‘Healthy As A Motha’: Celebrating Latin Flavor and Wellness This Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage Month is all about celebrating tradition, neighborhood, and the folks shaping the longer term by their creativity and fervour—and Healthy As A Motha embodies all of that. The restaurant fuses conventional Latin flavors with a contemporary, health-forward twist, honoring cultural roots whereas nourishing the following era.
We caught up with the proprietor and founder, Yesenia Ramdass, to speak about how she’s redefining what it means to eat effectively, keep true to your roots, and uplift the neighborhood by meals that feeds each the soul and the physique.
Can you inform us the story behind Healthy As A Motha — how did it begin and what impressed the identify?
Healthy As A Motha (HAAM) was born out of each private transformation and profound loss. When I used to be 17, I learn a e-book that essentially modified the way in which I considered meals. Coming from a neighborhood the place vegetarianism and veganism weren’t even a part of the dialog, it was like being handed a map to a world I by no means knew existed. I ended consuming meat and, over time, dove deep into meals, well being, and ancestral wellness.
Years later, my mom was identified with most cancers. Her passing in 2018 lit a fireplace in me. I used to be indignant, not simply from grief however from the belief that my neighborhood lacked entry to important well being training. I felt compelled to bridge that hole. So I began a weblog with titles like “The influence of the white coat” or “Shame in Aspartame”. I began a YouTube channel with recipes that reimagined the meals we grew up with however in more healthy methods. When the pandemic hit, I used to be residence cooking for my three children and sharing all the pieces on Instagram. People saved commenting, “I wish I could try your food!” and “That looks amazing!”
My husband inspired me to go for it. I purchased a tent and desk off Amazon and did my first pop-up. I offered out. Complete strangers have been consuming my meals and loving it. That second modified all the pieces. Weeks later, I used to be laid off from my job, and as an alternative of scrambling to search out one other one, I took an opportunity on myself. I began doing pop-ups throughout NYC, at road markets, promoting my meals and constructing Healthy As A Motha.
As for the identify Healthy As A Motha I wished one thing with NYC swag, one thing that may make folks snort, spark curiosity, and most significantly, pay homage to the ladies who taught me find out how to cook dinner: my mother and my mom in regulation. Everything I do know began of their kitchens, and now I get to hold that ahead by my very own lens.
What was your journey like from idea to opening your first location?
I by no means sat down and mentioned, “I want to be a chef” or “I want to open a restaurant.” The idea grew organically, pushed by the wants and needs of my neighborhood. I listened carefully and what I heard again and again was that there was no place to get plant based mostly meals that felt culturally related, that had our flavors, our soul, our seasoning.
After I used to be laid off, I took a leap and rented a industrial kitchen to be taught the ropes, from well being inspections and order success to plating and packaging. That section of relearning all the pieces was humbling and intense. I’ve by no means labored tougher in my life than I did in these first three years. There have been moments I doubted myself, moments I questioned all the pieces, however my ardour and my objective and my mother pulled me by.
When it got here time to open a brick and mortar, I knew precisely what I wished: an area that felt elevated, horny, and complex. Something that offered Caribbean delicacies in a manner persons are not used to seeing. So many assumed I’d go the quick informal route. It would’ve been simpler, positive. But I wasn’t all for “easy.” I wished to construct a vibe. Permits, contractors, design, gear, hiring, I confronted each doable problem, however I did it. And now HAAM is greater than only a restaurant it feels to me like a motion.
Did your cultural background play a task in shaping the restaurant’s imaginative and prescient or recipes?
Absolutely, 100%. When I first grew to become aware on the impression of meals, I felt like I had unlocked one thing highly effective. But it was heartbreaking to understand how disconnected my neighborhood was from that dialog. In Caribbean and Latinx households, if there’s no meat on the plate, it’s not a meal.
So after I began HAAM, I didn’t cater to folks already consuming plant-based. I targeted on those that weren’t as a result of that’s the place change begins. I took conventional recipes and reimagined them utilizing acquainted components and flavors. Texture and spice have been all the pieces. I wanted every dish to style like residence simply with out the animal merchandise.
