If Sandy looks familiar, it may be because he has appeared many times in south Florida newspapers, natural foods magazines, and even on national television. However, if you are a member of the hip generation, you may recognize him as one of the flower children who were interviewed, naked, in the film classic Woodstock. Sandy's transformation from a junk food eating hippie to one of this country's most influential advocates for healthy eating has been a spiritual quest of epic proportions.   

• After law school in the early 1970's, Sandy shunned his middle class Jewish New York roots for a more unfettered lifestyle on the beaches of Jamaica. Returning to the US disillusioned with his nomadic existence, Sandy had a profound life altering experience. He happened to take a macrobiotic cooking class. The balancing principles of the macrobiotic way of life seemed to be a perfect antidote to Sandy's lack of direction, and soon he was focused not only on changing his life, but changing our nation's attitudes towards food and health.
• With a $4000 loan from his father, Sandy opened a natural food store, called Oak Feed, in the law office of a friend in Coconut Grove, Florida. Before long he moved to a larger location, and by the 1990's, Oak Feed was doing 2 million dollars in annual sales and occupied one of the swankiest addresses in South Florida. What's more, as Coconut Grove grew and became a Mecca for everything chic, the Oak Feed store became the place to rub elbows with the elite of film and sport.
• However, Sandy's good financial fortune and growing notoriety did not deter him from his bigger dream. With resources from his business Sandy helped to establish several macrobiotic foundations in Florida and began sponsoring conferences featuring macrobiotic world leaders such as Michio Kushi and Herman Aihara. As interest in macrobiotics, Oriental medicine, health and food grew, Sandy's workshops and conferences expanded to include nationally known teachers and speakers who attracted thousands of attendees in Florida, California, and Colorado.
• Proceeds from many of these events were used to educate school children about the benefits of good nutrition. John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America (Stillpoint), is one celebrity who has attended several of Sandy's conferences. "Sandy is one of the brightest minds in the natural healing movement," says Robbins about his friend. In Sandy's own words, "My life is an expression of what I think is important. 'You are what you eat' is really true. Food creates the body and has a great influence on our mind and spiritual life. My dream is a peaceful, ecologically sane world, which I feel must begin with balanced eating." True to his ideals, Sandy refuses to sell products that have processed sugars and preservatives.
• Although Sandy's motto is "everything changes", in many ways he is still the casual, friendly guy he was back in his hippie days. His approach to life is still very anti-establishment, and most days he can be seen riding around the Grove in his '73 orange beetle convertible wearing Bermuda shorts, Birkenstock sandals, and a bright flowered shirt. Like his store, Sandy is a Coconut Grove icon.

In July of 2005 Sandy received the Aveline Kushi Award for his outstanding life-long service in promoting macrobiotics and holistic health. 

• Disillusioned with a career in medical research, John happened to wander into the Oak Feed Natural Foods Store, in Coconut Grove, Florida, in the spring of 1975. He walked up to owner Sandy Pukel, who was dressed in his usual shorts, Birkenstock sandals and flowered shirt, and asked a simple question about nutrition and health. Sandy’s esoteric answer involving macrobiotics and the order of the universe launched John into the world of yin and yang. 
• Over 30 year later John is one of this country’s leading authorities on the subject of miso and other traditional Japanese foods. Having lived in Japan and studied miso making first hand, he has been writing about the culinary and medicinal qualities of miso and other Japanese foods for over twenty-five years. To date John and his wife Jan have published 4 books and more than 130 articles about these foods. Their books include: Culinary Treasures of Japan, Avery Publishing Group Inc., 1992; Cooking with Japanese Foods, Avery Publishing Group Inc., 1993; The Real Taste of Japan, Cross Media Ltd., 2004; and The Miso Book, Square One Publishers, 2004. They have just competed their fifth book, Japanese Foods that Heal, which will be released by Tuttle Publishing in the winter of 2007. 
• John is an accomplished food photographer and has illustrated several cookbooks and many articles for nationally known magazines. Several hundred of his photographs have been published in the last twenty years.
• In 1979, John, Jan, Sandy and several partners and investors founded the American Miso Company, one of the world’s largest producers of traditional miso. In the past John has been a consultant to the Japanese foods industry on manufacturing, product development, and marketing.  
• John has traveled around the eastern United States giving lectures about authentic Japanese foods, which are often illustrated by his extensive slide collection of traditional food makers in Japan that were taken during his stay in that country. He has been on TV in the United States and Japan and has been interviewed by the press, radio, and magazines on the subject of Japanese foods.
• Before becoming interested in food and health, John was a research biologist for the Veteran’s Administration in Miami, Florida, and worked in laboratories at the University of Miami Medical School and Harvard University Medical School. John has applied his medical research background to interpreting the medical literature on miso and other medicinal foods.
• In the last several years John has been assisting Sandy in producing the Holistic Holiday at Sea events sponsored by A Taste of Health. John is an avid motorcyclist. You can find him “On Any Sunday” cruising the backcountry of the Carolina’s. John lives in Saluda, North Carolina.