Today we’d like to introduce you to Mari Soto.
Thank you so much for having me! I grew up in San Antonio, Texas & moved to Austin in 2006. My entire upbringing was deeply rooted with a specific culture that lives within San Antonio revolving around community, family, & food. My Grandmother would spend every Sunday in the tiny kitchen in her tiny one-bedroom apartment making a huge Mexican breakfast for all who wanted to come by for a feast. She made the most perfect fluffy, thick homemade tortillas – To this day, I judge a flour tortilla by the dusting of flour left on my fingertips. After the sudden passing of my Grandmother while I was in college, I shifted from a focus on medicine to a career in food & nutrition. I was already working in the industry while attending college & had the realization that my passion lies in creating beautiful, nourishing experiences revolving around food & people coming together in a way that nourishes all parts of us. Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to hold varied roles in the industry & this journey as a whole has culminated in me creating my own company by the name of Marigold Culinary. I am a private chef specializing in building creative, personalized menus & experiences with my clients. My main focus lies in curating private dinners, parties, & celebratory weekends & I am currently in the process of developing a pop-up, a prix fixe private dining series, & more. Ultimately, this is to say that I’m oh so grateful to have made the shift from traditional medicine to the culinary world – Creating beautiful memories with others through food nourishes me to no end. So stay tuned for what’s to come!
I’ve definitely experienced my fair share of struggles (& continue to), but I’m proud to be at a point where I can recognize the power that lies in making it through the struggles. I’ve experienced various levels of anxiety & depression my entire life & am happy to have reached a point that I can speak openly & more confidently about mental health & my personal experience. For years, I really didn’t know how to properly identify & manage this part of my experience which affected how I showed up or handled certain situations both personally & professionally. I’m immeasurably grateful for my supportive partner & our dogs, family, & friends – And therapy! =) I feel like I’m finally learning how to appreciate the discomfort of growth & the more I talk about this part of my life experience, the more I find other people appreciating the open space to also connect with & talk about their own experiences. The service industry, especially, can be physically & mentally brutal with little to no resources for support & although there have been major improvements (especially over the last 5 years or so), we need to keep these important conversations & actions at the forefront of the plans for the future of our industry. We owe it to ourselves. Can you tell I’m passionate about this?
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I own Marigold Culinary, where I curate personalized menus & experiences for private celebrations, retreats, special remote & travel projects, & more. I’m also currently working on a pop-up series & prix fixe private dining concept. Really, the best part of what I do is being able to take someone’s vision & helping build it around the beauty & experience of people enjoying a meal together. I love how communal food is, the emotions it can evoke, & the memories it can help create. I fully believe that everyone deserves to be able to indulge in a beautiful meal & along the way, I’ve invested a great amount of time learning creative techniques for any dietary/nutritional requests. Witnessing people enjoy my passion & creations truly fills my heart every single time & I’m excited to continue growing the ways to make that happen!
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
All of the resources that really help me do my best have to do with living openly & honestly & flawed & talking about other stuff (like true crime) along the way. =) I especially love listening to podcasts while cooking – My brain just becomes completely focused & there’s little to no room left for intrusive thoughts & I’m fully focused. I definitely follow quite a bit of therapeutic resources on Instagram & they really help me understand that I’m not alone in my experiences. I love that we have increased accessibility to resources like these.
Podcasts:
Radio Cherry Bombe with Kerry Diamond
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend with Conan O’Brien, Sona Movsesian, & Matt Gourley
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard & Monica Padman
That’s Messed Up: An SVU Podcast with Kara Klenk & Liza Treyger
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers & Bowen Yang
Gettin’ Better with Ron Funches
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark
Books:
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
Appetites: A Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain with Laurie Woolever
Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef by Massimo Bottura
Dream First, Details Later by Ellen Bennett
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chefmarisoto.com
- Instagram: @chefmarisoto
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087762292892
Image Credits
Personal Photo/Headshot: Troy Cardona
Photo of Oysters & Me: Shane McCormick
All Other Photos: Mari Soto
