From teen single mother to top gourmet chef

Mexican-American chef Claudette Zepeda is now an award-winning culinary star but it wasn’t always the case. For years she struggled. After becoming a single mother as a teenager, she was holding down three jobs and losing inspiration. But her beloved Aunt Lorenza, famous for her pozole, became her guiding light and gave her the motivation to carry on. Claudette tells Outlook’s Clayton Conn her story and how she’s seeking to help single Latina mothers break the intergenerational chains of poverty.

Indian dancer and singer Gulabo Sapera is from a family of nomadic snake charmers in Rajasthan. She’s gone on to make a name for herself – even performing in front of British royalty – and risen to a highly respected person in her community. And yet, her beginnings could have hardly been less promising as she survived being buried alive at birth. (This interview was first broadcast in 2018)

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(Photo: Claudette Zepeda. Credit: Alejandro Ibarra)