Hola my chimichangas!

My name is Maria Luisa Verduzco (call me Mari), and I love cooking delicious, homemade Baja-style Mexican food inspired by my childhood in Ciudad Constitucion, Baja Sur, Mexico.

To everyone near & far who loves a scratch-made meal packed with vibrant, nourishing, authentic Mexican flavors -- welcome to the La Catrina table! 

I grew up beside the bubbling pots and fragrant moles at my mother’s restaurant in Mexico, where my grandparents milled corn for fresh tortillas and sizzling garlic was always a marker of home. My wife, Caitlin, and I lived in Mexico for 10 years before moving to her hometown, Brandon, Vermont, in 2016. I was so inspired by Vermont's abundant produce and passion for farming that I turned my lifelong love for cooking into a career, and La Catrina was born. “Las Catrinas,” or skeleton sculptures, are an iconic symbol of Mexico and represent the joy felt and celebrated even after the loss of loved ones. They are bright and colorful–just like my personality ;)–and differ in material, style, and color from state to state, just like our food. The logo for La Catrina was designed by my niece Jessica Ortiz Verdugo, keeping it all in the family.

You can find La Catrina’s authentic Baja-style food at the Middlebury Natural Foods Co-Op; more spots are coming soon, so stay tuned! I also love to cook for private parties, whether they are weddings, work events, family birthdays or special private dinners for 10. Often, you can find me at local pop-ups in my community; check my Instagram & Facebook for updates and details, and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter so I can share the love with you as much as possible! 

What is Baja Cooking?

 I cook authentic Baja-style Mexican food packed with Vermont ingredients and a whole lot of amore. To me, “authentic” means hand-made home cooking influenced by my childhood memories, prepared with the freshest ingredients and always rooted in a sense of place. In Baja, we’re a mix of every Mexican state, and we make our own culture. Our food is simple, nourishing and full of flavor; we like live-fire cooking and lots of beans, vegetables, herbs, pickled onions, tangy cheese, smoky chiles and fresh lime. In Vermont, we love our local farmers and use as much of their bounty as possible. (We even use fresh, pressed local goat feta in place of traditional cotija!) For private events, I often make tortillas from scratch, and let me tell you: a warm, homemade tortilla is different from any you have ever purchased at the grocery store.

For me, food is a way to say, “I love you, and I care for you.” This is the message I’m always trying to convey with my cooking at La Catrina and I am so happy to share it with you.