#ChooseToChallenge: March 8th, is International Women’s Day, and MIAbites has chosen Chef Dayanny De La Cruz as our special featured profile today.

Last year, Chef Dayanny Delacruz was hard to miss. You may have seen her smiling on National TV or cooking a special porchetta dish for the Today Show, but Chef Dayanny, as the first woman and first Latino to host the Super Bowl, was all over the media.

For this year’s International Women’s Day, the theme #ChooseToChallenge gender bias and inequality embodies Chef Dayanny.

Being the Executive Chef of Centerplate at Hard Rock Stadium for Super Bowl LIV meant planning, preparing and hosting over 65,000 attendees who bought tickets with prices ranging from $3000 to $500,000. Known for her engaging smile, infectious laugh and passion for food, she was as much a star at the game as the halftime performers, JLo and Shakira.

Within weeks, the pandemic hit the country and the world closing restaurants, hotels and cancelling all sporting events and concerts including the Miami Open scheduled at Hard Rock. But through COVID, Chef Dayanny has continued to be a force in the South Florida food scene, keeping her team intact and working day in and day out to cook and prepare over 1500 meals a day for the community of Miami Gardens and beyond. Over 1.8 million meals have been prepared to date. When the stadium was converted to a massive Covid testing site, she and her team provided meals for the frontline workers.

Chef Dayanny was born in the small village of Nagua in the Dominican Republic, where cooking with her grandmother was where she learned about cooking with love and with respect. After getting her BA in Hospitality Management from Universidad Central del Este in the DR, she left the island to pursue a career in hotel management working for Iberostar in Spain, Milan, and throughout Europe.

But she admits to always ending up in the kitchens, tasting food and many times thinking, “I can do that better”. That passion for making it better ultimately led her back to the kitchen, this time in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she pursued her Master’s degree in Culinary Arts at the Grand Rapids Community College. She reflects fondly on her time there, praising her professors and mentors, always “feeling love” and graduated with Honors, as the first Latino to receive the prestigious Director’s Award as well as one of only a handful of women.

She was recruited by Doubletree to be executive chef in Chicago where she learned the strict dietary restrictions in her first Kosher kitchen and did chef rotations with number of Chicago’s top culinary stars including Charlie Trotter.

While working for another restaurant group, she led the culinary operation for the Harley-Davidson Museum, and then the Hockey Arena in Minnesota. Eventually getting married and having three children, her career continued to grow, working at the US Open tennis tournament and famed Kentucky Derby, ultimately landing here in Miami, where she was tapped in 2012 to head up and curate the “What’s Cooking Miami”, ” elevated dining concepts at the American Airlines Arena for the Miami Heat.

It was an exciting time in Miami and a first for an arena or stadium to recognize that fans were looking to celebrate their team with more than just concession stand fare and she is proud to note the addition of MC Kitchen, Zuma, Juvia, China Grill and concepts by Chefs Dena Marino, Jamie DeRosa and Michael Pirolo. She proudly states that those few years that they were not only about Miami’s “Best on The Court”, but also the “Best OFF The Court”.

Centerplate enticed her in November of 2017 to move to Hard Rock Stadium where throughout the year, she manages and oversees 157 suites, 4 VIP clubs, 7 kitchens and over 150 employees on gameday for the Dolphins, University of Miami football and international soccer games, along with top-tier concerts and other shows. During football season, back-to-back Hurricanes and Dolphins games can result in serving over 8,000 meals. But, as the first Latina woman to helm the food operation at Hard Rock Stadium, who also speaks 4 languages, she is energized by the possibilities and thrives on the adrenaline rush that comes with every event and gameday.

On my visit with her, and tour of the various clubs, suites and luxury outlets, we talked about being a woman chef and especially one in the predominantly male world of sports, stadiums and arenas, and she credited her success to being a strong but still feminine woman. She offered advice to women pursuing a career in culinary to not try to be one of the boys, and don’t ever stop being a woman. She says her strength comes from being a mom and being proud of who she is.

And in one of the more profound moments, she smiled and said, ”One day sitting in my car, I realized that it is not about me, but about being a role model, about mentoring my team, letting the women know that there is no glass ceiling if you stay true to yourself”. “That is my proudest accomplishment’.

We also talked about my first meeting with her, which actually was somewhat unrelated to MIAbites, and was when I met with her and her team about participating after game days in Food Rescue US- Miami. The National nonprofit program MIAbites partnered with starting in 2019 rescues unsold/unused food from local restaurants, hotels and markets and direct transfers to the homeless shelters.

During the 2020 Super Bowl, in partnership with Centerplate and NFL Green, Food Rescue US-Miami rescued over 40,000 lbs of food and delivered to the residents and guests of Miami Rescue Mission, Lotus House, Camillus House, Chapman Partnership, Broward Outreach Center, Broward Partnership for the Homeless and Joshua’s Heart. When the stadium shut down during COVID, Chef Dayanny donated all the food, paper goods, and other items already in stock for the then canceled Miami Open.

Chef Dayanny continues her support for the Food Rescue US program and said it gives her team a real sense of community and giving back each week when they can pack up and save the food to be donated. She especially is excited when the baked goods and treats are earmarked to go to the children at Lotus House, who rarely get sweets or desserts.

But, always challenging herself to try new flavors and ingredients, even at home, Chef Dayanny recently launched her own line of vegan small batch salsas called Vira’s Flavors. Currently available only by special order, the handcrafted sauces include Roasted Tomato & All Spice, Tamarind BBQ, and Kalamata & Aji Panca and NEWly added Serrano & All Spice are a flavorful addition to chicken and beef dishes, grilled fish, roasted vegetables or just alone as a dip with chips or tostones.

So, on this 2021 International Women’s Day, MIAbites is proud to feature Chef Dayanny De La Cruz, for her passion, her compassion, and for being a role model for women anywhere. Chef Dayanny is a leader in the #ChooseToChallenge movement to challenge gender bias and inequality.