VIVA NOLA JUNE-JULY 2021

Cover Story
^^ Chef Melissa Araujo presents a few of her famous breakfast dishes. Left to Right: Huevos Rancheros, Alma Breakfast, Arroz con Pollo, and Baleadas Sencilla.
Chef Melissa Araujo’s Alma
Story by Ana García
Photography by
AnaMaría Bech
@anamabech
12 ~ VIVA NOLA APRIL / MAY 2021
The city of New Orleans is
world-renowned for its delicious
cuisine. Thanks to the fact that
this city enjoys a very diverse
cultural influence, a modern
Honduran restaurant like Alma
Cafe can exist.”
Melissa Araujo, chef and founder
of Alma Café, was born in La
Ceiba, on the Atlantic coast of
Honduras. She grew up primarily
in Providence, Rhode Island, and
New Orleans. She never stopped
visiting her beloved country every
summer. Melissa is the ninth
daughter of an Italian/Honduran
couple. At 16, she began working
in the kitchen, washing dishes.
It was always essential for her
father that their children received
a college education, so Melissa
entered college to study law.
After a while, she suspended her
studies and began working in
different restaurants in the city.
“I did not choose this profession;
the profession picked me,” said
Chef Araujo about finding her
passion for cooking.
Upon entering her restaurant
Alma Cafe, a portrait of her
parents and a striking mural
of the Mayan goddess Ixchel,
goddess of the moon, love, and
fertility, catches your attention.
The personal touches throughout
the restaurant give it a cozy feel.
Alma, the word for soul in
Spanish, was the name Araujo
gave the restaurant because it
represents her essence. “Alma
is not a name; it is not a person,
it is my spirit, it is my soul, it is
who forms Melissa,” says the
chef, adding that “the photos of
this restaurant are my family, the
recipes are my family.”
The successful chef highlights
that the goal of Alma Café is to
show that Honduran culture has
much to offer, and that is why
she tells the story of her country
through her family’s recipes.