Food Beginning with Passion, Gratitude & Love—Hecho Con Amor

Delani Gianna

Delani Gianna is a young entrepreneur residing in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. She comes from a long history of chefs, cooks, and restaurateurs. For the last four years, she has dedicated her energy to creating Hecho Con Amor, a catering and private chef service that provides beautiful food and quality personalized service. She offers services in San Miguel de Allende and Sayulita, Mexico. Hecho Con Amor translates to “Made With Love”. She takes tremendous pride in her work. Every dish begins with passion, gratitude, and love.

How Did You Start Using Your Talents?

“I come from a restaurant family. Earliest memories were in the kitchen. My grandmother worked in restaurants, catering and as a personal chef since before I was born. My father was a chef and mother was a server. I grew up between the U.S. and Mexico. We moved to Mexico the first time when I was 14 and went to a public school outside Tijuana in Baja California. At that point, I had a job during the day working at a health clinic. That’s when I really began cooking. In my teenage years, I dedicated myself to learning how to cook well because I felt like it would be a positive asset in my life. That has certainly turned out to be true.”

The Most Impactful Turning Point?

“If I’d had any idea what I was getting myself into I probably would have been much more hesitant about starting my business. But I didn’t have any idea. In fact, I really didn’t know that ‘personal chef’ was a job until I did my first job as a personal chef. These things started coming into my awareness and I saw this was a real thing, something I could be really good at.”

The Most Powerful Lessons Learned?

“You have to be OK with people thinking you’re a little nuts. When I did tell people I was moving to Mexico to do this, their responses were like, ‘OK, crazy person, go ahead!’ You have to be outlandish enough to believe that another world is possible. I think you also have to get out of your cycle of accepting when people disrespect you, as if it’s a necessary part of your life. You have to be a dreamer and use your imagination, and take a path that’s probably not paved, and find your own way. It takes a tremendous amount of courage and conviction to really know and trust yourself to make your dream happen.”