Denver author helping immigrant chefs make a home in Colorado

Food is often described as a universal language. For many immigrant chefs in Denver, that language is helping them rebuild their lives and reclaim their stories.

One of them is Senaida Sifuentes, a chef from Colombia who says every empanada she folds carries a piece of home. The recipe comes from her mother, a tradition passed down through generations. She says it became her "saving grace" after arriving in the United States.

Sifuentes came to the U.S. in 2019 after her small business in Colombia collapsed. Starting over wasn't easy. She worked multiple jobs, faced health issues, and struggled to find stability.

"Ever since I arrived from Colombia, I kept saying, 'If God opened this door for me in the United States, it was for something more,'" she said in Spanish. 

That "something more" came when she met Julia Roncoroni, a psychologist and author whose new book, "Sazón and Liberation," highlights the stories and recipes of 17 immigrant chefs from 10 countries. The book is Roncoroni's second, and it features Sifuentes and her empanada recipe.

"As an immigrant, I often hear people say we're not just poorly represented, but poorly understood," Roncoroni said. "Food allows us to tell these stories in a way that's digestible."

But the project goes beyond storytelling. Roncoroni and her team have formed a partnership with Mi Casa Resource Center to train and license immigrant chefs, helping them gain the credentials needed to work in restaurants or launch their own food businesses. Profits from the book go directly back to the chefs involved.

"We just graduated our first cohort of eight chefs," Roncoroni said. "The goal is to support them through the licensing process so they can move forward as entrepreneurs."

Sifuentes was part of that first cohort. She calls the experience transformative.

"It's something beautiful, something you never think could happen to you here," she said in Spanish.

Today, she owns Zeny's Colombian Street Food, turning her mother's recipe into a business and into her new beginning.