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Amalia Moreno-Damgaard, Amalia Latin Gourmet

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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 LLC is a WBENC nationally-certified woman-owned business enterprise specializing in consulting, representing brands, keynote speaking, and providing gourmet experiences based on the traditional cuisines and cultures of Central and South America, the Latin Caribbean, Mexico, and Spain.

Amalia helps organizations of all sizes develop a broader understanding and appreciation of Latin cultural nuances using traditional, healthy gourmet cuisine for keynote speaking, representing brands, consulting, and teaching.

Company website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

Amalia’s Guatemalan Kitchen

Amalia Moreno-Damgaard, a Guatemalan-American chef classically educated in the French culinary tradition, shares 170 of her favorite Guatemalan recipes for every occasion in her first cookbook aimed at home cooks.

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, Founder & 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.

Eugeria

Eugeria! Radio Chats with Rachelle Caruthers, Marianna Clement, Bob Brinson and Raquel Bustos

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Originally from Montana, Rachelle DuBose Caruthers initially received a degree in Marketing from University of Utah in Salt Lake City. She moved to Texas in 2006 to be close to family, and to pursue a career in Social Services. She is currently working on her Masters in Social Work at UT Arlington. Rachelle is the Program Coordinator for Texas Health Dallas’ Movement Disorders Education and Resource Center. One of her current priorities is a Parkinsons Support Group that will be launched on August 19, at 7PM. The meeting will be held in the Patio Café of the hospital’s Jackson Building. Register for this event at dallasmovementdisorders@texashealth.org. In her spare time, Rachelle is learning to speak Danish! Rachelle can be contacted at the Resource Center at 214-345-4224.

Marianna Clement is originally from Shreveport, Louisiana. She came to Texas in 1998 to attend Baylor University, from which she has been awarded both a Bachelors Degree in Exercise Science, and a Masters in Community Health Education. Marianna was introduced to Texas Health System during a 2001 internship while she was still attending the Baylor undergraduate program. She loved her work there, and two years ago she accepted a position as a Fitness Specialist and Aerobics Program Manager. As part of this role, Marianna oversees the MS and Parkinsons Aquatics and Tai Chi programs. She loves the direct interaction with the people in the program! Marianna can be reached at 214-345-4512, or via email at mariannaClement@texashealth.org. Visit the Texas Health website at www.texashealth.org.

An Atlanta native, Raquel Bustos started her career in administration and corporate meeting planning. Though she was good at it, this was clearly not her life’s work. As she looked to do something that had a more significant impact on people, she landed a job as an Activities Director at a local assisted living. She discovered that she loved to sing, and to engage her residents in singing. This led her to begin doing this as a full time vocation. Today she performs in more than 75 senior centers, assisted and independent living facilities. While she loves to perform, even more, she loves to take her audience on a trip down memory lane, getting the audience to perform with her. Raquel can be reached at (404) 444-6335, or via email at raquelbustos@bellsouth.net.

Bob Brinson did what many young college grads do: He went to college, took a job in Corporate America, went back to school for his MBA in finance and started climbing the corporate ladder. Approaching 10 years with his company, Bob had a decision to make: Commit to a lifetime career with the company, or do something else that he was more passionate about. At his wife’s prompting, Bob left his corporate career to become a personal chef, starting a company called Gourmet Innovations. A little over two years ago, a business acquaintance noted that the elderly were often not eating nutritious foods on a regular basis. As he did his research, Bob discovered that those who were not eligible for Meals on Wheels were often not eating regularly, and there was a real market for a nutritious meal delivery service to the home. His company provides seven unique and healthy meals each week. He loves the personal touch, and enjoys the relationships he has built as he has served his clients. Chef Bob can be reached at (404) 797-7323, or via email at chefbob@gourmetinnovationsinc.com. Visit his website at www.gourmetinnovationsinc.com.