Guest Ana Garcia on Women Entrepreneurs - The Secrets of Success

Chef Ana Garcia is one of the youngest, most vivacious traditional Mexican chefs in Mexico today. Born in Monterrey, Mexico on December 19, 1972 and raised in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, Chef Ana traces her lineage well beyond the Mexican Revolution. Her great grandfather was a contemporary of the famous and revered revolutionary Emiliano Zapata and post-revolution Senator who participated in founding the first constitution for the State of Morelos. Ana’s great grandmother was a well-know butcher with various stands in the large central mercado, revered for her incredible longaniza and chorizo. The inspiration for Chef Ana’s recipes and hospitality grow out of this long, rich family history in central and northern Mexico. Her abilities as a chef are intricately linked to her close relationship with her mother, aunts, grandmothers and great grandmother, as each passed down their culinary wisdom. She has taken this extensive knowledge and incorporated it into a culinary repertoire that includes traditional central and northern Mexican specialties as well as experimental nouvelle Mexican cuisine using traditional ingredients in new and gastronomically adventurous ways. Passionate about Mexican cuisine and its preparation since childhood, Ana had originally embarked upon a career in business. She received a B.A. from the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in 1998, and planned on attending The Wharton School. That changed when she met her future husband, Robb Anderson, who saw in her a unique gift that combined her vast knowledge of Mexican cuisine with her talent for teaching and communicating. In 2000, Ana and Robb founded La Villa Bonita Culinary Vacations® (www.lavillabonita.com) a cooking school and culinary vacation destination that combines Chef Ana’s cooking skills and inviting hospitality in a breathtaking setting beneath the Tepozteco Mountain range. Since opening its doors, La Villa Bonita has received se