About Santa Fe

When nature and organic foods meet in the heart of New Mexico!

When I opened Annapurna Ayurvedic Cuisine and Chai House over 10 years ago, I made a commitment to serve food as simple as possible from the earth just as nature intended and as prescribed in the Ayurvedic tradition. I am glad that I have adhered to that commitment through the last 12 years with the opening of 4 restaurants and finally settling on 3 locations in 2 different cities in the State of New Mexico. People were skeptical about a vegetarian restaurant being successful, and an Ayurvedic one at that. I knew I was doing the right thing, because people were looking for this kind of food, but did not know where to find it, or how to cook it for themselves. My restaurants have surprised me in the kinds of people dining every day.

Most of the guests are not vegetarian or vegan or follow an Ayurvedic lifestyle. They are simply looking for quality ingredients; tasty and satisfying food. They are looking for food "free of trans fats" a current food trend that is here to stay and is forcing restaurants to change philosophies behind their menus. To this I say, Annapurna is strides ahead in the food industry as I chose to make these current food trends a non issue in my restaurants. My restaurants have not served trans fats, white flour, white sugar, or anything refined since their inception 7 years ago.

My career as a Certified Public Accountant brought me to live in Albuquerque 18 years ago. I was forced to cook for myself as there were no vegetarian restaurants that catered to my strict vegetarian lifestyle. My real cooking test came when I first had to cook for visiting gurus and monks from India passing through New Mexico on their Spiritual tours throughout the US. What I perceived to be challenges was received with gratitude by the monks and gurus who kept showing up at my doorstep. To meet this demand for my food, I set out to make this task easier for myself by visiting farmers markets for organic produce and consistent supply. I was learning everything about local produce and the variety available. As my cooking reputation spread, I was confident I could start a home/office/yoga studio delivery service out of my kitchen in my home. My small group of customers relied on my food service to help them to get through their days at work, school, etc. This was the beginning of serving a life enhancing product. 18 months later, I saw the grand opening of Annapurna Ayurvedic Cuisine and Chai House on January 17, 2002. I still recall the first day more than 100 people showed up.

It was satisfying to see the support; which confirmed for me that people were searching for this clean tasty food. The menu was much smaller than it is today, however, kitchari, the ultimate Ayurvedic food, was on the menu since day 1 and continues to be the popular healing food associated with Annapurna. Our food continues to be made fresh daily in our restaurants using high quality organic ingredients. Developing menus that appeal to many, my creativity continues with daily specials, soups and a vegan/gluten free bakery, giving diners many reasons to return. We are an anchor in the Ayurvedic community, providing food to the Panchakarma Clinic at the Ayurvedic Institute for the last 13 years. We have had the media spotlight on us since day one and have been featured in many local and national publications. As food trends come and go, we have expanded our offerings and never had to alter our menu to match a fad diet. While others are trying to remove trans fats, some are counting carbs and calories etc, we remain focused on serving food like nature intended. We believe in fresh organic plant based foods. Thank You for your patronage,

Yashoda Naidoo
Owner/Operator