MARCELA VALLADOLIDGrowing up around expert and traditional cooks in Tijuana, Mexico, Marcela was raised to be passionate about food, jumping straight into a culinary life with her first job working at her aunt’s cooking school in Baja, Mexico and later attending the Los Angeles Culinary Institute and then the Ritz Escoffier Cooking School in Paris to become a classical French pastry chef.
Marcela returned home to run a catering company and teach children about the culinary arts in Tijuana and later became a food editor at Bon Appétit magazine, quickly realizing that the idea of authentic Mexican cooking wasn’t as accessible as it should be and that the perception of it was often incorrect. So she decided to show the world that in fact there is NO yellow cheese in real Mexican cooking and it can be done with major flavors and little fuss.
Marcela began hosting her own cooking show called “Relatos con Sabor” on “Discovery en Español” and was selected as one of the contenders on “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart”. Marcela was then given the chance to showcase her family recipes when she released her first cookbook entitled “FRESH MEXICO: 100 Simple Recipes for True Mexican Flavor” in which Marcela advocates 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 a dream job as host of her own “Food Network” show “Mexican Made Easy” which debuted in 2010, is gearing up for its fifth season, and currently films in San Diego where Marcela currently resides with her son. Marcela released her second cookbook called “Mexican Made Easy” on September 27th of this year (2011) as a companion to her “Food Network show” and an entryway into authentic Mexican cuisine.
In October of 2011, the First Family asked her to participate in their Hispanic Heritage Month celebration at the White House, marking Marcela’s second invitation there.
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