Beatriz Martines is a Mexican Chef, born and raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. 

Her dedication and passion for food took her from being a cafeteria lunch lady to stage at one of the best restaurants in the world: the renowned three-star Michelin El Celler de Can Roca located in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Recently, she has been working on the opening of her first family-owned restaurant named XALISKO.

Beatriz was born in 1982 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, the second child of a family of 5 children. 

Chef Beatriz said, “The love I feel for cooking comes from my mom and grandma. All my best memories are surrounded by food and family. For us, cooking is a way to show our love”.  She found her love for cooking at an early age, “I was 7 when I started flipping tortillas standing on top of a chair while my mom made them. To me, that was so fun” Beatriz said. When she was 10, she started helping at her grandmother’s “Fonda”. This is where she learned how to prepare traditional Mexican foods with her mom and six aunts. 

In 2000, Beatriz married and moved to the United States at the age of 18. Her first job was at Cy-Fair ISD, working as a cafeteria lunch lady at Willbern Elementary and Moore Elementary from 2005-2013. While working at the cafeteria, she started her catering business on the weekends making “TAQUIZAS”, the star of the show being the trompo al pastor and carne asada.  

In 2011, she enrolled in Culinary School at the Art Institute of Houston and graduated with Honors from the culinary arts associate degree program in 2013, followed by a baking and pastry degree in 2014. 

In 2013, she worked for Mexican celebrity chef Aquiles Chavez who was promoted to sous chef while she was still in school. 

In 2014, while working towards a baking and pastry degree, Beatriz earned a scholarship for an apprenticeship at the renowned three-star Michelin El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain, an experience that would change her life. 

Once back from Spain, she started working for H Town Restaurant Group (restaurants under the H Town Restaurant Group include Caracol, Hugo’s, Xochi, Urbe, and Backstreet Café) as Culinary Director from 2015 to 2017. She assisted the Chef-owner with recipe development, staff training, outside events planning, food cost control, and labor cost control. She was eventually promoted to Corporate Chef, a position she held up until 2022.

Since then, Chef Beatriz has been working on a very exciting project. Supported by her family, she is working on the opening of her first family-owned restaurant named XALISKO, a name that honors her homeland of Jalisco, Mexico.