Local celebrity chef shares family recipes in bilingual children’s cookbook 'Cocinando on Cook Street'
It’s surprising to learn that chef Marcela Valladolid didn’t cook much growing up. It’s a confession the lifelong local makes early on in her new book, “Cocinando on Cook Street: A Collection of Mi Familia’s Recipes.” Rather, she says, she had to “sit and observe and earn” her place in the kitchen.
“All of my books have been super personal,” says Valladolid, who goes on to recall the experience of her first book and how, at the time, it felt like such a huge accomplishment. “Thank god that book did well.”Still, “Cocinando on Cook Street” marks the first time Valladolid has worked on a book for children, and it’s a project that’s been decades in the making.
However, Valladolid says she had a different idea of what the book might be at first. In earlier iterations of the story, she saw it more as a story centering on fictional characters. But in the end, she decided she wanted to make it about her own family. It includes an extensive cast of aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws and even family friends and comes complete with recipes that have become staples and favorites in the household.
“We’re often placed in this scenario where people want us to choose: Are you Mexican or are you American? I’m not choosing. Are you Jewish or are you Catholic? Well, I’m not choosing,” says Valladolid. “I really wanted people to understand that you can fully embrace being who you are even if you’re split into something like 20 different ethnicities. The most beautiful part of being here is all the new things we integrated into our traditions.
She says she originally wanted the illustrator to come live with her and her family, but then the pandemic happened and she ended up telecommunicating a lot with Moreno, sending her pictures and videos of the house, as well as candid moments of the family cooking. Valladolid says the experience was “highly collaborative” — so much so that her house on Cook Street figures prominently in the book.
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