Did your cultural background play a task in shaping the restaurant’s imaginative and prescient or recipes?
In each single manner. The HAAM expertise is rooted in cultural celebration from the music to the menu. When you stroll by our doorways, you’re met with the sounds of soca, bachata, reggae, and merengue. It’s loud. It’s alive. It’s unapologetically us.
We serve elevated Caribbean plant delicacies, however the power continues to be rooted in pleasure, rhythm, and heat. During the day, it is likely to be a lunch break; by night, the candles are lit and the vibe is pure fuego! The aim is to make folks really feel like waving their flags, dancing of their chairs, and savoring meals that feels each nostalgic and revolutionary. It’s an area the place tradition and neighborhood collide in one of the best ways.
Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates range throughout the neighborhood — what does this month personally imply to you?
Representation is all the pieces. I by no means imagined myself on this business particularly as a result of there are so few examples of ladies, particularly ladies of colour, proudly owning eating places that mirror our tales. To be capable to step into this house, as a Latina, as a mom, and as an entrepreneur, is an honor.
Hispanic Heritage Month is a time to highlight the folks, traditions, and histories which have formed us particularly those usually overlooked of the mainstream narrative. It’s about telling our tales loudly and proudly, so the following era is aware of they belong on the desk and even higher, operating the kitchen.
Let’s Talk cooking traditions:
Are there particular components, cooking methods, or traditions out of your tradition that you just’ve included into your menu?
Every single dish at HAAM is constructed on custom. I didn’t go to culinary faculty my training got here from watching my mom and mother-in-law cook dinner, I make roti on a tawa, similar to they did. I make sofrito the way in which it’s been made for generations, with all that sazón and love packed in.
These aren’t shortcuts or traits they’re sacred methods. I’m not right here to “modernize” or water something down. I’m right here to honor our roots and reinterpret them by a plant-based lens that retains the flavour and soul intact.
What impression do you hope your restaurant has on the local people’s method to meals and well being?
I would like folks to depart HAAM with greater than a full abdomen. I would like them to depart pondering. About what’s on their plate. About how meals is related to wellness. I would like folks to know that we ought to be consuming to stay, not residing to eat.
Food is highly effective. It’s therapeutic. It’s cultural. It’s private. My hope is that HAAM turns into a catalyst that folks stroll in curious and go away impressed to make higher decisions, with out ever sacrificing style or pleasure.
What challenges have you ever confronted as a Hispanic entrepreneur within the restaurant business?
One of the largest challenges has been navigating what I didn’t know. The lack of entry to business data, assets, and mentorship has value me in time, in cash, in errors. There have been gear purchases that weren’t sustainable, processes I needed to be taught the exhausting manner, and enterprise selections I want I may take again.
But I’ve additionally been fortunate. I’ve had mentors who stepped in, who shared their knowledge. And I pay that ahead. I open my doorways to any aspiring restaurateur who desires to be taught what this life actually seems to be like. I invite them into the kitchen, into the grind. Because we’d like extra hands-on help on this business — particularly for folks of colour, particularly for girls.
If you might describe Healthy As A Motha in three phrases that hook up with the Hispanic expertise, what would they be?
Culture. Spices. Vibes. That’s the holy trinity of HAAM our 3 firm pillars. Everything we do from the dishes to the design is rooted in honoring tradition, seasoning with love, and creating an unforgettable expertise.
What’s subsequent for Healthy As A Motha — new places, collaborations, or menu expansions?
Right now, I’m targeted on methods. I wish to guarantee we’re constructed to final. But sure collaborations are positively within the works. The final imaginative and prescient is growth, however not simply duplicates. I see sister ideas in HAAM’s future, each rooted in plant-based Caribbean delicacies however with its personal id and aptitude.
As Hispanic Heritage Month involves a detailed, Healthy As A Motha stands as a robust reminder that tradition and wellness can thrive on the identical plate. Through her imaginative and prescient, Yesenia Ramdass is redefining what it means to feed each physique and soul—with taste, objective, and satisfaction.
Categories News
Tags Celebrating Flavor Healthy Heritage Hispanic Latin Month Motha Wellness