Elena Zelayeta
Elena Loshuertos Zelayeta was a blind Mexican-American chef who wrote many bestselling cookbooks, starred in her own cooking program, and owned a popular restaurant.[1][2][3] She popularized Mexican food in the United States. [4][5]
Early life[change | change source]
Zelayeta was born in Mexico, which is where she learned to cook.[4][3] Her mother taught her to cook at the hotel they owned.[4][3] She then immigrated to the United States of America at age eleven.[4][3]
Zelayeta got scarlet fever when she was an infant.[4] That gradually affected her eyesight, eventually rendering her blind at the age of 37.[4] As she was becoming blind, she was also expecting a second child.[2][4] She fell into a state of depression after two years of being blind.[2][4] Zelayeta got so deep into her depression that she attempted to end her life.[2][4] However, her husband Lorenzo caught her before she could do it.[4] Zelayeta then began to teach herself to cook again.[4]
Career[change | change source]
Zelayeta opened a restaurant in her house.[4] It was later reopened to Union Square with the name Elena’s Mexican Village.[4] She wrote four cookbooks, a self-help book, and a memoir.[2][4] She started her own frozen food brand.[2][4] She had a fifteen minute cooking show called It’s Fun to Eat with Elena.[2][4][3][5][6] She utilized her sense of touch and smell to help her re-learn cooking.[4]
References[change | change source]
- ↑ Olstrom, C. E. (2012). Undaunted by Blindness, 2nd Edition. (n.p.): Ebookit.com.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Sen, Mayukh (November 22, 2023). "Overlooked No More: Elena Zelayeta, Emissary for Mexican Cooking". The New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Spungin, Susan Jay (September 2011). "Book Review: Undaunted by Blindness: Concise Biographies of 400 People who Refused to Let Visual Impairment Define Them". Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. 105 (9): 573–574. doi:10.1177/0145482x1110500908. ISSN 0145-482X.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 Alexandra, Rae (2022-09-30). "The Blind Chef Who Brought Mexican Food to the American Masses | KQED". www.kqed.org. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Thompson, Ethan; Mittell, Jason, eds. (2020-06-02). How To Watch Television. New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-2946-5.
- ↑ ""It's fun to eat" with Elena - Bay Area Television Archive". diva.sfsu.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-08.