NOGALES, AZ – The star of Pati’s Mexican Table cooking series on PBS, Pati Jinich, says one of the keys to her tasty recipes is access to high quality Mexican ingredients, such as fresh fruits and vegetables.
“I can’t do my job without you guys,” she told attendees of the education program at the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas annual convention, Nov. 2.
Jinich, who was keynote speaker at the conference, says her tv show drew 31 million viewers last season.
While she’s now the James Beard Award winning host of a popular tv series, author of two cookbooks and resident chef at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C., she says she’s hardly an overnight success.
Her career started as a political analyst at a think tank working on Mexican politics and U.S.-Mexico relations, but her homesickness for Mexico City inspired her to start cooking the dishes she enjoyed from her homeland.
“I used to be a horrible cook,” she says, before she went to culinary school.
Jinich says her journey to well-known chef was very long and difficult and made her make hard choices to stay true to who she is.
“Did I know what I was getting into? No,” she says. “Would I have done it if I knew how hard it was going to be? No!”
“It wasn’t the easiest way, but it was the most authentic way to show off the culture that I love,” she says.
Season 7 of Pati’s Mexican Table started in September and focuses on the west coast of Mexico from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas.
