A biography for Marcela Valladolidhasn’t been written yet.
“Honestly, I'll take a little lard over the 20 chemicals and ingredients I can't pronounce in some store-bought tortillas.”
“My life revolves around chipotles.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“I kind of love the idea of teaching our kids that you don't have to follow the rules to be incredibly successful and live in harmony and have a wonderful life.”
“We're a family with a pretty light sense of humor but, still, on the anniversary of my mom's passing we don't feel like getting 'colorful' and remembering her favorite foods. Every March 5th, the anniversary of her passing, we go to church and are sad for pretty much the rest of the day.”
“I strongly believe that it's possible to conserve our heritage while making more healthful choices.”
“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.”
“True success will come when you have the courage to be yourself.”
“I cook healthy meals all the time. That's really important to me.”
“The combination of charred poblanos and corn is a classic one in Mexico and once added to a rich, creamy dressing and soft potatoes, it makes for the perfect summer side.”
“It's what makes me the happiest - to make beautiful things for the people I love, and to fill my home with love and laughter and music and food and people.”
“It is very important to cook out of your heart.”
“Growing up in Mexico, I know what real Mexican food is - and isn't.”
“I really only eat burritos in Tijuana from street corners that come out of coolers from businesses with no name, telephone or website.”
“There are so many wonderful Mexican cheeses that people really don't consider when making Mexican food, or food in general.”
“On the 'Today' show, I feel comfortable because I get to interact with people. I love that interaction. I love hearing other people's stories. I would much rather have that human interaction so it feels like a real conversion than just standing there and demonstrating things to the camera.”
“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.”
“I definitely recommend a quality chef's knife.”