Stephany Gocobachi

Connect Who or what inspires you to cook?

The women in my family are my biggest inspirations. My grandmother and mother are both wonderful cooks, and I developed an early curiosity from being at their side in the kitchen. I was eager to help and wanted to learn how to make everything they were making. My grandmother would come over from Mexico every summer to stay with us, and she spent most of her time in the kitchen and the garden, imparting her knowledge and telling us tales of her childhood on the rancho in 1930s Sonora.

What's your all time favorite dish to make?

My all-time favorite dish to make is my favorite dish to eat- pastel de elote with nopales in pipian and beans on the side. I looked forward to it every summer, when the corn was sweet and tender and my grandmother was in town. It is a traditional Sonoran dish made of fresh corn, mixed with a bit of fat and layered with cheese and roasted green chilies and then baked. Nopales or green beans cooked in a red chile gravy are the typical accompaniment, and of course, the ubiquitous refried beans.

What would you do with the $25,000?

$25,000 would change the entire trajectory of this bakery. I started it last year on little more than hopes, dreams and the security deposit, and have reinvested everything back in to keep it going. This little place is a miracle, and I would use it to invest into staff to scale up and expand our offerings, buy a new freezer, and get some proper signage for the bakery. The panadería has quickly become a beloved place here, and this would help us thrive, not just survive.