Immigrant Experience Archives

Elena Zelayeta (Credit: Sourced from “Elena’s Secrets of Mexican Cooking,” photographed by Craig Sharp and published in 1958 by Prentice Hall.) Elena Zelayeta was a Mexican-American chef working in California starting in the 1930s. She had a popular restaurant called Elena's Mexican Kitchen, which served dishes like enchiladas, chili rellenos and fajitas – dishes that many Americans weren't familiar with at that time. Later, she hosted a TV show called "It's Fun to Eat" and is widely credited with introducing Mexican flavors to a U.S. audience. Zelayeta's story is fascinating and inspiring. Born in Mexico City, she originally came to the U.S. as a young girl with her family, fleeing the Mexican Revolution of 1910. She notably managed to achieve success with her home-based restaurant, Elena's Mexican village, during the Great Depression, at a time when a competition for jobs and a backlash against immigrants resulted in the repatriation of over a million people back to Mexico. This podcast delves into all that, plus a personal tragedy that Zelayeta suffered at the height of her career: As a result of a childhood bout with scarlet fever, she went completely blind. After a long period of profound darkness, Zelayeta pulled herself back from the brink by teaching herself how to cook again. She went on to star in the TV show, publish cookbooks and even start a frozen food line. A photo of Elena and her guide dog, featured in her 1974 book, "Elena's Lessons in Living." (Credit: Sourced from digital version of book on Archive.org) "It's made me happy to be able to see Elena's story getting a new life," says Gustavo Arellano, author of Taco USA, who joins us for this episode. "She was a Mexican immigrant in a world that until very recently was dominated by white people, namely people who taught Americans how to cook Mexican food." The episode also features Jeffrey Pilcher, a professor of history and food studies at the University of Toronto. And lastly, we're joined by Zarela Martinez, a Mexican-American chef who ran Zarela's restaurant in New York City for many years, and her son, Aarón Sánchez, co-star of Food Network's hit series, Chopped, who discuss Zelayeta's lasting influence. Check out the entire Seasoned project, with more episodes rolling out in the weeks ahead. More From This Series Seasoned, Episode 1 – MFK FisherOur 6-episode podcast kicks off with the California writer who invented the food memoir. Long before Anthony Bourdain, there was a woman who taught us how to enjoy food, drink and life. Seasoned, Episode 2 – Cecilia ChiangIn San Francisco, an immigrant restaurateur brings authentic Chinese cuisine to the U.S. via The Mandarin. It’s a love letter to her childhood in China, pre-Communist Revolution. Seasoned, Episode 3 – Lena RichardDown in the Big Easy, a Creole chef experiments with bold flavors and becomes a forebearer of today’s multihyphenate food personality, even as her life is cut short. Seasoned: Episode 4 – Edna LewisThis celebrated Virginia chef introduced the farm-to-table movement and showed the rest of the country the fresh flavors of Southern cuisine.

Immigrant Experience

Seasoned: Culinary Pioneers – Elena Zelayeta

A Successful Entrepreneur Shares What It’s Really Like to Be an Immigrant

A Bootstrapping Entrepreneur Bets the Family Home

The Story Exchange

Immigrant Experience

Seasoned: Culinary Pioneers – Elena Zelayeta

A Successful Entrepreneur Shares What It’s Really Like to Be an Immigrant

A Bootstrapping Entrepreneur Bets the Family Home

The Story Exchange

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