Cooking with Adriana: Female Empowerment in the Kitchen

Chef Adriana Londono

by Taylor Lee

Western medicine has had the reputation of being an expensive band aid that temporarily rids symptoms of health complications. “It seems to have a hard time treating chronic conditions in an effective and permanent manner”, writes Daniel-J. Crisafi, ND.A., MH, PhD. Antibiotics, over the counter prescription drugs, radiation and surgeries are the common medical practices in the USA. Our practitioners and doctors are trained to give out chemicals designed in a lab to treat patients. The problem lies where the patient is unable to discover the root cause of their illness. Most of the country is unaware of the practice of holistic health, “An approach to wellness that simultaneously addresses the physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual components of health”, (St. Catherine University, 2022). In short, we are capable of healing ourselves through finding the root cause of our problems.

Holistic cooking has been a primary passion of mine since suffering with severe acne two years ago. Adriana Londono, a female holistic chef based out of Baja, California has inspired my perception of health. Her mission of providing holistic, whole food based recipes for people with autoimmune diseases was truly inspiring, so I scheduled an interview.

Adriana was such a vibrant interviewee, sharing with me her own life experiences, travel, and finding her passion for cooking. As a self taught chef, Adriana has been empowered in the kitchen since she was just ten years old in Colombia, South America. Her career started with studying history, with the intention of teaching. Down the line, her focus switched to real estate, where she sold properties and worked with an agency. Throughout these times of jumbling different careers, Adriana knew her true calling was in culinary arts. After being diagnosed with Meniere’s disease, a disorder of the ear that can lead to hearing loss and vertigo, Adriana took it upon herself to heal her condition with food. A holistic diet completely reversed her symptoms, leading her to publish her own cookbook called “Ménière’s Cookbook”, her self marketing gained some traction. “I wanted to share my knowledge of healing with others, so they can know how it is possible through food”, Londono adds.The self discipline and female empowerment in her work drew attention to her unique and hard work. 

Since then, Adriana has collaborated with several restaurants, created programs, and opened up her own cafe, La Kombucheria Vegana, in Baja California. The restaurant serves her handcrafted kombucha, plant-based desserts, and coffee. Adriana has made it clear to women that by following your true niche, success is bound to follow with those actions. Given, success looks different for all women, however, the feeling of accomplishing personal goals in addition to helping others through spreading holistic knowledge is a win in itself. 

This fall, Adriana has been invited to Restaurante Caesar’s in Tijuana, Baja California Mexico, where the caesar salad originated in the 1920’s, to create the vegan version. She will have a launch ceremony for the recipe, teaching the staff how to prepare the dish at the table for guests. Adriana’s endeavors with healing through food have inspired women across the world to implement nourishing ingredients into their lifestyle.