Chef Lala

Laura Diaz-Brown, better known to her fans as Chef Lala, has devoted her life to her two passions: mastering and refining Latin cooking, and educating about how to enjoy this complex cuisine in a healthy way.

Chef Lala is a world class chef, author, food consultant, and business woman running her own first class catering company, Savor! Caterers which serves A-List Celebrities, VIPs in entertainment and politics, including two U.S. Presidents and a President of Mexico, Vicente Fox.

>> Join us as I discuss with her the various aspects of her exciting career, and which parts of it she enjoys most

Her love of cooking comes from her father, and she grew up with her family in the restaurant business. But Lala didn’t always know she wanted to be a chef. At the age of 12, she became part of an all-girl singing group that traveled with Menudo.

At the age of 22, LaLa was on the verge of stardom. She had just struck out on her own and was close to signing a record deal. She was being courted by several record companies and did a concert at the Houston Astrodome in front of 75,000 people.

Then, before her singing career took flight, she was in a bad car accident. It temporarily affected her ability to walk – and it permanently affected her ability to dance. Unable to adhere to her strict gym regimen, her svelte figure quickly gave way to a rounder silhouette, leaving her depressed and deflated.

At this point, she re-evaluated and had to decide how to focus her life. As an entertainer at heart, she combined her love of food and cooking with interacting with the public. She’s gone on to become a celebrity chef and does many demonstrations, including showing kids how to eat healthfully.

>> What strategies did Lala use to turn her life around at the point when she realized she’d have to do something very different? What can we learn from her difficult experience?

Two forces in LaLa’s life profoundly influenced her thoughts about food and her career: One was her constant battle with her weight. The other was her family’s history of diabetes, the complications of which claimed the lives of both of her grandmothers and one of her grandfathers.

LaLa’s interest in health was never far from mind, even as she enrolled in the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu and attended classes at both the Southern California and Paris campuses.

As she got more involved in her culinary studies, Lala was struck by the need she saw for someone to link what she had learned about health and nutrition with her cherished Latin cooking. Today, as both a chef and a certified nutritionist with a specialty in weight management, Lala has become that link.

>> What resistance does Lala encounter when she encourages people to eat healthfully, and how does she respond to that resistance?

Lala is a lifelong learner and is always looking for ways to make cuisine more healthful, sharing that knowledge in a number of realms. Learn more about Chef Lala’s projects at her website, www.cheflala.com.

The idea that any ethnic cuisine or any cuisine, really, can be good for you and still retain its sabor, or flavor, has become her mantra and her practice as a celebrity chef and author, and also as a spokeswoman for organizations including the American Diabetes Association.

>> What lessons has Lala learned in the kitchen that she applies to her life? What can we learn from her wisdom?

Lala takes part in a number of community efforts and philanthropic projects, including teaching nutrition or providing support in other ways to charities as diverse as the American Heart Association, the Liver Foundation, Casa Para Los Niños, L.A.’s BEST and V.I.D.A.

She also shares the message of combining health and flavor in her cookbooks, Latin Lover Lite and Best Loved Mexican Cooking with Chef Lala.

She recently received Macy’s “Community Star Award”, as well as General Mills “Corazón de Comunidad,” (literally, “Heart of the Community.”) And California’s First Lady Maria Shriver inducted Lala into the state¹s Museum for History, Women and the Arts.

>> We’ll be discussing her community involvement, and some of her latest efforts to teach healthy eating to children!

The one constant through it all for Lala has been her family, her two sisters, Myrna and Veronica; her brother, Danny; and her parents, Luis and Raquel, who have been married for more than 40 years. Lala now has a family of her own — her husband, Jeremy Brown and young son, Maddox. They currently live outside Los Angeles.

Whether she’s teaching nutritious cooking at a Farmer’s Market or on a television show, LaLa is on fire with her desire to share everything she has learned to make people’s lives healthier and happier–one meal at a time.