Winner will appear in Taste of Home magazine, cook with Carla Hall, and take home $25,000
Young mom of 4, self-taught cook/baker with bold flavors. $25K would grow my skills, kitchen, and turn passion into opportunity.
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Receive Text Updatessignature dish is pollo guisado — a comforting chicken stew layered with Puerto Rican soul, Portuguese depth, and Spanish-inspired flavors. It’s hearty, bold, and made the way I cook everything: from the heart. I love turning simple ingredients into meals that bring people together
Who is your culinary inspiration?My culinary inspiration comes from the people and experiences that shaped me. I grew up in a household with my dad, but the women who really sparked my love for cooking were my aunts, who made incredible traditional Portuguese dishes full of comfort and flavor. Later, traveling to Puerto Rico with my husband opened my eyes to a whole new world of bold seasoning, soulful cooking, and vibrant culture. That mix of Portuguese tradition and Puerto Rican flavor is what inspires the way I cook today.
What would you do with the $25,000?Winning $25,000 would help me invest in my dream of building a future through food. I’d upgrade my kitchen equipment, sharpen my culinary and baking skills, and begin creating opportunities for my family through catering, content creation, and eventually my own food business. As a mom of four, cooking has always been how I show love — now I want to turn that passion into something lasting and inspiring.
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