Born and raised in Mexico City, Pati Jinich is the host and executive producer of the James Beard Award-winning PBS Primetime docuseries La Frontera, which shares untold stories from the US-Mexico border, and the long-running 4x James Beard Award-winning and 4x Emmy-nominated PBS daytime show Pati's Mexican Table, now in its fifteenth season, where she brings flavors from Mexico into American homes — and which was recently ranked the #1 cooking show by both Parade and The Daily Meal. In her James Beard Award-nominated PBS Primetime series Pati Jinich Explores Panamericana, now in its second season, Pati expands her mission to the entirety of the Americas, using the Pan-American Highway — a symbol of connection and collaboration between countries from Alaska to Argentina — as a metaphor for her journey. Season 2 takes her across the lower 48 states in celebration of America's 250th birthday.

A former political analyst focused on Mexican political institutions and US-Mexico relations at the Inter-American Dialogue, Pati holds a master's degree in Latin American Studies from Georgetown University. Bringing together her background in policy with her love of food and talent for interviewing, Pati has now made exploring and sharing Mexico's cuisine and culture her life's work. She is the 2026 James Beard Awards Broadcast Media Hall of Fame Honoree and has been named one of the "Top 5 Border Ambassadors" from The Council of the Americas and one of the "100 Greatest Cooks of All Time" by Epicurious. She is a 6x James Beard Award winner for her television work and the resident chef at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of three cookbooks, including Treasures of the Mexican Table: Classic Recipes, Local Secrets, Mexican Today, and Pati's Mexican Table: The Secrets of Real Mexican Home Cooking, with her fourth cookbook, Foods of La Frontera, to be published by HarperCollins in Fall 2026. 

Recently named to The Washington Post's "Post Next: 50 People Shaping Our Society in 2025," the International Association for Culinary Professionals awarded her the 2025 IACP Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the Culinary World. Pati has appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" and "Live with Kelly & Mark," CBS's "The Talk," The Food Network, NPR's "All Things Considered," and Univision's "Despierta America," among others. She has been profiled in numerous well-regarded publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post. In addition to writing on her website,patijinich.com, she contributes to a wide array of print and online publications including The Washington Post and The New York Times.

Pati has resided in the Washington, D.C. area for more than 20 years, where she and her husband raised their three Mexican-American sons.