Celebrating FOOD & FAMILY with Jenny Martinez

With nearly 4 million followers, chef and social media star Jenny Martinez, 55, found success by honoring family, food and her Mexican culture.

- By BONNIE SIEGLER

Born in Jalisco, Mexico, Jenny moved to the U.S. at age 4 with her family—but she never lost touch with her heritage. As a young girl, Jenny helped her family make birria, “a famous Mexican dish that my mom was always cooking,” she recalls. “I would step in to chop the onions and cilantro. At 13, I didn’t need my mom’s help—I could cook!”

Today, Jenny has millions of fans and a bestselling cookbook, but the mom of four says life wasn't always easy. Married at just 17, she had her first child the following year. “I realized soon after, shoot, this is hard. I needed to work,” Jenny tells Woman’s World. She rose up in sales jobs over the years, then in 2020 her first viral TikTok cooking video changed her life. The featured dish made it a sweet, full-circle moment: her mom’s birria tacos. Here, Jenny shares her wallet-friendly tips for meals and how she soaks up life’s simple, joyful pleasures.

Jenny, her husbandwho she calls "Mr. Beautiful" -and their kids

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