In “My (Half) Latinx Kitchen,” Kiera Wright-Ruiz Explores Identity Through Food

The Zest

Kiera Wright-Ruiz has an impressive resume: food writer with creds in The New York Times and Bon Appétit. Photographer for big-name brands including Taco Bell. Recipe developer for the Japan Times, The Kitchn and Food52. Picture book author.

We could go on.

But perhaps most impressive is the vulnerability Kiera displays in her latest work, My (Half) Latinx Kitchen. Part cookbook, part memoir, the book explores her multicultural roots through a lens of food. Between mouthwatering recipes, photos and illustrations are personal essays about her mixed heritage (her father is Ecuadorian, and her mother is Korean), father’s drug addiction, time in foster care and other personal subjects not usually found in a recipe book. The result is a work that will feed both your body and soul.

Dalia chatted with Kiera, who grew up in South Florida and now lives in Tokyo.

Related episodes:

  • Talking Seoul Food with Miami’s 2 Korean Girls
  • For Storyteller Natasha Samreny, Multicultural Family Dinners Set the Table for a Comedy Career
  • From Florida to France: Food Writer Jamie Schler on Cooking with Oranges, French Hotel Life and More

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada