Yes, chef! 👩‍🍳 That’s what Dahianna (she/her), Dominican social media chef, will have you saying after watching her TikToks. “I started creating my content during the start of the pandemic,” she says. “I had just moved back home to NYC, unemployed with nothing to do, so I started cooking almost every day for my family, recording my steps to my Dominican dishes. Never in a million years did I think I’d be at almost 400k supporters across my accounts three years later. The best part of this journey has been being able to spread my culture and love for food, as that is one of love languages!”

And eating her delish dishes is def one of ours. D’s passion (and recipes) are literally on fire, and that’s all thanks to her upbringing: “Growing up in a Dominican house, you naturally grow up with great food, bachata music, and lots of metaphors that I’m pretty convinced were made up on the spot by our parents [laughing]. One of the things that’s huge in our culture is cooking, and when a Dominican cooks, best believe, the whole block is eating! Being Dominican has influenced me in a huge way as it’s not only my culture, but it’s a whole lifestyle. It’s in everything I do.”

Because Dahianna is cooking practically 24/7, we had to ask her what her fave dish to make is for herself. “One of my favorite foods to cook for myself is our Dominican breakfast, Mangú,” she says. “It consists of mashed plantain, with some butter and salted water. Paired with fried cheese, Dominican salami, fried eggs, and pickled red onions. This can also be served for lunch or dinner!” Um, yum! “To host, I love to make Pernil, a roasted pork shoulder. In my family, we usually make it during the holiday season. So, it’s one of those things that brings me back home con la familia.”

While both those meals are making our mouths water, D is sharing one more recipe with us in honor of HHM month: “My recipe of choice is Pollo Guisado, the Dominican way. This is a meal that reminds me of Mami Lila and her husband Dago. We lost him in 2013 to cancer, and this is one of those meals that just brings me back to being a kid with all of us together. Plus, Pollo Guisado is part of our national dish, La Bandera Dominicana. It’s paired with white rice, red beans, and some ensalada de aguacate. Just don’t forget the freshly squeezed orange or lime juice. And if you have chinola juice, even better!”