Kelley Cleary Coffeen grew up in the southwest region of the United States living in Arizona, Southern California, Colorado, Texas and New Mexico. She has developed a love for Tex-Mex, and Mexican food and the unique culture of the southwest. She has a passion for tacos and Mexican flavors. She self-published her first cookbook, Great College Cookbook of the Southwest in 1993 and landed a guest appearance on Good Morning America on ABC.
In 1995, Kelley started hosting Kelley’s Kitchen, a weekly cooking segment, on KTSM/NBC in El Paso, Texas which ran for over 11 years. The viewership stretched across west Texas, southern New Mexico and across the southern border, into Mexico. Her on-air popularity led to the publication of her first two books, Fiesta Mexicali (Northland Publishing, 2002) and Simply 7 (Northland Publishing, 2003). She went on to publish a collection of more than 300 tacos recipes in 300 Best Taco Recipes (Robert Rose Publishing 2011) and 200 Easy Mexican Favorites (Robert Rose Publishing 2013). People enjoy the way Kelley cooks…simple, economical, stress-free, FUN and now HEALTHY!
Kelley is a master at collaborating with others for a common goal. As an avid supporter of the American Farmer/Grower she promotes local Farmers Markets and has partnered with the New Mexico Department of Agriculture as one of their ‘Chile Ambassadors’ promoting New Mexico’s chile crops. Kelley developed diabetes friendly recipes and hosted virtual cooking classes for the Joslin Center at the Harvard Medical School and New Mexico State University, for rural, multi-cultural communities in New Mexico. Her next cookbook, Tex-Mex Diabetes Cooking (American Diabetes Association) will be released in August of 2018.
Kelley’s love for Tex- Mex, Mexican and Southwestern food grew as she delved deeper into the Latino culture and lifestyle. As noted, along the way she created menus and recipes for local restaurants and caterers, hosted a weekly television program about food, and wrote five Mexican cookbooks. Her love for the border region community encouraged her to obtain her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership with a focus in Latino Studies. She is currently on faculty in the College of Agriculture & Consumer Sciences at at New Mexico State University, Finally, Kelley is a ‘hands on’ culinary expert who enjoys tasting and testing unique culinary combinations for her readers. Most recently, Kelley was named "A Woman of Influence 2020" for the state of New Mexico by Albuquerque First Business Journal for her culinary work and support for the citizens of her state.
In The Big Book of Hatch Chile (UNM Press 2023) Kelley Cleary Coffeen offers more than 180 detailed but easy-to-use recipes for everything from chile-laced margaritas to several variations on the classic green chile cheeseburger. Find amazing new recipes and familiar Hatch chile favorites, including weeknight time-savers and Saturday-night showstoppers. Spice up your home menus with everything from amazing appetizers to delicious desserts, soups and stews, Mexican classics, and many more. Kelley has been represented by both Lisa Ekus and Sally Ekus and has been under contract with The Ekus Group since 2001.
