about isabel
"Food is my passion. At breakfast I'm thinking about lunch. At lunch I'm thinking about dinner. I love the shopping, the preparing and the eating. I love the joy of a great meal. Ok, I don't love the cleaning up." - Isabel
Isabel Cruz comes from a Latino family where the large and frequent gatherings were always centered around food. Self-taught, friends and family from Puerto Rico, Cuba and Mexico became the early influences of her food, with later inspiration stemming from the Japanese, Korean and Thai cooking styles she was exposed to while growing up in Los Angeles. Eventually, those Latin and Asian influences became infused in Isabel's cooking, resulting in fresh, exotic food with bold and unique flavors.
Taking these fusions to the next level, Isabel started incorporating modifications in her menus, transforming these rich, traditional cuisines into more healthy dishes for the modern day. Now, Isabel's beliefs and examples of clean, simple eating give people a new vision for what "health food" can be: Delicious.
What they are saying...
It's as if someone invaded the whole concept of fried rice and rendered it healthful, not to mention highly tasty.
- David Sarasohn, The Oregonian
We loved the simplicity of these vibrant recipes.
- Editors, Food & Wine Magazine
The New York Times Book Review named Isabel's cookbook one of the 25 Most Notable Cookbooks of 2008