My biggest dream in life is to own a restaurant. My passion is Latin American food. As a young adult, I spent time traveling and learning to cook. From pupusas in El Salvador to tamales with my Mexican friends, my life starts in my kitchen.

I remember when I was introduced to the spice and excitement of Mexican cooking. I grew up in a tiny town in the Midwestern US, and we did not have the luxury of a Mexican restaurant until I was in my teens. After that first bite, it was l-o-v-e—Amor puro. The flavor inspired me so much that I found myself immersing myself in everything surrounding it, including the language. I learned Spanish and eventually became an interpreter, but have never felt satisfied that I cannot share this love of culture and food with others. For months I have been working on a business plan, perfecting recipes, and making plans to open my very own Authentic Mexican Restaurant with the flavors that I have fallen so deeply in love with. My day job is as an Interpreter/ Social Services Caseworker so, I’m not exactly rolling in the dough. This is why I decided to reach out to all of you on Kickstarter.

My plan is to open our restaurant in a market in the UK that has never experienced the flavor before. Why? Because I want to share the passion that I feel with a whole new corner of the world. After all, food brings people together, right? By sourcing as many of my ingredients local to the area where we plan to start our project, we will combine familiar flavor with some brand new ones. I have been sleeping, dreaming, and literally eating this project for months now and I cannot wait to make it a reality.  I know that it won’t be easy and I’ve probably driven my business mentors up the wall, but I just cannot give up on it. For my project, I have chosen the name Tenaz which means “tenacious” because,  with passion and tenacity, anything is possible. 

To watch my project progress, you can visit me  here 

All money raised will go to buying a restaurant kitchen, first quarter of restaurant rent, supplies, and getting us off and running!