Lydia's Kind-Hearted Kitchen Reopens

Lydia Kindheart wants to do everything possible to make the world healthier, more enriching, connected to the community and delicious through her food.

She is starting by reopening in downtown Fairfax on Bolinas Avenue. Lydia’s Kitchen is an organic, gluten-free, vegan restaurant that serves raw foods as well as delicious cooked treats. (Patch  after it's opening.)

Parisian-born Lydia and her eclectic staff are committed to the well-being of the community and believe that health-focused and mindful thinking starts with well-nourished bodies.

Lydia means “seller” of purple (in the Bible). Hence the bright purple theme with hearts sprinkled throughout all of her packaging, bottles and colorful hand-painted murals. The Kindheart part of her name actually comes from the father of her daughter, who is German. When asked if she wore braids to celebrate being Native American, she proudly announced she was part-Cherokee. 

The pathway Lydia took to become the raw food mother started around 30 years ago at a retreat she worked at in Oregon. It was her job to grow the sprouts for the chef. Proudly, Lydia started to get more creative and began foraging in the forest for lettuce greens and organic weeds that she could use in the salads.

When she served these big abundant bowls of salad, Lydia watched the attendees come alive. Having not connected with anyone while working in the kitchen, she finally felt a bond to “every single person” when she brought her piece of the earth out to the tables. She felt renewed sharing her knowledge about the food and the people she served felt taken care of and part of a bigger picture -- and that was how she began her journey.

She began dehydrating foods outside in the sun on a rock, which is the most ancient form of preserving food currently known. The first experiments tasted horrible, so Lydia created new techniques and unique recipes to make the raw food come alive or, more accurately, stay alive.

As her experiments grew into food others wanted to eat, she started actually selling it. Lydia fondly recalls her first major raw food festival, where her seven-year old daughter took the money, her mother served the food, and she stayed in back and created.

Those days are over for now with Lydia putting in many 17-hour days. Living like a hermit in the hills of Fairfax, she says she has almost all she needs, although her fatigue is something she battles with on a daily basis and it's not likely to get any easier soon. She is currently planning to expand her concepts to include full farms, larger cities, and more expansive communities -- all serving one another in harmony with the planet.

Lydia and her team have created a home dining room feel in her building that includes a catering and a wholesale food packaging business, selling a variety of delights such as Spirulina Bars, Sassy Spice Kale Krunchies, and Raw Chocolate Sauce that is so pure it looks black. Her products are delivered nationwide to many types of vendors.

As I sit in the restaurant portion of the front of the building (also purple, of course) and enjoy the quinoa and raw root salad with pesto sauce recommended by Michael the musician behind the counter, I realize I do feel connected and taken care of, nourished and happy. I am thrilled to be able to enjoy these treats without that mysterious feeling of 'I don’t know exactly what I am eating, but it must be good because it is healthy.'

While waiting to conclude my meeting with Lydia, I leaned against a three-dimensional tree made of clay, straw and mud. I watched each person waiting in line happlily order some of their favorite Lydia dishes. A world-renowned record producer (who has collaborated with Aretha, Mariah and Whitney) dined on Raw Green Soup made with ginger, dulse and cilantro. The man next to me (who was dressed in a cape like a wizard) ordered a yummy-looking Deluxe Burger made with cashew “cheez” and quinoa. While still in line, he closed up his laptop and delivered each of us a warm smile. I could see right there that Lydia had achieved her goal: fulfilling the nutritional and spiritual needs of everyone in her community through her food creations filled with magic, knowledge and an abundance of love.