continued from page 6 chefLaLa
Born Laura Diaz, Chef LaLa got her nickname from a young nephew, who couldn’t quite pronounce the name Laura.
LaLa
grew up in Los Angeles helping out in her family’s Mexican restau- rants where she inherited her father’s passion for cooking. As a child she was clutching slotted spoons and spatulas before she could even hold a crayon. So cooking was always fun and familiar territo- ry, but she was excited when she realized she could find a profes- sional niche by creating healthy yet tasty Latin foods. In 1989, when she was 21, LaLa opened a restaurant in Beverly Hills. She later sold the restaurant to her father so that she could travel and pursue her Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts program. Always a go-getter, while attending school, she formed SAVOR! Event Planning and Catering. She soon began to form a great reputation with big name clients which included politi- cians, entertainment community and major corporations. Her work on high profile events, and her professional reputation led to appearances on television shows and at special events. She devel- oped an easy, confident manner working with cameras and live audiences, and was able to demonstrate her recipes in both English and Spanish.
At the right place at the right time, with the growing interest in cooking shows and celebrity chefs, LaLa was inspired to market herself as a personality. She wrote cookbooks and created her own show called “U'LaLa.” She knew she would stand out because of the glaring lack of Hispanic representation on these kinds of shows and because of her unique desire to educate and inspire the Latino community. Indeed, she fulfills a need not just for Latinos, but for all those who enjoy Latin food, and are concerned about diet and health. Chef LaLa is poised to be the perfect crossover chef.
Like many Hispanic businesses, LaLa’s enterprises are
often a family affair. She is managed by her husband Jeremy Brown and her company is developed with the input of her two sisters, Myrna and Veronica, who have backgrounds in Public Relations and Marketing. An Emmy Award-winning production company produces her television show which is done in both English and Spanish lan- guage versions. The show features celebrity guests and explores Latin cuisine from around the globe while providing easy instruc- tion and recipes. Crossing over to English language media hasn't been easy though. People still tend to want to segregate. She's heard executives say "You're Latino, so you should be on Spanish language television" more than once. LaLa responds logically. "Latinos are the majority," she says. "We speak English, but we live Latin. Getting that across to the general market has not been easy, but things are changing."
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