About Claudia's Mesa, Salsa, Wellness Cuisine, Bozeman, MT

I was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, a city bathed by the waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Magdalena River. As a child, I spent hours in the kitchen listening to our family’s cook tell stories about pirates and mermaids. With every word coming out of her mouth, there were also lessons on how to prepare wonderful dishes for all of us to enjoy.

I didn’t know what I found more intriguing, whether it was Mamaesco’s description of the iridescent colors in the mermaid’s tail, or the various hues of green I found in a head of lettuce. Whatever the reason, I returned to the kitchen night after night, until my high school graduation when my parents sent me to Miami, Florida, to pursue a college degree.

I never thought of making food a career, and instead chose Sociology and International Relations, focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean. But food was always next to me. It was in the streets of Little Havana, in Little Haiti, and the Miami River. It was in Coconut Grove and Coral Gables. With food there was music. There was salsa and merengues, disco and rock, cumbias and vallenatos. And luckily, I was in the middle of it.

For ten years I worked in a major hotel chain, The Doral Resorts of Florida, and while my position was in human resources as Training Director, you could always find me in the food and beverage outlets making conversation with the chefs and servers.

After giving birth to my daughter, Gabriella, I decided to stay home and watch her grow. But after a few months, I grew restless and it was then that I came up with the idea of cooking and freezing meals for a local nutritionist I knew and selling them in her office. Her clients raved about the food, and pretty soon I got my fifteen minutes of fame while interviewed by the local news television channel. From there on came requests for private chef services and cooking demonstrations. Unfortunately, Mamaesco never got to find out what she’d created.

I spent nine years in the kitchen, helping people lose weight, eat healthier, learn how to prepare healthy and yummy meals, until one day, Steve, my husband, asked me if I wanted to move to the Rockies, a dream we’d share for years.

I gave in, and here we are, eleven years later.

At times I’ve felt as if I left a piece of my soul in Miami, in my bright white kitchen facing the backyard where traveling palms fanned me as I prepared supper. There are days when I forget how to say certain words in Spanish and months pass before I dance salsa or merengues.

In my other life I assist people with selections on floor coverings and interiors for their home, and you could say that tile design is my favorite for I see them as beautiful as fruits and vegetables. I try to bring food into everything I do. I often make salsas, empanadas, pasteles and latino food, and share them with my clients, whether it be at a job site, their office or home.

Last year, as a New Year’s resolution, I vowed to myself it was time to make my soul whole again, and come up with some gig revolving food. I am glad to say I found my language again here in Montana. I can find almost anything I need to prepare latino food, traditional or recreated, in the many groceries stores in town. There is a niche for this Colombiana in Montana.

Let this website take you to my world, my MESA.

Claudia's Salsa Available at the Following Local Stores:
Town & Country • Farmer's Market (Bozeman Fairgrounds & The Emerson Winter Market)
Field Day • Big Sky Local Food • Orders by Phone

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