I had a lot of female role models around me as a kid, but my aunt Marcela Rodriguez was the strongest. When she was only 26, she opened Artes Culinarias Internacionales, one of the first culinary schools in Baja. She started with six students and built up to 800.

Marcela Valladolid

Typically a weekend retreat for the heart, soul and palate, brunch is the perfect way to unwind and reconnect.

Day of the Dead. Sounds a little spooky doesn't it? It's actually one of the most colorful and joyous of Mexican holidays.

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You Us UN

I'm not going to focus on the bad days. I choose to live in gratitude.

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Us T Rat

People don't realize that we're spending money throwing food away rather than feeding people.

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Money Food Wing

True success will come when you have the courage to be yourself.

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Success Courage Age

It fills my heart with pride and joy that international food writers and press have taken an interest in Tijuana.

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Food Art Writers

There's no insects in American cuisine? Not one? I don't think there are. That's so sad.

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Sad Think Thin

I was a contestant on 'The Apprentice: Martha Stewart' and more than her telling me I learned from her that authenticity is key. She had a huge issue with a contestant using the phrase 'fake it 'til you make it' and fired her that same episode. She taught me that you can't fake being a master of your craft.

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War Art Your

There's a particular quality that those of us who live on the border share; we can switch from being Mexican to being American in an instant just by scanning our surroundings. Not everybody has this superpower; it takes a very specific kind of upbringing to instill a deep pride in two very different cultures.

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Power Art Witch

I hate perfect centerpieces and formal tablescapes.

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Table T Pieces

Honestly, I'm not a big fan of having a salad before a meal.

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T Salad Nest

As a chef and avid traveler, meeting new people and sharing a meal with the intent to learn more about their culture is important to me.

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Travel Wit Traveler

Growing up, I didn't realize how unique it was to live on the border of the United States and Mexico. It wasn't until I started doing interviews with the press that I actually began to appreciate just how cool it was that I would cross the international border every single day from Tijuana into San Diego to go to school.

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Cool Art Would

I strongly believe that it's possible to conserve our heritage while making more healthful choices.

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Health Age While

One summer, when I was on break from architecture school in Tijuana, my aunt gave me a summer job cleaning up and peeling garlic, and I got to see her in her element. She was so passionate and such a good teacher, I decided to quit architecture school and go to culinary school in Los Angeles.

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Teacher Men Good

The more kids are involved, the more likely they are to eat the food. Getting them involved gets them excited, and kids are much more likely to try something that they were involved in the process of creating because it gives them a sense of accomplishment - kids always love approval.

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Men Love Food

I love my molcajete, which is a Mexican mortar and pestle. There is no comparison in flavor to when I use a processor.

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Love Which Use

I definitely recommend a quality chef's knife.

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Men T Recommend

I do the best I can to remind my family as often as possible that I love them more than life itself, and to let them know that every step I take is with them in the very front of my mind.

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Love Life Family

In an attempt to have access to everything year-round, produce has lost its magic.

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Year-Round Year Very

I didn't realize I was living in a very unique situation until I became a culinary professional. For me, there was nothing out of the ordinary about spending half my day in Mexico, and the other half in California.

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There is no yellow cheese in Mexico!

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My decisions are motivated by my life, my values, and what I stand for, not what I can gain financially from it. This has weeded out the opportunities that I don't care about and has brought on a lot of new opportunities that mean everything to me.

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Growing up, my mom was a stay-at-home mom. I knew that her entire world revolved around us, and she relished being involved in every school project and every craft.

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I've been doing the 'Mexican Made Easy' show, and it's very heavy on instructions. It's me talking to the camera.

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When summer squash is freshly picked, all it needs is a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and maybe a hit of lemon juice.

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There's a design book I got years ago that had a statue of a dog with a bunch of hats on it, and I just obsessively fell in love with it. For years I searched for that dog. One day I walked into an antique shop in La Jolla and I found a white dog that I could put hats on!

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My aunt was a chef and she inspired me deeply so she was a huge motivator but more than anything it was a quest for independence and freedom that lead me to an L.A. Culinary School.

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Quesadillas, those are my comfort food.

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You're only as good as the people who you surround yourself with.

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Herdez Salsas have always been a favorite of mine because I love the authentic taste.

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My former assistant used to tell me I have a problem with cushions and she was totally right. The reason is because I'm constantly rearranging things in my house. And if I can't move a whole piece of furniture, the easiest thing to rearrange is cushions. I like to keep things fresh.

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Growing up, everybody would cross the border, even to just do grocery shopping. A lot of traditional American foods stuck with my parents and became part of my upbringing. This all had to do with the proximity to the border. We were an absolute mix of classic Americana, traditional Mexican, and Baja cuisine.

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I'm a purist when it comes to certain foods, and al pastor tacos (known as adobada tacos to us in Tijuana) is one of those foods. I lived off them - literally.

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There are so many wonderful Mexican cheeses that people really don't consider when making Mexican food, or food in general.

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I have pictures with Morimoto where I'm all embarrassed and he's so serious, it took me 30 minutes to get up the courage to introduce myself.

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You can invite people over or make your kids their favorite food - that usually inspires me in the kitchen.

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I hold both of them with equal amounts of pride. I feel just as strongly and equally Mexican as I do American.

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My half-breed culture informs everything I do but I'm not thinking about it. I'm just doing it. Not until very late in my career did I realize that I was so fortunate to just live with this profound pride in being half Mexican without being attacked for it.

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I use my Le Creuset dutch oven for everything you can think of. I even fry eggs in it.

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I love my fish spatula so much. I don't have many specialty tools, but that's a favorite of mine.

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I want children to feel proud of their heritage.

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My boys will not only respect and admire women and see them as their equals, but they will also see them as sources of inspiration and knowledge.

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I surround myself with people that are supportive of our insane family dynamic, and I savor every minute of every day I have at home with my family.

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In Mexico, where I grew up, women rule the kitchen. They control everything that happens; they hold the power.

Marcela Valladolid

I had a lot of female role models around me as a kid, but my aunt Marcela Rodriguez was the strongest. When she was only 26, she opened Artes Culinarias Internacionales, one of the first culinary schools in Baja. She started with six students and built up to 800.

Marcela Valladolid

Supermarket cherry tomatoes do serve a purpose, but the flavor is vastly different than those from your own garden. Same for broccoli and snap peas.

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I'm usually pretty good about knowing which of my social media posts will create more excitement, but every once in a while I'll post something and be totally surprised at the response.

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Tijuana is a baby compared to pre-Hispanic cities like Puebla or Oaxaca, the birthplace of mole.

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In Tijuana, because there's such a mix and match of people and regions and we're a newer city and everyone comes from some place else, I think we're just given permission to play with our food.

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