Silvestru Martinez Elena

About

Elena Silvestru Martinez, originally from the village of Lăpușna in the Republic of Moldova, has distinguished herself through her passion for cooking and promoting Moldovan culinary culture in the United States. After studying psychology at the University of Utah, where she initially came as an exchange student, she decided to stay in America, where she began sharing traditional recipes such as plăcinte, sarmale, zeamă, and colaci at local festivals, like the Ukrainian Festival in Dickinson, North Dakota. She has published cookbooks such as "Moldova Cuisine: Authentic Eastern European Dishes" and "Sweet Escape: International Desserts," and is currently working on a third volume dedicated to world breads, contributing to the preservation of Moldovan gastronomic heritage in an international context. As the founder of Little Chef Academy in Bismarck, North Dakota, Elena teaches cooking classes to children aged 6 to 15, promoting hands-on culinary education, kitchen safety, and values such as creativity and teamwork. She collaborates with institutions like Bismarck State College, where she offers classes for adults featuring global cuisines, including Indian and Argentinian, and regularly appears on TV shows such as North Dakota Today and PBS's America the Bountiful, where she filmed episodes about the state's honey production. She also participates in local Pride of Dakota festivals and maintains a culinary blog on The Crispy Chef, where she publishes accessible recipes like cheddar broccoli soup or pecan pie lasagna. Elena is married to Alvin Martinez, a transportation entrepreneur, with whom she speaks fluent Spanish, alongside Romanian, Russian, and English, and she has four children, whom she was the first to involve in culinary activities to get them away from screens. Raised in Moldovan rural traditions, with childhood memories of animal care and gardening, she aspires to open a restaurant that celebrates Moldovan cuisine and inspires female entrepreneurship. The support of her husband and her mother, Nina, one of the best cooks she knows, motivates her to dream big, transforming the challenges of emigration into cultural bridges through food.