I was born and raised in Puerto Rico and moved to Miami in 2018 to continue building my career in the advertising industry. For more than a decade, I built brands, led campaigns, and lived inside strategy decks and deadlines.

I’ve always loved cooking. The kitchen was never a chore for me. But in 2021, when I became a mom, something shifted. I started cooking even more for my family. I became more intentional. More present. I got better at it and began enjoying it in a deeper way. At the same time, the corporate world started resonating with me a little less.

Then I was laid off.

What followed was over a year of searching for the next “right” role. In the middle of that uncertainty, I found myself back in the kitchen even more. I never considered myself a baker, though. But one night, after binge-watching The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and having friends over, I said, “You know what? I should try to make my own starter and see what happens.”

I made a sourdough starter as a joke. I didn’t expect it to rise. I didn’t expect to keep feeding it. But the ritual grounded me in a way nothing else had in a long time. What began as flour and water became bread for friends, then family, then community. Somewhere along the way, I stopped refreshing LinkedIn and started stretch and folding dough.

Sefin & Estrellita is named after my late abuelitas— Sefin, Puerto Rican, and Estrellita, Cuban. Two women who fed people with instinct and generosity. Through every loaf and every creation, I hope to bring a little bit of them to the table, cooking con amor the way they always did.

This is my return to something slower. To myself, and to love.

Con amor,

María Elena Rodríguez