Julie Doherty Meade was born in San Francisco, California, and spent her childhood hiking, camping, skiing, and traveling throughout the Golden State. After graduating from Stanford University, she took her first trip to Mexico, where she was immediately drawn to the country’s warm people and fascinating culture. The following year, Julie returned to Mexico and decided to extend her stay indefinitely.

For almost 10 years, Julie lived, worked, and traveled throughout Mexico, perfecting her Spanish and learning to distinguish between the flavors of different chili peppers. She saw Zapatista leader Subcomandante Marcos speak to a crowd in San Cristóbal de las Casas, scaled pyramids in the southern state of Oaxaca, taught English to five-year-olds in Mexico City, and helped run a fine-art gallery in San Miguel de Allende. In the meantime, she supported her nomadic lifestyle by working as a freelance writer, translator, artist, and graphic designer for various companies in Mexico and the United States.

Today, Julie lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, Arturo, and her transplanted chihuahua, Tequila. She writes and copy edits for several New York publications, and spends a good deal of her free time trying to replicate traditional Mexican recipes in her tiny urban kitchen.