Pati Jinich

Patricia Jinich ( born Patricia Drijanski, March 30, 1972) is a Mexican chef, TV personality, cookbook author, educator, and food writer. She is best known for her James Beard Award-winning and Emmy-nominated public television series Pati's Mexican Table, her James Beard Award-winning PBS primetime docuseries La Frontera with Pati Jinich, and her James Beard Award-nominated PBS primetime docuseries Pati Jinich Explores Panamericana. Her first cookbook, also titled Pati's Mexican Table, was published in March 2013, her second cookbook, Mexican Today, was published in April 2016, and her third cookbook, Treasures of the Mexican Table, was published in November 2021. Her fourth cookbook, Foods of La Frontera, will be published in September 2026. Jinich is the resident chef at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, DC, where she has run her "Mexican Table" live culinary program since 2007. She has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Talk, CBS This Morning, Live with Kelly and Mark, All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and The Splendid Table among other media. Her food writing has appeared in The Washington Post and The New York Times. In May 2014, Jinich was invited to cook at the White House for President Barack Obama's Cinco de Mayo dinner. In May 2018, she cooked at the James Beard House in New York City for its Cinco de Mayo dinner.