Meet the Chef
Viry
Viry took her grandmother’s cooking for granted growing up but experienced a newfound appreciation for it later in life. On a quest to reproduce some of her childhood’s fondest memories she developed a knack for getting them just right. As she tinkered with those recipes, some going back several generations, the process allowed her to appreciate the complexity and nuance of the many dishes she experienced. She is amazed at how one dish can be made in so many ways without changing its essence. It is with this rediscovery of the culinary traditions of her heritage that she opens the doors of Frida’s Cocina every day and shares it with her customers.
How It all Began
Mid-life found us with our three kids growing up and a company lay-off after 18 years. We decided it was an ideal time to pivot our lives in a big way. Although entrepreneurship was always a bucket list item to be achieved someday, we never thought we’d end up in the food business. Neither one of us had any commercial food industry experience. Collectively, we each have over two decades in the accounting, education, real estate, and information technology industries as employees. Contemplating a move out of state for a few years led us to visit Austin, TX. We loved the vibe here and couldn’t help but notice all the mobile food businesses throughout the area; an uncommon site in Chicagoland where we originate from. By the time the company lay-off occurred we were living in Austin. The entrepreneurial seed in our minds had already been cemented so this unexpected circumstance created an unexpected outcome: A new business venture was born!
Family History
Being an American family of Mexican heritage, only one generation removed from the old country, made us the bicultural people we are today. Bicultural is really an understatement. Dual identity is a more precise term to describe what it is like growing up and experiencing Mexican culture and all its facets at every turn. At the same time, being born and raised in the US and embodying its inherent values and free spirit created an internal tug of war between deciding what we were: Mexican or American. As we got older, we came to embrace both identities. Not least of all, the food of the interior of Mexico where our parents originate from. We “rediscovered” its uniqueness, richness, and familiar feelings of “home”. It is with this spirit of honoring our roots and traditions and sharing them with anyone wanting to experience a more authentic representation of our Mexican culture, that has brought us where we are today
