Just a few years ago, Jenny Martinez, 50, was selling forklifts for a living.
- In her off time, she loved whipping up the comforting, flavorful dishes of her native Mexico.
Beautiful Flavors, Family Style.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What motivated you to take to TikTok to share your favorite recipes and kitchen tricks?
But [in January 2020] I downloaded the app.
Cindy said, Why dont you post my grandmas birria [beef stew]?
She posted the video, and the following morning my phone was blowing up.
I couldn’t believe it.
Before you know it, we already had a million followers.
Have you been surprised by the reaction?
It’s changed my life completely.
Its brought fame to the entire family because we’re always doing something together.
Thats not to mention my whole cookware collection that was launched in JCPenney.
I’m right next to Martha Stewarts store!
Can you share one of the earliest memories of cooking with your family?
My mom has always been known for preparing birria first in Mexico and then in the United States.
It sounds like cooking has always been a family affair.
We’ve always been in the kitchen because my mom would always encourage us in her sweet way.
She would always say that we would win a man’s heart by feeding him good food.
My sisters and I we are all still married to the same husbands [for many years].
It has worked for me.
What do you want people to feel when they’re cooking through the book?
I just want to feel the love.
If you cook with so much love, youll keep the family together.
[It may make you] want to give a hug to your mom or dad.
That’s what I keep on hearing from my followers.
They love the way I integrate my parents [into the book and social media].
It doesn’t matter what culture you’re in, because love and food doesn’t have a language.
