The Dominican Kitchen

Vanessa Mota is an award-winning food photographer and content creator. Her love for food led her to create My Dominican Kitchen, a bilingual blog sharing traditional Dominican recipes and Latin-inspired meals for home cooks.

She was born in Santo Domingo, the capital city of the Dominican Republic, and grew up in a matriarchal household surrounded by amazing cooks. Her interest in food began as a child visiting the farmers market with her mom and watching her grandmother and aunts cook delicious traditional Dominican meals. But it wasn't until adulthood that Vanessa learned how to cook, while pregnant with her first child living in New York City and missing her family's home cooking. She started her blog as a way to preserve her family's recipes and share with the world the flavors of la comida criolla. She has been recognized as a top Food Photographer and Creator by Hispanicize, BlogHer, and Mom 2.0, and is a member of the 2021 fall class of Cafe Media's Remarkable Voices.

Vanessa lives in Northern New Jersey with her two children and their dog, Luna.