Tiara Darnell
Private Chef • Writer • Culinary Consultant
Based in Cali, Colombia and Mexico City, Mexico. Inspired by the African diaspora across the Americas.
Tiara offers private, curated culinary experiences and collaborations.
PRIVATE CHEF
Book your private chef experience today!
Book an experience in Cali, Colombia!
Book an experience in Mexico City, Mexico!
Tiara brings unique Mexican, Caribbean and Afro Latino soul food flavors to intimate dining experiences for travelers and locals alike in Cali, Colombia and Mexico City, Mexico. From private dinners to curated pop-ups, she creates menus and flavorful culinary experiences that honor the roots and rhythms of the African diaspora across the Americas.
Book her for your next private chef experience or reserve your seat at one of her upcoming pop-ups.
WRITER
Tiara Darnell is an independent writer, recipe developer, and soon-to-be author whose work has appeared in Vogue, Eater, Imbibe, Willamette Week, Portland Monthly, and more including destination travel platforms like Travel Portland and Travel Oregon. A former restaurateur with a love for talking about what’s happening at the intersection of food, culture, and place, Tiara is also a blogger, reluctant influencer, and is currently working on her debut cookbook-memoir, which blends personal narrative with recipes inspired by her time running Blaxicocina, Mexico City, Mexico’s very first Black American Soul Food restaurant (2023-2025). Whether she’s writing about a samba and moqueca in Brazil, or a bowl of creole collard greens cooked up in her tiny CDMX kitchen, Tiara’s work serves up stories meant to be savored.
CONSULTANT
Thinking of starting a food business in Mexico or really anywhere abroad? Hosting your first pop-up or culinary residency? Let Tiara walk you through all of her mistakes so you don’t repeat them!
Tiara offers 1:1 consulting for chefs, creatives, and entrepreneurs navigating the unique challenges of launching abroad. She brings lived experience building a food brand from scratch as a foreigner navigating a second (and third!) language and culture. From developing culturally-inclusive menus to crowdfunding and raising social brand awareness, Tiara is here to help you bring your vision to life as creatively and seamlessly as possible.
