearly and stay healthy. This was the start of her journey into the raw food world.

Career Highlights

Ani Phyo has always loved making food. From a young age, she worked with catering companies to improve her cooking skills. Even though she knows how to make fancy, gourmet dishes, today she focuses on teaching simple, fast, and easy recipes using everyday ingredients.

SmartMonkey Foods

In 1999, Ani Phyo co-founded a company called SmartMonkey Foods in Los Angeles, California. It started by catering special raw food dinners in Hollywood and other areas. As more people wanted her food, SmartMonkey Foods began selling packaged items like dressings, sauces, and desserts.

The company later moved to Portland, Oregon, where it continued to offer catering, packaged foods, and even classes and retreats. They also made fruit and nut bars called SmartMonkey Bars. Big companies like Nike and Adidas were some of their clients. Ani Phyo sold SmartMonkey Foods in 2009.

Early Web Pioneer

Ani Phyo also founded a multimedia company called SmartMonkey Media. This company created live online events. In 1994, she produced "Fiber," which was the world's first online fashion show! People from all over the world watched it on the internet, even before fast internet connections were common.

She was an early leader in the internet world. She worked on the special effects for Virtuosity, an early cyber-themed movie starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.

Ani Phyo also created many websites, including a huge educational site for Simon & Schuster. One cool project involved sending VJs (people who create video content) across the Mediterranean on bicycles with laptops and cameras. They would share their adventures online, sending videos back to Ani, who would edit them for the website. This happened more than 10 years before YouTube and Facebook existed!

She also wrote a book called Return on Design, which taught about designing websites and wireless technology for users. She taught design and media classes at universities like U.C. Berkeley and San Francisco State University.

Ani Phyo has worked as a consultant for companies like the Disney Channel, ABC Family, and Apple Inc.. Today, she lives in Los Angeles, California, with her dog, Kanga.

See Also

• Raw foodism
• Veganism
• Sustainable agriculture

Images for kids

• 

  Ani Phyo