Culinary Excellence
Maria Sierra
This foodie mom has 1.2 million subscribers eager to see what she’s making next!
Maria Sierra, who is known online as La Cooquette, is a blogger, Instagram and successful Vlogger. She has two YouTube channels, the main one, which is in Spanish has over 1 million subscribers. This mom of two creates fun, quirky and unique content that attracts both foodies and parents all over the world. And this isn’t counting her followers in other social networks like Instagram!
Maria was born in Honduras but she has traveled and lived in many places. She started her blog, “La Cooquette” while living in Los Angeles, but after that she has lived and studied in Spain, Panama, Mexico City, Washington DC, and NYC. This energized mom shares all her foodie passions, baking ideas and concepts with the aim to support other moms like her that are looking for tasty and kid-friendly food recipes.
“I started my blog as a way to start documenting all my kitchen adventures and food experiences. For all those who know me personally, I’m a BIT eccentric and LOVE to eat! There’s a certain curiosity pull that I get from FOOD: the smells, the colors, the taste, its history…I gotta say, it’s very easy to get me to try anything that looks quirky or smells delicious. I also tend to fall in love with the story and people behind a food dish or experience!”
Her main YouTube channel has subtitles and it posts mini cooking videos of a variety of recipes from pizza to pasta and tacos and cupcakes. All her culinary creations seem to be inspired by her travels and latino fusion flavors. Her main goal is to create and cook colorful or yummy dishes that her followers can enjoy with their kids or friends and family at home.
Our HOLA! USA team had a chance to ask Maria a few questions about her journey as a foodie and mommie Vblogger!
What ignited your passion for cooking and initiated your journey in this field?
[Maria] I grew up surrounded by excellent cooks, especially the women in my Honduran family, from my grandma to my “Tía Lupe”. However, I actually started cooking in college in DC, influenced by the booming cupcake trend.I started from scratch, burning many things in the process. I started perfecting certain things and developed a passion for learning more and more about recipes beyond baked goods, until many years later my husband convinced me to start a YouTube channel with him, to show the world about the foods that excited me.
You have lived in many places (Spain, Panama, Mexico City, Washington DC, and NYC), how do you think travel and living abroad shaped your cooking?
[Maria] It has had a big impact not only on the recipes I have learned but also on my perspective on world cuisine at large. Living in so many different places and learning from locals and settlers alike taught me that food is a universal language that unites people, and yet it is also something that makes each culture stand out in a unique way. Each dish carries a story and can tell you a lot about whoever cooked it or the people who invented it.
We love the colorful kid recipes on your site. According to your two adorable kids, which is the yummiest recipe you have made for them?
[Maria] Thank you! Kids do eat in color! My 3-year-old loves cooking with me; together we make things like homemade pizza and cookies. She‘s got a sweet tooth so she’s always excited to try the desserts I film for YouTube (even if she only gets a small bite if they‘re very sugary). The youngest, 18-month-old LOVES the healthy beet pancakes I make for breakfast.
What advice do you have for future latina food influencers/bloggers/YouTubers?
[Maria] I would advise them to take risks and realize each of us has a unique perspective and story to tell. In a saturated internet world, it‘s key for one to be sure what their story is, to feel confident about it, and to work hard to tell it to the world. The world needs to know more about how rich our cultures are!
Today, La Cooquette lives in Tijuana and works across Southern California. She moved to Mexico from L.A. 5 years ago with her husband and kids, when she decided to take the risk to create recipe content full time.
