Meet Maru Molina | Cook

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maru Molina and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maru, can you share the most important lesson you’ve learned over the course of your career?
The most valuable lesson my career path has taught me is how productive authentic passion can be. When you work hard and mindfully on something you’re organically passionate about, the results are amazing! It’s about realizing your purpose and working around that to create a productive life from
It. The energy is healthy, unique and connected to the ecosystem that surround’s it. It becomes a beautiful virtuous circle.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Cocinadejardin is born organically as an expression of my passion for well-being. It starts with friends, intimate meetings, intense conversations and long and passionate cooking sessions.. Little by little, my desire to share my way of living and cooking, my love of nature and my desire to take care of it, takes me to more and more spaces where I can do it.

I now understand our responsibility as cooks to honor the beauty of nature, the land and the people who work on it, in everything we cook by treating each ingredient with gratitude, admiration, and by inspiring others to feel the wonder of the virtuous circle in which we find ourselves when we cook and share with love and intention.

It has been challenging at times not to get lost in this harsh world of kitchens, but I always remind myself of what really got me into cooking and things end up falling into place. Feeling the connection to nature, listening to it’s messages, translating and communicating them through my food is what really makes cooking such a pleasure for me!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would definitely start with breakfast at healthy and delicious NANTAL in El Zonte Beach. It is a beautiful and vibrant surfers haven! I would recommend having an epic ceviche at Capt Cook in the next beach over at El Tunco. At night, I would dine at El XOLO, a creative and delicious restaurant in the city that serves “new” sophisticated Salvadoran eats with a really cool vibe.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
All of my close loved ones (family, friends and fellow chefs) have encouraged me immensely, and pushed me down the path I am on today 🙂 ♥️

Instagram: cocinadejardin