Claudette Zepeda is an award-winning, culinary entrepreneur known for her fearless style and bold approach to regional Mexican cuisine. A celebrated culinary anthropologist, Zepeda draws upon 20+ years of experience working in restaurant kitchens, as well as her extensive travels around the world and throughout Mexico that inform her extensive knowledge of indigenous ingredients and cross-cultural expressions of cuisine. A veteran TV food competitor. In 2019 Zepeda Founded Viva La Vida, the company celebrates the colorful life and death Mexicans lead, with plans to grow into a 501c3 fund dedicated to helping Hispanic women break from generational poverty.