Pati Jinich, host of "Pati's Mexican Table" on PBS, spoke with approximately 50 Holton-Arms Upper School students about career choices this past Monday, February 27. The Young Entrepreneur's Club sponsored the presentation with hopes that it would provide some provocative insights into the challenges and opportunities that students will face in choosing courses and careers in the future.
Jinich's own career has taken many twists and turns. Raised in Mexico City where she studied at the renowned ITAM (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México), Jinich received a merit scholarship for graduate study in Latin American Studies at Georgetown University. After graduating, she worked at the Inter-American Dialogue, a policy research center in Washington, D.C. that fosters democratic governance, prosperity, and social equity in Latin America and the Caribbean. Years after working as a policy analyst, Jinich decided to change careers and follow her passion for cooking.
To explore this new career path, Jinich returned to school for an intensive night program at L'Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Maryland. After prompting by the Director of the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C., she launched "Mexican Table," a culinary program that consists of a series of live cooking demonstrations and tasting dinners to help promote Mexican cuisine. This program naturally led to the production of her own television program, "Pati's Mexican Table," that is now in its sixth year on PBS. "Pati's Mexican Table" has received the Best National Informational Program Award from the Imagen Awards – and was nominated for two James Beard Awards and two Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Culinary Host and Outstanding Culinary Series. In addition to her program, Jinich has authored successful cookbooks, Pati's Mexican Table (2013) and Mexican Today (2016).
During her talk, Jinich encouraged the students to embrace their own unique skills and talents and celebrate their differences. She brought copies of her cookbooks that she signed and gave away to some students at the presentation.
"Jinich personifies the Holton motto of 'find a way or make one' in her undaunted efforts to create a position for her own research at a Washington think tank and, later, with her fund-raising to create a culinary program at the Mexican Cultural Institute," stated Craig Falk, Holton-Arms AP Economics teacher who arranged Jinich's visit.
To learn more about Jinich, check out the following links:
Mexican Chef Pati Jinich Wants To Change How You Think About Enchiladas
Pati's Mexican Table Season 5 Trailer
Left: Jinich with members of Holton's Young Entrepreneurs' Club who presented her with a gift. Right: Jinich signs her cookbooks for students.