Voices by the Fire: Reflections from Women Chefs

We sat down for a warm conversation with Lula Martín del Campo, Mariana Valencia, and Gaby Ruiz to talk about what ignites their cooking: memory, intuition, craft, and the love of telling stories through flavor.

This intimate and powerful conversation reveals the emotions, memories, and ideas that live behind every dish.

The fire that transforms and brings people together. What does fire mean to you in the kitchen?

Gaby Ruiz (GR): Fire is transformation. Thanks to fire, we stopped being so wild and became cooks. It allowed us to evolve as humanity and as a palate. For me, fire is passion, depth, nostalgia. When I want a dish to have a more complex and melancholic flavor, I cook it over fire, embers, or smoke. Fire always gives it that emotional touch.

Lula Martín del Campo (LMC): Fire is community. Since ancient times it has brought us together around food. Fire connects, not only cooks, but diners, producers, and the land itself. Around a bonfire or a barbecue, wherever we may be, when we have the opportunity to gather through fire, the sense of unity is different.

Mariana Valencia (MV): For me, fire is transmutation. It is the power to transform something into something new. It also represents personal evolution: in the kitchen, mastering fire is often an important step in professional growth. It is like leveling up. Cooking with fire means renewing yourself, gaining strength, and daring to create from a different place.

Ingredients that speak of identity. Is there an ingredient or dish that feels completely yours, something that represents you?

LMC: For me, corn, beans, and chile. They are the three ingredients that give us our identity as Mexicans, beyond regions or styles. Wherever you travel, you have to remember that Mexico is not only what burritos or Tex-Mex project. Our cuisine has depth, history, and soul.

I was born in Mexico City, and sometimes I felt I had to justify what kind of food I cooked. Over time I understood that I did not have to choose between styles: my cooking can be a mixture, because all of that is Mexico too.

MV: It is very hard for me to identify with a single dish or ingredient because I like to change and experiment. I think we cook according to what we feel, who we are cooking for, and the moment we are in.

But if I had to name something that recurs in my dishes, it would be herbs: cilantro, mint, sage. They have always been with me and I am fond of them. They are part of the thread running through my cooking.

GR: Salt. It is my favorite ingredient. I feel it is an extension of my body. Salting is like a magical act, as though I were putting part of myself into every dish. A chef friend once told me that salt is the natural element with the greatest electromagnetic charge. Perhaps that is why there is a belief that it should not be passed hand to hand: because it transmits energy.

“That is how I understand it —as a channel. When I cook, salt does not only season: it also connects who I am with what I give.”

The flavors that remain. Mariana, do you remember one of the first dishes you learned to cook?

MV: Cooking was always very present in my home. My family is of Lebanese descent, so the first things I learned to prepare were dishes such as stuffed grape leaves, kibbeh, and quipe. Being in the kitchen with my mother was the most natural thing in the world.

She also worked in pastry for a time, and although I did not follow that path, cakes and cookies were the first things she encouraged me to cook.

And of course, grandmothers' advice and tips are always there. I think those flavors stay with you forever. Maybe I no longer prepare them every day, but the technique, respect for the ingredient, and emotional connection remain.

“In the end, we cook stories. The table will always bring us nostalgia depending on whom we share it with. And those memories, in one way or another, always return to what you do.”

Women building their own path. How has your experience as women influenced the way you cook or have built your careers?

LMC: When I was young, the idea that women should be good homemakers still prevailed. My interests did not fully fit that mold, and if I wanted to do something for myself, I had to find a way.

So I began teaching cooking classes to girls on weekends, starting with what was most accessible to me: pastry. That is where I discovered that cooking could also be a form of freedom.

Over time I understood that I did not want to cook only to be a good hostess —as was expected of me— but that I could make it a vocation, a career, a way to be independent. At that time it was not common to see women forging professional paths in the kitchen, so in a way I was a rebel.

“And although it has not always been easy, cooking has allowed me to decide for myself and build my own path. Sometimes it is difficult to know where passion ends and profession begins, but perhaps that is exactly where the beauty lies: what moves you can also be what sustains you.”

GR: When I had my daughter, I understood something very profound: nourishing is part of our nature. Whether or not we have children, women are born with that impulse. That is why, when we cook, we do not do it only as a trade: we do it from a stronger, more emotional place. No machine can replace that connection. That is why I believe the kitchen belongs to us in our own right.

