Elena Zelayeta

Elena Loshuertos Zelayeta was a blind Mexican-American chef who wrote many bestselling cookbooks, starred in her own cooking program, and owned a popular restaurant.Olstrom, C. E. (2012). Undaunted by Blindness, 2nd Edition. (n.p.): Ebookit.com. She popularized Mexican food in the United States. 

 Early life 
Zelayeta was born in Mexico, which is where she learned to cook. Her mother taught her to cook at the hotel they owned. She then immigrated to the United States of America at age eleven.

Zelayeta got scarlet fever when she was an infant. That gradually affected her eyesight, eventually rendering her blind at the age of 37. As she was becoming blind, she was also expecting a second child. She fell into a state of depression after two years of being blind. Zelayeta got so deep into her depression that she attempted to end her life. However, her husband Lorenzo caught her before she could do it. Zelayeta then began to teach herself to cook again.  

 Career 
Zelayeta opened a restaurant in her house. It was later reopened to Union Square with the name Elena’s Mexican Village. She wrote four cookbooks, a self-help book, and a memoir. She started her own frozen food brand. She had a fifteen minute cooking show called It’s Fun to Eat with Elena. She utilized her sense of touch and smell to help her re-learn cooking.

 References 

Category:American chefs