Rocio Camacho

Rocio Camacho is a chef that has achieved great dreams throuhg hard work. Born in Mexico and emigrating to the United States, over the years in various kitchens she earned the moniker “the goddess of mole.” For anyone that knows anything of cooking, they know how high a compliment that is, with mole known as one of the most complex dishes in Mexican food, and in the culinary world at large.

Camacho is the owner of “Rocio’s Mexican Kitchen,” a restaurant based in Los Angeles. Cooking has been enmeshed in her family history, a skill passed down by her mother and cultivated over the course of her life.

“When I was very little I learned how to make mole,” she said to The Los Angeles Times. “I learned that you had to select the ingredients carefully, that you had to touch them, smell them, feel their textures, understand how they mix and the herbs. It was like playing.”

Camacho clearly retains that childlike joy and approach to cooking, revealing that she purchases the ingredients for the mole in her restaurant herself. She has over 20 mole recipes and her work has been recognized by the highest and most prestigious awards, including an inclusion in the Michelin Guide.

This year, Camacho was nominated for the James Beard award, one of the most prestigious recognitions that a chef can be granted with.