Intuition, technique, and seasoning. Gaby, how much do you let intuition guide you when you cook, and when does technique come in?

GR: For me, intuition is the soul of cooking. If I had to put it in percentages, I would say 80% intuition and 20% technique. Recipes and methods are important, of course, but seasoning… no formula can dictate that.

Every ingredient changes with the weather, the day, and its origin. So you have to know how to feel, taste, and decide.

“I always tell the cooks who work with me: you are the final filter before the dish reaches the diner. If you like it, the diner will too. Flavor is intuition, passion, and presence.”

And that, for me, is the most powerful thing about this profession.

Women who lift other women. Lula, what have you learned from other women in the kitchen? Has there been an encounter or experience that marked you?

LMC: A very important figure for me has been Martha Ortiz. I call her “my godmother” because she has that ability to see women, trust them, and push them forward. She is demanding, yes, but equally generous.

She helped me see the value we have as women in this industry. She taught me to look at Mexico through different eyes, with more love and greater clarity. I never forget that.

“Because sometimes all it takes is for someone to see you, recognize you, and tell you: you can do it. And when that someone is another woman, that strength multiplies.”

Being part of something bigger. What has it been like to join a gastronomic collective like Xcaret's, with so many different voices, talents, and styles?

LMC: I think we are still discovering what it means to be part of this collective, but we already feel that we are inside something very big. With the expansion of Hotel Xcaret México, we talked about how someday all of us who are here will no longer be here… but Xcaret will continue.

When you understand that you are part of a collective making history, of course it is a privilege. Much of who we are as a country —our identity, our culture— is expressed in some way at Xcaret.

Personally, it fills me with pride and satisfaction to know that I have planted something and done something right to be here.

“I am aware of the responsibility that entails. And when it is hard for me to distinguish between work, play, and passion, I prefer to connect with that passion that drives me to say: let's all stand up for Mexico. Let's build our country. And let's make it shine.”

MV: I agree. It is a privilege, but also a great responsibility. At the same time, it is beautiful to connect personally with the people behind the projects.

During these days together at Xcaret, I got to know colleagues whom I may previously have seen as unreachable figures. Sharing a table and a kitchen with them made me feel a sense of community. That close, human side is what I value most.

GR: What surprised me most was discovering that behind such a large project there is a real family. And here you see them: the Quintanas, the people who dreamed all of this, walking around, greeting people, excited. That connects you. It makes you feel part of something important, something alive.

And that is why we want to give our best. Because when you know the heart behind it, you also learn to love the project.

What their cooking says about them. If your cooking could speak, what would it say about you? What advice would you have liked to receive when you were starting out? And what has been the greatest gift this craft has given you?

LMC: It would say that I am a woman proud to be Mexican. That I like to share who I am and what I know, through fire and from the heart. I have been fortunate to encounter advice and people who encouraged me to believe in myself and in what I do, and that has deeply shaped the way I cook and lead.

“And the greatest gift cooking has given me is the possibility of nourishing the soul and body of those who sit at the table. For me, that is priceless.”

MV: It is difficult for me to find one specific thing my cooking would say about me, but I think it would speak of disruption. It would say I am a woman who has learned to be brave, break molds, and create from what she feels.

When I started, I would have liked to hear that it is okay to make mistakes, that not everything has to turn out perfectly, and that daring to try is also part of growth.

And if cooking has given me one thing, it is the ability to share what I do and make others happy. From the moment you serve a dish to the moment you sit at the table. What you offer and what others offer you. Sharing and intertwining with people has undoubtedly been the most beautiful gift this path has given me.

GR: My cooking would not speak… it would sing boleros. Because for me, cooking is deeply connected to nostalgia and profound emotion.

If I could give myself one piece of advice, it would be to trust my intuition more from the beginning. To listen to that voice telling you what to do even when it is not in the recipe.

“And the greatest gift cooking has given me is seeing how people transform when they eat. As a child I would see my father come home stressed and watch his frown disappear after a good meal. Knowing that something you prepare can change someone's day… that is everything.”

Voices by the fire. These voices by the fire remind us that cooking is not only about transforming ingredients, but also about sharing memories, breaking silences, and igniting passions. At Apapaxoa, their voices invite us to see cuisine not only as an art, but as an act of love toward others and ourselves.

“Because when a woman cooks from what she feels, her dish does more than nourish: it leaves a mark.”