Elena Zelayeta

Elena Zelayeta (October 3, 1898 – March 31, 1974) was a Mexican American cookbook author. After running a restaurant in San Francisco with her husband, Zelayeta lost her vision, but she relearned how to cook and went on to greater success. Her first book, Elena's Famous Spanish and Mexican Recipes, made her "a national sensation for decades" according to the Los Angeles Times. Zelayeta was the first Latina American with a televised cooking show when she starred in It's Fun to Eat, broadcast throughout California.

Biography

Elena Emilia Zelayeta was born October 3, 1898, in Mexico City. Her parents were Spanish immigrants and innkeepers in a small mining town in Mexico. The family fled Mexico after the Mexican Revolution, moving to San Francisco when Elena was eleven.

As a young woman, Zelayeta worked at the California Arms Company. Both she and her husband, Loren, lost their jobs in 1930 due to The Great Depression, losing their home and having their car repossessed. Out of desperation they began selling homemade Mexican and Spanish meals out of their living room, which quickly turned into a successful business. The book sold well and led to additional book deals; her final cookbook, published in 1967, featured a foreword by James Beard, who wrote "Elena is a traditionalist, but she can also pull an inspired new combination of foods out of the air―and make you feel it is the most authentic dish you ever ate". Her eleven-year-old son, Billy, was her cooking assistant on the show. Norman Vincent Peale wrote about attending a 17-course dinner at Zelayeta's home in his 2003 book The Amazing Results of Positive Thinking, saying about her, "this inspiring woman is one of the most marvelous examples of positive thinking I have ever ran across."

She died in San Mateo on March 31, 1974.