Spice Kitchen: Quick Bites, Recipes & Giveaway
February 8, 2023 by JennyEnter our worldwide giveaway to win one of two copies of Spice Kitchen: Healthy Latin and Caribbean Cuisine by Ariel Fox.
Spice Kitchen: Healthy Latin and Caribbean Cuisine by Ariel Fox is a compilation of 110 recipes from a Hell’s Kitchen winner and award-winning chef that takes a healthier approach to cuisines that are often underrepresented in cookbooks. Fox introduces you to both classic recipes as well as innovative new dishes in Spice Kitchen in a way that works for all lifestyles. This book has something for everyone, including information on how to maximize your pantry, simple recipes, and useful suggestions for adapting the dishes to any diet.
Our 
takes you inside this beautiful book and features the following 
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Ariel took some time to answer a few questions for our Members.
Ariel Fox is an award-winning chef celebrated for her healthy culinary philosophy and passion for fresh, seasonal ingredients with a focus on heritage cooking. Having been selected to compete on chef Gordon Ramsay’s “Hell’s Kitchen” and walking away the winner of the 2nd “Hell’s Kitchen All Stars”, Chef Ariel has an enviable career that has brought her coast to coast. Today, Chef Ariel is Vice President of Culinary for Landry’s and appears as a guest chef on Food Network’s, Beat Bobby Flay. Ariel’s first book, The Freckle-Faced Foodie (Mascot Books, 2020), taught kids to explore their passions, learning about their roots, culture and, of course, food! Spice Kitchen: Healthy Latin and Caribbean Cuisine (Kingston Imperial, August 2022) is her first cookbook. Find more at IG @ChefArielFox.
Q: What first triggered your interest in cooking?
I feel like I have been cooking for as long as I can remember! My mom and grandmothers allowed me to help in the kitchen from a very early age. We traveled so much, I was exposed to so many global cuisines, so my flavor palate was distinguished early on. I often cooked my own snacks after school or prepared my own lunches the night before school too. I would have to say some of my first memories of food are in Colombia, of the fresh street fruits and stews, as well as the fresh seafood cooked on an open flame on the beach.
Q: If you had to describe your cooking style, what would it be?
My cooking style is clean, simple, but flavorful. I love sauces, dips, and dressings. They are so versatile! Once you have a solid clean and healthy arsenal of sauces, you can pretty much just pair them with a nice fresh protein and veggie and you have a wonderful meal. I don’t cook with much of anything processed. Good clean fats, natural sweeteners, and responsibly sourced as much as possible. I do what I can, when I can.
Q: Do you all have any cookbooks in your collection that you turn to for inspiration? Do you collect cookbooks?
I love collecting cookbooks! I have so many that I use for inspiration all the time. My favorites are oldies but goodies; the Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Vegetables and Chez Panisse Fruit for seasonality. There are too many to list!
Q: Tell us a bit about the Hell’s Kitchen experience.
My experience on Hell’s Kitchen was unique each time. The first time very different from the last time. Both were filmed 10 years apart, once when I was 26, then the other when I was 36. I was young in my career and less confident the first time and only came in 3rd. It really lit a fire for me though, I stepped up and leaned in for the next ten years after that, moved to NYC and really embraced my chef roll in the scene. When I competed the second time, I was focused, organized, and determined to win, and I did!
Q: What is the best part of your job? Do you sometimes feel like working with food all day keeps you from wanting to get creative in the kitchen?
Menu development and engineering is the best part of my job. It is tough sometimes to want to come home and cook for your family, I’m not gonna lie. I love doing R+D at home sometimes though too, I love sharing new dishes with my husband. He is a tough critic! I split my menu development time between a test kitchen and my home because I feel like I draw different inspiration depending on where I am or what I’m reading, or where we went to dinner the week before…
Q: What is your go to for a quick dinner – quick dessert?
My go to for a quick dinner is a spicy “spaghetti” Bolognese, with spaghetti squash! Or Chicken Tinga tacos with cashew crema, Pico, cilantro, and jicama shells. We don’t eat much sugar in our house so dessert for me is usually some dark chocolate with a little nip of whiskey!
Q: Tell us about any future projects you are working on?
About five years ago, I made the decision to begin embracing a healthier lifestyle. This inspired me to combine my passion for fresh, seasonal ingredients with the nostalgic recipes of my childhood that I grew up with. Spice Kitchen gives a healthy twist on some of classic Latin and Caribbean recipes as well as some fresh new recipes that are easy to follow.
Special thanks to the publisher for providing two copies of this title in our promotion. Entry options include answering the following question in the comments section of this blog post.
Which recipe in the preview would you like to try first?
Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won’t be counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post. Once you log in and enter your member name you will be directed to the next entry option – the blog comment. After that, there are additional options that you can complete for more entries. Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on April 23rd, 2023.
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