On Zarela’s Mind
Tributes, remembrances, family stories, journeys, and more
My Mother, Aida Gabilondo
Today would have been my mother’s 100th birthday.
She was an exceptional woman and, every year, I like to share a little bit from a book I’ve been working on about the lessons I learned from different people that got me to this point in my life. I would absolutely do it differently today but the message would be the same.
Hotel Casa Real del Cafe, Coatepec, Veracruz
This year I have traveled a lot and stayed in many hotels in Peru, California, and two states in Mexico, Queretaro and Veracruz, and know exactly what makes a great hotel, for me at least. I would put plenty of electrical outlets, 60-watt light bulbs, a bathtub,...
Rabelais News- Zarela Archive at Harvard University’s Schlesinger Library
Please scroll down to where it says Zarela Martinez Rabelais News ~ July 8, 2013 why do I sell cookbooks? Wednesday, July 17th, Don will be presenting at the first ever Biddeford Pecha Kucha. He'll have 400 seconds and 20 slides to explain exactly...
Letter to Zarela Restaurant Staff- Circa 1989
Maybe this why we lasted so long! Dear Staff: I had called this meeting, first to thank you for all the hard work, but also because I am frightened at what is happening in the restaurant business these days. We are one of the few restaurants that are...
Cooking classes are not just about cooking..
I added this in memory of my mother Yesterday I received the most surprising and heart-warming letter that I want to share with you because this is exactly why I love to teach: Dear Ms. Martinez: My sister and I attended one of your cooking demonstrations at...
Desiderata – Violeta
Okay, so I said I'd never be that way, that I had no interest in being a grandmother that I'd never gush and feel about to burst from pride and love for the extraordinary being that is my granddaughter Violeta. She always manages to surprise but yesterday I...
My wedding dress
Place Juarez, Chihuahua. Year 1975 and my wedding day approaching. My mother-in-law to be casually asks me if I am going to wear white for my wedding. My response: No, it's actually off-white. Mother-in-law to be, slightly shocked, says "with a veil and crown?" And I...
The many lives of Zarela Martínez
Culinary legend Zarela Martínez introduced finely tuned, highly researched regional Mexican cuisine to a national stage, and has continued to blaze trails for more than three decades.