A Look Back: No English, No Plan, No Problem: Jaine Mackievicz’s Wild Journey from the Amazon to Food Network

In honor of Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month, we look back at this fun episode with Brazilian food writer and chef  Jaine Mackievicz. 

We explore what it mean to manifest the life you want. For Chef Jaine Mackievicz, it meant dreaming beyond the Amazon rainforest, falling in love with French cuisine fro n honor of Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month m afar, and teaching herself English by reading cookbooks. Today, she’s a rising star in the culinary world, known for her infectious joy, fearless ambition, and deep passion for storytelling through food.

In this episode of Dishin’ Up Diaspora, Jaine shares her extraordinary journey—how her family ended up deep in the heart of the Amazon, how she discovered her love for French cuisine (thanks to none other than Julia Child), and how she went from moving to the U.S. with no plan and no English to competing on The Julia Child Challenge on Food Network.

We also dive into a thought-provoking conversation about authenticity in food—what it really means, why Jaine rejects the term, and how food is a constantly evolving expression of culture, migration, and identity.

This is a dynamic, heartfelt, and joyful conversation about resilience, passion, and the power of food to transform lives. Jaine’s energy is truly infectious, and her story is a testament to what’s possible when you dream big and go all in.

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