Araceli Ramirez

Interview with Araceli Ramirez 09/05/2020

Araceli Ramirez is a creative and hard working chef that is seeking to get more knowledge out of this new business endeavor, though she is not new to the culinary industry. Araceli has worked very hard to get where she is at, from attending culinary school right after graduating high school and later working as a line cook at Cucina Urbana and Herb & Wood. She was always more interested in the savory side instead of baking but life has given her an opportunity to prove herself of her two passions which is cooking and the love she has for her Mexican heritage. Losing her job at Herb and Wood due to the pandemic led her to use her creativity and innovate something that was already really important to Mexicans: the concha (Traditional Mexican Pan Dulce a.k.a Pastries) perfecting and making it more delicious than it already is. Working with high quality ingredients and combining different key ingredients of other cultures and blending them into one.

What projects are you currently working on?
I am currently working on this new business Hija del Maiz and will love to see where this takes me.

How has this pandemic affected or shifted your practice/changed your projects?
At first I thought that the pandemic was something really tragic for me, I lost my job, didn’t know what was happening, I was losing my hair because of stress and there was a lot of uncertainty and there still is. Until I started to focus on what I really loved, my passion for cooking. So, I started to cook again and try new recipes until one day I started to bake and it turned out that the conchas that I made that day were delicious, so I decided to start selling just to friends, and it turned out that everybody wanted to try them, and that’s when I started to think of delicious flavors that will go perfectly with the concha. Out of something tragic I made it into something positive in my life.

What has your journey been like as an artist or creative person?
I’ve always been really artistic, there is something that always called me, that’s why I decided to study culinary arts because I knew I can combine different types of art. Not only I can cook but I can fusion painting with it, representing it on a plate.

Do you have any tips for up-and-coming, or rising artists/creatives?
To be true to yourself and believe in you. Keep trying and NEVER be comfortable and if you are run away and start something NEW!!

Learn more about the artist on instagram:
@hdelmaiz