Mary Luz Mejia

I was born in Colombia, South America and was quickly transplanted to the frosty north at the age of three. After earning an honours History degree from Queen's University and a Journalism post-grad diploma from Humber, I worked as a journalist for the CBC, television producer/researcher/director and writer in three languages (English, Spanish, French). I've written articles on subjects as diverse as literary profiles, travel pieces, business pieces and my very favourite, food-related articles for publications such as The Globe and Mail national newspaper, enRoute Magazine's food pages, Saveur Magazine, Asian Gourmet Magazine, Edible Toronto, The Bakers Journal, Amoi Magazine, The Queen's University Alumni Review and online at Gremolata.com, homebasics.ca and GoNomad.com. I also penned my own weekly newspaper column, "Street Eats" based on the SunTV food and culture series for 24 Hours Toronto. Most recently, I contributed numerous pieces for the Mandarin Restaurant's cookbook- "Inside the Mandarin- Celebrating 30 Years of Delicious Dining." That was a thrill!

I've had the good fortune of researching and/or writing scripts for all three seasons of the television series Street Eats, where I ate my way across the Greater Toronto Area and met fascinating people from all over the globe in the process. In the show's third season, I even made an on-camera guest appearance in appropriately enough, the Colombia episode (Jan. 2008). I've recently warpped on three seasons of a Gemini-nominated bio doc series for the Food Network Canada that I helped produce, research and direct called "At the Table With..." I had the privilege of researching and interviewing culinary luminaries including Madhur Jaffrey, Jamie Oliver, Marcus Samuelsson, Susur Lee, Rob Feenie, Ruth Reichl, Sara Moulton, James Oseland, Barbara Fairchild, the venerable Marcella Hazan and one of my fave chefs of all time, Norman Van Aken (I also directed this episode). Season II aired this Sept. 2008 on the Food Network Canada featuring Vikram Vij, Jacques Torres, Gale Gand, Dave Pasternack and the episode I directed for this season- Rick Bayless. In season III, you'll meet Maricel Presilla, Susana Trilling, Nobu Matsuhisa, Michael Lomonaco and other wonderful chefs.

I'm currently working on Canadian culinary celebrity Christine Cushing's new W and VIVA Network series called, "Fearless in the Kitchen." In it, she takes self-professed "terrible cooks" and turns them from hopeless to fearless. I'm the show's food excursion and big challenge segment producer - and that, I can assure you, is a challenge unto itself!

Every once in a while, I also get asked to be a judge at recipe/food competitions. The most recent one celebrated the United Nation's delegating 2008 to the Year of the Potato. A recipe contest highlighting the humble spud was held in Toronto this year at a local Peruvian restaurant. To read some of my more feature-length pieces and get a better sense of what I've been up to, you can peruse my online portfolio website.

Immersing myself in other cultures/food is a serious hobby which has led me to travel to over 23 countries around the world either for work or to cure the insatiable travel bug I caught long ago. I've taken cooking classes along the way in far-flung kitchens including places such as Madrid, Spain, South Florida, Toronto and Cusco, Peru (where I worked on a pro-social documentary)- all the while soaking up the lore behind the food, who prepares it and why. I'm a cookbook and food photography admirer who has lived and worked in The United States, Latin America and now calls Toronto, Canada home.

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