Jump to content
 







Main menu
   


Navigation  



Main page
Contents
Current events
Random article
About Wikipedia
Contact us
Donate
 




Contribute  



Help
Learn to edit
Community portal
Recent changes
Upload file
 








Search  

































Create account

Log in
 









Create account
 Log in
 




Pages for logged out editors learn more  



Contributions
Talk
 



















Contents

   



(Top)
 


1 Biography  





2 Beyond cooking  





3 Awards and accolades  





4 Personal life  





5 References  





6 External links  














Zarela Martínez







Add links
 









Article
Talk
 

















Read
Edit
View history
 








Tools
   


Actions  



Read
Edit
View history
 




General  



What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Cite this page
Get shortened URL
Download QR code
Wikidata item
 




Print/export  



Download as PDF
Printable version
 
















Appearance
   

 






From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 


Zarela Martínez
Born
Occupation(s)Restaurateur, author
PartnerJamie Gillis
ChildrenAarón Sanchez, Rodrigo Sanchez
ParentAida Gabilondo
RelativesFrancisco Gabilondo Soler

Zarela Martínez is an American restaurateur and cookbook author. She learned cooking from her mother Aida Gabilondo. Martínez serves on the board of directors for the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York.

Biography

[edit]

Martínez has been instrumental in introducing Americans to authentic Mexican food through her restaurants and writings. She has organized food festivals in New York City and given cooking lessons, demonstrations, and lectures on Mexican cuisine and culture.[1]

Chef Paul Prudhomme served as Martínez' mentor after he discovered her in a New Orleans cooking class and around 1979, Martínez opened her catering business El Paso.[2] In 1987, Martínez opened Zarela, a Mexican restaurant that is credited as being a pioneer of regional Mexican cuisine in New York City. The restaurant closed in 2011, citing rising expenses and financial issues prompted by an increasing economic crisis.[3]

Martínez has made several television appearances and her 2001 cookbook Zarela's Veracruz was written as the companion book to the 2001 PBS series Zarela! La Cocina Veracruzana. In 2004 she was labeled one of seven individuals that helped redefined the American culinary landscape since the last half of the twentieth century by the U.S. State Department's online publication E-Journal USA: U.S. Society & Values.[4]

As of March 2017, she was working on a book about naturally light Mexican food.[citation needed]

Beyond cooking

[edit]

From 2004-2007 The Zarela Casa line of soft goods (tablecloths, place mats napkins, shower curtains, towels and other bath items, pillows) inspired by traditional Mexican textile designs were on sale at Walmart stores around the country.[5]

In 2016 she starred in the movie Moronga, where she sang and acted.

In 2017, Martínez launched her first album as a singer Sad Songs from my Happy Heart.

In 2020, she launched a podcast, Cooking in Mexican from A to Z, on Heritage Radio Network. Co-hosted with her son, Chef Aarón Sánchez, the show explores the food, flavors, and history of Mexico through lively conversations with their guests.

In 2021, "In a Taste for Life with Zarela¨, she shares her inspirational "building blocks" for living well with Parkinson's disease (PD) and for healthy and delicious eating.

Awards and accolades

[edit]

Personal life

[edit]

Zarela lives in New York City. Her son Aarón Sánchez is the co-star of the television shows Chopped, Heat Seekers and guest chef at MasterChef season 7 and the chef/owner of the restaurant Johnny Sanchez, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her son Rodrigo is a lawyer. Zarela has two grandsons and a granddaughter.

In 2004, Martínez was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, triggered by an accident in which she was hit by a taxi cab. She was the partner of pornographic filmmaker and actor Jamie Gillis from 2003 until his death in 2010.[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Martinez, Zarela. Papers of Zarela Martínez, 1920-2013 (inclusive), 1983-2002 (bulk): A Finding Aid Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University".
  • ^ Claiborne, Craig (July 21, 1982). "MEMORABLE DISHES FROM A MASTER MEXICAN CHEF". The New York Times. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  • ^ "Foodies say adios to pioneering Mexican midtown restaurant Zarela - but not chef". NY Daily News. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  • ^ "The Taste Setters" (PDF). E-Journal USA: U.S. Society & Values. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  • ^ Americans Let Their Taste Trot the Globe
  • ^ Beard Foundation unveils 1993 award nominees
  • ^ "Martinez, Zarela. Papers of Zarela Martínez, 1920-2013 (inclusive), 1983-2002 (bulk): A Finding Aid Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University".
  • [edit]
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zarela_Martínez&oldid=1232016189"

    Categories: 
    Mexican chefs
    Living people
    People from Agua Prieta
    People with Parkinson's disease
    Mexican emigrants to the United States
    Chefs from New York City
    Women food writers
    Mexican restaurateurs
    American cookbook writers
    Hidden categories: 
    Articles with short description
    Short description is different from Wikidata
    Use mdy dates from May 2024
    Articles with hCards
    All articles with unsourced statements
    Articles with unsourced statements from July 2019
    Articles with ISNI identifiers
    Articles with VIAF identifiers
    Articles with WorldCat Entities identifiers
    Articles with LCCN identifiers
    Articles with NTA identifiers
    Year of birth missing (living people)
     



    This page was last edited on 1 July 2024, at 13:47 (UTC).

    Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.



    Privacy policy

    About Wikipedia

    Disclaimers

    Contact Wikipedia

    Code of Conduct

    Developers

    Statistics

    Cookie statement

    Mobile view



    Wikimedia Foundation
    Powered by MediaWiki