Rooted in tradition. Crafted with Intention.
Chef-founded regional Mexican simmer sauces made with clean ingredients and ancestral inspiration.
Why SALSAOLOGY Exists
Salsaology was born from a question that would not leave me alone:
Why wasn’t there a clean, authentic Mexican cooking sauce that honored regional tradition and fit modern life?
As a fine dining chef working long hours in Los Angeles’ most celebrated kitchens, I found myself missing the food I grew up with in Mexico — the slow-simmered sauces, the roasted chiles, the aromas that filled the house long before dinner was served.
But recreating those dishes required time — time to source ingredients, roast, grind, and simmer.
Then I became a mother. And time became precious.
On grocery shelves, Mexican sauces were reduced to “red” or “green.”
They didn’t represent the kaleidoscope of regional cuisines that define Mexico.
And most were filled with preservatives, fillers, and diluted formulas I would never serve my own family.
So I created what I couldn’t find.
Salsaology is built on three non-negotiables:
- Clean ingredients
- Culinary integrity
- Modern convenience
Because dinner should feel like home — even on a Tuesday night.
Meet Lori
I grew up in Mexico and Southern California.
Food was never a trend in our home. It was a daily ritual.
From my father in rural Zacatecas, I learned harvesting, ranching livestock, and traditional cooking techniques — grinding moles on a metate, preparing salsas in a molcajete, cooking in underground pits, tending live fire.
From my mother in Guadalajara, Jalisco, I learned refinement — how to hand-press tortillas, how to perfect birria and pozole, how rice should taste when properly toasted before simmering.
Cooking was expected. Celebration was sacred. Tamales for holidays.
Barbacoa for weddings and quinceañeras.
Carnitas for baptisms.
Food marked life’s most important moments.
Culinary Training & Fine Dining
After completing college at University of California Los Angeles, I enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu to formally train in classical French cuisine.
I went on to work in fine dining kitchens for; Wolfgang Puck, John Sedlar, Suzanne Goin and Mexico’s legendary Patricia Quintana. These kitchens sharpened my discipline and technique.
But it was my upbringing — and my heritage — that shaped my voice.
The Moment That Changed Everything
In 2013, I began hosting regional Mexican pop-ups in Los Angeles to raise capital to open my own restaurant.
Guests kept asking the same question: “Can we buy the sauces?”
Then came the moment that changed everything.
A forager from Whole Foods Market tasted my Ancho Chile & Tamarind sauce. A drop spilled onto his shirt. He licked it off and said, “Not a drop should go to waste.”
He encouraged me to pursue commercial production.
Eighteen months later, after overcoming manufacturing hurdles and refusing to compromise on ingredient quality, SALSAOLOGY launched across the entire Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada region of Whole Foods.
It became clear. The restaurant wasn’t the path. This was.
I invested everything — my savings, my time, my heart and soul — into SALSAOLOGY.
Bring Regional Mexico To Your Table
