The Cancun-Riviera Maya Wine & Food Festival 2012

Biography

Chef Marcela Valladolid
USA

Born in Tijuana, Mexico, to a family of expert and traditional cooks, Marcela decided one day to show the world that there is no such thing as yellow cheese in real Mexican cooking, and that it can be done with major flavors and little fuss. For a woman as knowledgeable, talented, and driven as Marcela, that has meant being food editor of Bon Appétit magazine, hosting TV show Mexican Made Easy, and writing two cookbooks.

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Growing up around expert and traditional cooks in Tijuana, Mexico, Marcela was raised to be passionate about food. She jumped straight into a culinary life by working her first job at her aunt’s cooking school in Baja, Mexico.

She realized she too wanted to pursue this growing love for food full time and enrolled in the Los Angeles Culinary Institute and graduated from the Ritz Escoffier Cooking School in Paris as a classical French pastry chef.

Marcela went on to run a catering company and teaching children about the culinary arts in Tijuana.

All the while, collecting recipes and applying her knowledge and skills of her family’s cooking traditions to map out her dreams. Marcela eventually parlayed her classical training and skills to become a food editor at Bon Appétit magazine.
Marcela quickly realized that the idea of authentic Mexican cooking wasn’t as accessible as it should be. Her family’s cuisine was masked by heavy liquid cheese, overflowing burritos and decided that she was going to show the world that in fact there’s NO yellow cheese in real Mexican cooking and it can be done with major flavors and little fuss.
She went onto host of her own cooking show Relatos con Sabor on Discovery en Español channel and earned a spot as a contender on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart.

In August 2009, Marcela was given the chance to showcase her family recipes when she released her first cookbook titled “FRESH MEXICO: 100 Simple Recipes for True Mexican Flavor” (Clarkson Potter).

She appeared on NBC’s Today Show, The View was featured in Latina, People, People en Espanol, Wall Street Journal and the New York Daily News around its release. The book was very well received reaching the #1 cookbook spot on Amazon more than once. With the book, Marcela became the advocate for great Mexican food that delivers in freshness and flavor without forcing home cooks to track down hard-to-find ingredients or spend hours at the stove.

Soon after her book release, she landed her dream job as host of her own Food Network show, Mexican Made Easy. The show made its debut early in 2010 and films in San Diego where Marcela currently lives. Her third season made its debut on October 9, 2010 and her fourth is set for April 30, 2011.

Marcela has also been keeping busy working on her second cookbook, Mexican Made Easy (Clarkson Potter) that will be released on September 27, 2011.

Marcela is also a mother to a wonderful son Fausto who doubles as her sous chef at just six years old and by working alongside of her in the kitchen has become a very open minded eater!