Through this series, our aim is to share the stories and work of those who inspire us most here at Loisa - those who bring their own pure flavor to this world and elevate our lives by doing so. 

About Chef Yadira Garcia (@HappyHealthyLatina)

Yadira Garcia is a trained natural-foods chef and Certified Integrative Health Coach of Dominican descent who grew up in the South Bronx of New York City. She is now leveraging her education and experience as a community Chef-tivist, educator, and speaker under the platform she created, Happy Healthy Latina, Inc., helping to address food justice, nutrition education & health inequities in NYC. Together with her team, she works with several Community-Based Organizations, NYC Public Schools and Bronx/NYC urban farms as a culturally relevant cooking, nutrition education, and food justice workshop creator and facilitator. 

She was named in the 2018 class of Top 40 Under 40 working in Food Justice by the Hunter Food Policy Center, sits on the NYC Nutrition Exchange Board at the Teachers College, Columbia University, and also is part of the NYC's first ever nutrition education coalition group, which has ushered in significant legislation in food equity and nutrition education in NYC Schools.

Additionally with her dynamic personality and creative recipes she has been featured on The Dr. Oz Show, The Chew, NY Times, ABC, BX 12, NY 1,  NBC, NBC Latino, Today Show, Hip Latina, Refinery 29, and more. 

And most importantly -- Chef Yadi is a constant here at Loisa! She serves as our Head Chef & Educator, always bringing our team bites of delicious flavor AND bites of poignant knowledge and insight. Yadira is also a Partner in our business, contributing to product development, recipes, content, communication and positive (happy?) vibe creation!

What brought you to what you do today?

My journey started from a personal place. I had a bad accident when I was a junior in college. It left me with four herniated discs and two pinched nerves. Overnight I became legally disabled. It took me years, but I discovered the power of food to heal. When talking about foods, not just any foods. Our ancestral and culturally rich foods, the ones that kept people like my great grandmother alive until 99. Now I share that daily with my community and chef. Which is why many of my comadres call me the People's Chef. I don’t cook for a restaurant, I cook for and with my people.

What's inspiring you most these days?

The most inspiring thing to me is spending time in community and with my elders. We are always looking forward to the next new trend but honestly I like to look back. There are so many healing practices cultivated. The idea of learning about them and transmuting it into stories, recipes and rituals we can use now in our everyday life deeply inspires me.

What is a meaningful tradition in your life that revolves around food?

The art of making Sofrito. It's the holy trinity in Caribbean cooking. A blend of herbs and vegetables mashed in your pilon, or blended to create the base we use in Caribbean cooking. Each family has their own variation with the same base ingredients: garlic, pepper, onion, cilantro + recaito (culantro). I make a Happy Healthy Latina Activated Sofrito. Making Sofrito is a spiritual and ancestral practice.

What's a flavor or dish that transports you to a certain place, no matter where you have it?

Moro De Guandules en Coco. Rice and Pigeon Peas in Coconut. I can be in the dead of winter having that dish and I can instantly smell and feel my grandmother's kitchen. I can picture her and my mother bringing the dish together. One making the sofrito, the other rinsing the soaked grains. Also a bonus, the dish a low cost cultural favorite and a complete protein because it includes rice and beans!

What are you excited to cook up next?

Right now I'm into gastronomical rescue of dishes like ChenChen (a cracked corn pilaf), Sancocho de Habichuelas, reworking a Yaniqueque, which is a version Of Johnny Cakes that appeared in the Dominican Republic after freed slaves from the British West Indies immigrated to the Island.

Learn more about Chef Yadi's work and follow below: 

@ElevatedMelanatedCuisine: A woman of color chef collective created to help combat gender inequity in the culinary field, food equity, and a creative outlet to present elevated versions of our ancestral dishes. 

@HappyHealthyLatina: Where to find Yadira on her daily culinary adventures and projects