Winner will appear in Taste of Home magazine, cook with Carla Hall, and take home $25,000

Quarter-Finalist

Sylvana Avila Alonzo

Sylvana cooks and writes about Tejano food from the Winter Garden Region, a south Texas agricultural area of veggies, fruit, and wildlife.

Currently 12

in the Quarter-Finals

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You decide who will appear in Taste of Home magazine, and win $25,000!

Voting for Semi-Finalists ends Thursday the 22nd of May at 7PM PDT

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Who or what inspires you to cook?

My mother was and continues to be my inspiration. Her cooking was rooted in customs and Texas historic influences from Native American, Mexican, Spanish, Southern, and Americana. She cooked Tejano food as well as recipes she found in Family Circle and Woman's Day magazines. She shared her childhood memory of learning to make flour tortillas at age seven and amazed me. Interviewing her for my blog's Tortilla Project was uplifting and I realized that Tejano food like its people is resilient.

What's your all time favorite dish to make?

I grew up in the Winter Garden Region where one of the most natural and abundant staples is the prickly pear cactus. Therefore, my ultimate favorite dish is Nopalitos in Ranchera sauce (cooked with onion, tomato, and chile).

What would you do with the $25,000?

The $25,000 prize will be used to buy cooking appliances and cook ware. I currently lease a bakery's kitchen one day per week where I' been developing and branding the baby tortilla; the first food that I felt compelled to introduce to the Texas market because it evokes emotions and memories of people bonding with their mama while being nourished. Tejano food from the Winter Garden Region has a place in Texas' history, traditions, and values. It's my passion.

James Beard Foundation

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