At Shakti Life Kitchen, it is our mission to honor life forces and we are delighted to carry them to you by way of creating nourishing and delicious foods by transforming organic nuts, seeds and produce into gourmet comfort foods that many of us are accustomed to. So, you can still have your pizza rolls and feel alive! Yes, our pizza rolls are organic, completely plant based, have no dairy and no gluten.
About Shakti Life
Shakti Life Kitchen was founded in 2008 in Atlantic Beach, Florida. The heart of Shakti lives in the understanding that food is intended to heal and that we can not do this alone and need one another more than ever.
After experiencing many life changes resulting in many years of anxiety and depression, then infertility, founders Carrie Zarka Dooley and David Dooley found healing in organic raw food. Miraculously, they conceived there daughter after Carrie went “raw” for a couple of years and as the plans to open Shakti were well under way. Opening Shakti was a family affair much like Carrie’s up brining in the amazing European Street Cafe.
Staring a raw food company was at first a bit of a lonely affair and then many other amazing people found there way to help support Shakti. David Dooley and Mary Malone were the first cheerleaders. David created our logo and Mary offered financial and moral support. Without these two incredible forces, Shakti could not be.
Our first chef was Raw Chef Adam Graham who joined us after working for Gabriel Cousins, PHD. He helped create our amazing inaugurating menu 15 years ago. If you ever wonder where the Raw Ranch dressing came from, he is the one!
Then a circle of fantastic women came to create together. If you have ever heard of the term divine feminine collective, this is what came to be in the first founding years. Kelley Williams, Theresa Methvin, and Valerie Hermann made the dynamic trio that helped Shakti transition to wholesale and an online menu. Because of them, we have the most divine raw breads, crusts, cashew cheeses, cheescakes, pizza rolls, kale chips, taquitos, aged cheeses, and much more.
As our journey carried us through to our time being held by European Street Cafe, we were founded by Grace Scarpa and Michele Whitley who helped us on our next phase of being. Michele’s life long work in the restaurant business helped stabilize Shakti for 9 years. We are so grateful for her dedication, heart work and hard work. She was there through our transition into Atlantic Theaters and was a grounding force as we began to dream for Mayport.
Grace has loved and nourished Shakti with her eloquence, wisdom and hard working hands for the past 14 years. She invented many gadgets to streamline our processes and is a true innovator and believer in the magic to make good and keep organic. She recently invested to help us develop our Mayport Road dream house.
You will feel the divine love coming from creator Rina Angelo who founded us 7 years ago. She is so committed to putting love into everything that comes out of Shakti. We are honored to work with her.
Through the years, we have had many more amazing people to help support us in the kitchen, including our bookkeeper Daniela. We are also equally grateful for the locations that carry Shakti. Native Sun in Jax Beach and Grassroots have been our Jacksonville mainstays along with Nassau Health Foods and Diane’s Natural Market. We are delighted to deliver to Crop in Sarasota and the European Street Cafes in everyone’s neighborhood. Most recently, we joined the Atlantic Beaches Co op where being a member gets you free Shakti. We can also be found in the cold case at ZapCat Coffee!
Then there is you! The amazing ones who support Shakti. Thank you for desiring plant based foods. It helps us locally and every molecule of the Earth. We hope to be able to keep serving you for a very long time and we couldn’t be here without our amazing community. We love you!
Why Raw Food?
Beginning to eat Organic Raw Vegan Food begins with understanding why? The most simple answer I have is because energy matters. We know what it feels like to feel depleted and exhausted (over-cooked, so to speak). We also know what it feels like to feel alive and vibrant.
When you eat raw, you are choosing to feel alive and vibrant. You are giving yourself a chance to feel all the Earth has to offer, which is amazing love, creativity and nurturing.
We are creations of the Earth and to feel as alive and vibrant as a beautiful Zucchini Star Flower or a glorious Blueberry bush, we must eat foods that are grown on our home planet and we must prepare them gently. Eating organic raw food gives our bodies a chance to become alkaline, and with this glorious state comes a body free of disease.
