Pati Jinich

A self-described "overloaded soccer mom with three kids and a powerful blender," Pati Jinich is on a mission to show the world that true home Mexican cooking isn't what they've come to expect. Pati was born and raised in Mexico City and comes from a family of accomplished cooks. She has resided in the Washington, DC, area for the past 20 years, where she and her husband are raising their three boys. Pati didn't set out to be a chef. As a child, Pati could be found reading and dreaming of becoming a writer. She was professionally trained as a policy analyst with a graduate degree from ITAM in Mexico City and later on at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. It was out of nostalgia for the foods she grew up eating in Mexico, and a few nudges from her husband, that she left her career as a policy analyst to pursue her passion for food. In 2007, she launched an ongoing series of culinary programs comprised of informative talks, cooking demonstrations, and tasting dinners at the Mexican Cultural Institute, where she is the resident chef. Pati's success and popularity, both with event attendees and the media, transferred into a nationally aired PBS series, called "Pati's Mexican Table," which is currently on its 11th season. Through the show, she is able to familiarize a far broader audience with not only Mexican ingredients and cooking, but also with the many regional cultures, traditions and histories that, together, form Mexico's diverse and evolving cuisine both inside and outside of Mexico. "Pati's Mexican Table" has received three James Beard Awards — for Best Culinary Television Program in 2020 and 2019, and for Outstanding Personality/TV Host in 2018. It also received a Gracie Award for On-Air Talent Lifestyle in 2020, an IACP Award for Culinary Television Series, and three Imagen Awards in 2020, 2018 and 2016. Additionally, the series has earned three Daytime Emmy nominations — Outstanding Culinary Host in 2019 and 2016, and Outstanding Culinary Series in 2016. In October 2021, Pati made her PBS primetime debut with her two-part docuseries “La Frontera with Pati Jinich," which highlights the fascinating, yet misunderstood, US-Mexico border region where countries and cultures collide. "La Frontera" earned an M.F.K Fisher Prize in 2022, and Pati received a Gracie Award for her work as a producer on "La Frontera" in 2022. Pati's most recent cookbook, "Treasures of the Mexican Table," was a New York Times bestseller and won a prestigious IACP Award for Best International Cookbook in 2022. It has more than 150 treasured recipes from Pati's travels throughout Mexico over the past decade. Many of these dishes are local specialties, heirlooms passed down through generations, unknown outside of their original regions. Others have become national sensations. Together, these essential recipes paint a vivid picture of the richness of Mexico. Her first cookbook, "Pati's Mexican Table," brings wholesome, simple Mexican meals into the homes of families everywhere. She acts as a tour guide and interpreter, telling stories about her homeland's history, evolution, and rich culture, while also sharing her upbringing, travels, and conversations with cooks across both her native and adopted countries. Furthermore, as a mom of three growing boys, Pati intimately understands the thrills — and spills — of cooking everyday meals for picky eaters and offers the practical tips and advice she's acquired during her many years of cooking professionally. In her second cookbook, entitled "Mexican Today," she shares easy, generous dishes, both traditional ones and her own new spins. Her food draws everyone together — a family at the end of a working day, a book club, or a neighborhood potluck. And throughout, she is an infectious cheerleader, sharing stories of the food, people, and places behind the recipe.