MEET OUR tastemaker:
Mely Hernández
“WITH YOU YOU TEA SEED OIL, NOW IM NOT WORRIED ABOUT BUYING OIL THAT ADD STRONG FLAVORS OR THEY LOSE THE BENEFITS IN THE MOMENT WHEN I HAVE A HIGH HEAT.”
Previously our Live Cooking Show Host, Mely has been a professional chef since 2013. Originally from Cartagena, Columbia. (a historical place in the Caribbean that Mely calls home), she says, “cooking and the flavors are the path to my roots.”
“Good souls are always good people in the kitchen that can learn and teach at the same time, and they have an amazing taste.”
To Mely, cooking is more than just about eating. It is about the food that brings in happy memories. Her grandma, a Lebanese woman, taught her the importance of bringing joy through food, and is also the one where she learned most of her cooking from. To Mely, eating nutritiously means finding balance between eating, feeling happy and free with the food you’re eating.
Buñelos, or cheese fritters, are a mouthful of textures and flavors! It is a Colombian snack and one of Mely’s favorite things to cook in the winter. Depending on the season, Mely will change up her recipes according what local ingredients are available. However, the 3 ingredients that she cannot cook without is garlic, onion and tomato! One of Mely’s favorite snacks is arepas, which are corn patties that are widely popular in the Colombian cuisine.
Learn more about Mely’s cooking here.
