Claudette Zapeda in conversation with Tiffany Pineda-Scarlett

Chef Claudette Zapeda stops by Explore Books for a discussion of her approach to cooking and her new cookbook, Cooking the Borderlands.
About this Event

Join chef Claudette Zepeda and Chef Tiffany Pineda-Scarlett at Explore Books for a discussion of Claudette's new cookbook, Cooking the Borderlands.

Claudette Zepeda is an award-winning, San Diego-based celebrity chef and culinary entrepreneur known for her fearless style and bold approach to regional Mexican cuisine. Zepeda's multi-faceted expertise is showcased in her role overseeing the creative vision as Founder of Chispa Hospitality with projects in San Diego, Nashville, Australia and México. Her latest project, Novecientos Grados, a Mexican food restaurant in partnership with Tony Hawk located in the San Diego airport, celebrates both the border and skater culture through delicious food.

Tiffany Pineda-Scarlett is co-founder of The Farmer and Chef, a farm to fork catering and hospitality company based in the Roaring Fork Valley. While studying at Florida State University, Chef Tiffany worked in a wide variety of restaurants from Liam’s Farm to Table restaurant in Thomasville, GA to the Blu Halo, a high end steak house in Tallahassee. After graduating with her business degree in Hospitality Management, Chef Tiffany served as a corporate hotel chef for Hyatt Hotels from 2017 to 2020, taking a break to intern at Chef Rick Bayless’ Michelin starred Topolobampo in Chicago for six months where she learned about regional Mexican cuisine and fine dining techniques. She has completed Stone Barn’s Harvest Corps program at Sustainable Settings Ranch in Carbondale, Colorado. She brings all this and more to her role at At The Farmer and Chef, which celebrates the flavors of the mountains whilst supporting and empowering local sustainable farming practices through excellent hospitality.

Reprinted with permission from Cooking the Borderlands: Spice and Smoke Between Mexico and the States by Claudette Zepeda. Copyright © 2026 by Claudette Zepeda. Photographs copyright © 2026 by David Alvarado. Photos on page 8, 10, and 242 courtesy of the author. Photos on page 14 courtesy of Jason Sutherland Hsu. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.