Marcela Valladolid was born in San Diego, California, and raised in Tijuana, Mexico, where her aunt opened one of that city’s first cooking schools. Marcela’s first job was with her aunt and she went on to study at the Los Angeles Culinary Institute and then graduated from the Ritz Escoffier Cooking School in Paris where she studied French pastry-making.

After working for Bon Appetit magazine as a recipe editor and tester, she was cast on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart (she came in fourth). She currently is featured on her own cooking show called Relatos con Sabor for Discovery en Español in the United States and Latin America.

She is the author of Fresh Mexico: 100 Simple Recipes for True Mexican Flavor and of Mexican Made Easy: Everyday Ingredients, Extraordinary Flavor.

Marcela also runs a catering company and teaches culinary arts to private groups in Tijuana and San Diego. Her website is www.chefmarcela.com.