Amalia Moreno-Damgaard, Amalia Latin Gourmet (Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Radio, Episode 8)
Amalia Moreno-Damgaard made a successful and accomplished transition from international banking to her first love, Guatemalan cooking and culture. She joined John Ray to chart the work she’s involved in and her passion for cultural education. Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Radio is produced virtually by the Minneapolis St. Paul studio of Business RadioX®.
Amalia Latin Gourmet (Amalia LLC)
Amalia’s Guatemalan Kitchen
These healthy, quick, and easy gourmet dishes provide the perfect way to explore a fascinating culture that dates back to the ancient Mayan civilization. Amalia’s delicious, zesty recipes come alive with step-by-step instructions, helpful techniques and hints, personal stories, exciting suggestions for recipe variations, vegetarian and gluten-free options, and cultural insights behind the cuisine.Amalia Moreno-Damgaard, Founder and CEO, Amalia LLC
Amalia Moreno-Damgaard is a nine-time award-winning author and chef entrepreneur with a prior executive career in corporate America. Born and raised in Guatemala City, her best-selling book, Amalia’s Guatemalan Kitchen -Gourmet Cuisine with a Cultural Flair, is a personal memoir and recipe collection designed to encourage and empower people to explore new foods and cook more fresh meals at home for health and wellness.
Her passion for Latin culture and cuisine rose from her childhood in Guatemala, where her close-knit relationship with her maternal grandmother taught her simple and healthy artisan cooking using local organic ingredients. She was also determined to bridge the knowledge gap of Latin American culture in the United States. At the core, Amalia’s style is fresh, practical, healthy, and proudly Latin American, blending pre-Columbian and classic French techniques with her Guatemalan-Spanish roots.
Amalia provides a distinctive approach to Latin culture and cuisine. She adopted her own unique style, fusing Latin flavors with a variety of the influences she received throughout her life, from the most rustic to the refined, and continues to create and develop new fresh and modern concepts. Global travel to over 80 countries on all 7 continents has also enhanced her cooking presentations. She is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu and a member of the National Speakers Association with a Masters of International Business from St. Louis University.
In addition to running Amalia LLC, Amalia is co-founder-first president emeritus and chief advisor of Women Entrepreneurs of Minnesota (WeMN.org), a 501(c) 6 nonprofit (established in 2007) that fosters women entrepreneurship through mentoring and leadership education.
Amalia is the spokesperson of Crystal Farm’s (Michael Foods) first line of Hispanic cheeses. In addition, she has worked with Kroger, Del Monte, General Mills, Supervalu, Land O’Lakes, Target, Best Buy, Ecolab, Prudential Financial, Cargill, Medtronic, Boston Scientific, 3M, U.S. Bank, Macy’s Culinary Council, and Wells Fargo plus many more companies, nonprofits, universities, and professional organizations in the Twin Cities and beyond since her company’s inception.
Amalia’s work and talent have been recognized locally and internationally. Her accolades include:
- The 2020 Woman in Business Champion of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration Minnesota District Office
- 2020 Catalyst award by Women Venture
- A 2020 Woman in Business Honoree by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (MSPBJ)
- 9-first prize literary awards for her book Amalia’s Guatemalan Kitchen, including the prestigious Gourmand World Cookbooks Award for Best Foreign Cuisine book USA
- Advocate Award (a first of its kind) by NAWBO-National Association of Women Business Owners-Minnesota
- Heritage Award for community leadership by Latino American Today
- Champion Award for board service excellence by Depart Smart
- Women Who Lead Honoree by Minnesota Business Magazine
- Two-time Bold Award nominee by ACG-American Corporate Growth-MN
- Speaker’s Academy Strides finalist by the National Speakers Association-MN
- Outstanding Mentor Nominee by Team Women-MN
Questions and Topics in this Interview
- Who is Amalia?
- What is Amalia Latin Gourmet’s work?
- Tell us about your books.
- What other work does Amalia do in the nonprofit space?
- Tell us about your philanthropy and community work.
- How have your businesses been impacted by the pandemic and how have you managed the challenges?
- How can people reach you?
Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Radio is hosted by John Ray and produced virtually from the Minneapolis St. Paul studio of Business RadioX® . You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.
