Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Leslie Hernandez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Leslie, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

Leslie Hernandez is an entrepreneur of a True Latin Flavor Seasonings line product. She is the owner of De Mi Madre Aprendi, LLC. Her specialty is authentic Puerto Rican foods that she learned how to cook from her mother in Puerto Rico. Her mother was passionate about pleasing those close to her with her famous Puerto Rican “Pasteles” and other simple foods made with simple natural ingredients. Her mother also had the ability to multiply the little she got and share it with others. .
Her mother’s experience in the kitchen was outstanding as she fed all of her 16 children, her close friend and other family members. Today with pride and joy, Leslie wants to convey to her customers that warm and familiar atmosphere that comes from food made with love and humility.
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“De Mi Madre Aprendí” is a brand that represents what Leslie was taught from her mother. The high-quality marinade and seasonings derived from natural ingredients. Which in result obtains an exciting and rich flavor salt-free or artificial ingredients.

Leslie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Leslie Hernandez, owner of a small business named De Mi Madre Aprendi. “I Learned from my mother”

During the COVID Pandemic I saw the need to support families that needed computer tablets for their children’s distance learning. Those families were using their smartphones for their children to do homework. It was even more difficult for those families having two or more children in their household.

At that time I did not have a fulltime job due to the regulations and restrictions that contain the pandemic, the stay at home order. Therefore, my income was not enough to help these families with what they needed.

One day I began thinking about how I could help the community without compromising my limited finances.

So, I started calling friends and asking them if they wanted to buy traditional Puerto Rican food as a fundraiser to buy computer tablets and donate them to families with school age children for their distance learning.

It was such a great turn out that I was able to buy 15 computer tablets in two months. After that the word spreaded and I got a group of people buying the food on a regular basis. For this group of people or customers it was a way to get out of their houses to enjoying different style of food, be part of a mission. The delivery of the food to the customers were conducted in curbside delivery taking all the precautions by the CDC.

I received so many compliments about how fresh and delicious the food tasted. Customers asked me what seasonings I used for the food, and my response was “I mixed my own spices” because I don’t like the taste of the commercialized mixed seasonings. Few customers asked me then to sell them the blending latin flavor seasonings.

On October 1st, 2020, De Mi Madre Aprendí, LLC was registered as a small business in the state of Missouri. De Mi Madre Aprendí, LLC sells 100% Natural, Free of Salt and Artificial Additive -True Latin Flavor Seasonings products.

These products are produced with environmental sustainability in mind. It is sold in a glass jar and pouch bag as a refill so people don’t have to buy glass containers every time .

When a friend of mine found out and tasted the products he said, “No, no… these products are fantastic and you have to sell them., you will make a lot of money with it.” My response was,- This project came out from a mission, HELP WITH PURPOSE and SERVE WITH A PASSION not to make a lot of money. I want to make a difference in our communities and people’s lives.

Without having any business knowledge, just a passion for helping others and cooking from my heart like I learned from my mother, I was introduced by a good friend Gilberto Pineda to the Center for Emerging Technologies (CET) SquareOne/Ignite Program. This is a program for entrepreneurs, Square One (SQ1), is a hands-on training program designed to provide support to first-time entrepreneurs in the St. Louis.
Then, I reached out to other organization such as Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis, The Kitchen Hub, SCORE, WE-POWER and Urban Eats.

These organizations continuously provide me support, education and mentoring I need to expand my dream of providing a high quality product to our communities.

My enthusiasm, dedication and passion to this project increases everyday .

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My long life journey of learning is my resilience. Without having any business knowledge, just a passion for helping others and cooking from my heart like I learned from my mother.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of creating my product is that is free of salt and artificial additive. By using my product the person is in charged of controlling the amount of salt, they will get true flavor of spices.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://demimadreaprendi.square.site
• Instagram: De Mi Madre Aprendi
• Facebook: De Mi Madre Aprendi
• Linkedin: De Mi Madre Aprendi

Image Credits
Alexa Seda