The star of Latin cooking and entertainment shows Simply Delicioso, on the Food Network, and Delicioso, on Galavision, credits her mother—professional chef and former restaurateur Yolanda Ibarnegaray—for inspiring her to become one of today’s most visible cooking personalities.

“She’s the biggest supporter,” says Hoffmann, 43. “When the concept of Simply Delicioso came up, she said, ‘Do it and I’ll help you.’”

That’s the way it’s always been for this Colombian mother-daughter duo, whose shared passion for good food and entertaining has made them business partners and catapulted Ingrid to international stardom.

“When Ingrid was growing up, I was constantly cooking, trying new recipes and creating new dishes,” says Ibarnegaray, a graduate of the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. “She was always by my side in the kitchen.” In fact, little Ingrid, who started to show her own interest in cooking when she was six years old, would often clamber up onto a stool to reach the stove, her mother adds.

Chica Tips for Entertaining:  Stock up on frozen arepa dough. You can defrost it in your fridge overnight and cut fun shapes from the dough with cookie cutters. Use it instead of toasted bread for bruschetta.  Buy a few wide banana leaves (or other nontoxic tropical leaves) in your grocery store’s floral department, and use them to line plates. They add an exotic and very hip feel to even the most classic, traditional foods.  If you find a gorgeous bunch of broccoli at the market, use it as a centerpiece for your table. Trim the bottom of the bunch and wrap raffia all the way around the stem like a bouquet. Place the broccoli in a pretty vase with a little water and you have a stunning arrangement.  Bubbly alternative: Many hosts are serving Spanish Cava, Italian Prosecco, and other sparkling wines in place of champagne—less expensive but equally festive. Source: Simply Delicioso: A Collection of Everyday Recipes with a Latin Twist —Ana Acle-Menéndez

Dinner at the Hoffmann home reflected varied traditions from both sides of the family: traditional German dishes from father Billy Hoffmann’s family, and Colombian, Bolivian, Basque, Peruvian, and Argentinean dishes from the maternal side. Add to those other international cuisines as they appeared on Ibarnegaray’s menus.

“I don’t recall ever having food that was kid’s’ food,” says Hoffmann, whose recipes clearly draw from her personal smorgasbord of culinary traditions. Yet the chica—Hoffmann’s nickname, which brands her recipes as “chicalicious,” her advice as “chica tips”—brings her own creativity and vision to the table.

“Ingrid’s style of cooking is very different from her mom’s,” says Steven Ship, managing partner of Chica Worldwide, Hoffmann’s media company. And, he adds, when it comes to her television shows, cookbooks, and other projects, Hoffmann is definitely in control. While the two are “very, very close…Ingrid’s the mastermind and executor,” Ship says, adding that “her mom is the encourager,” always ready to support and share her creative talents.

“Mom is the ultimate inspiration,” says Hoffmann, citing Ibarnegaray’s hard work and persistence, a work ethic that resulted in a successful catering business in Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, for more than 20 years, and a restaurant in Bogota.

Hoffmann thrived working side by side with her mother. But, she says, “I wanted to fly on my own.” In 1985, she opened a high-fashion boutique in Miami’s Coconut Grove district, eventually expanding the business to a chain of four boutiques in Miami and Aruba.

Memorable Meals Here are three recipes from Ingrid’s cookbook, Simply Delicioso: A Collection of Everyday Recipes with a Latin Twist, which will help you present memorable meals of your own. ¡Buen provecho! Appetizer: Ingrid’s guava shells with herbed cheese Entrée: Yolanda’s holiday turkey with stuffing and lime-cranberry sauce Side dish: Ingrid’s emerald rice **More from Ingrid Hoffmann**

But cooking and entertaining remained her passion, and she missed the restaurant business. In turn, Ibarnegaray, by now divorced, missed her youngest daughter. In 1992, the two opened a restaurant in Miami, and soon Hoffmann was asked to do a cooking segment on a local show. She wasn’t shy in front of the cameras; as a teenager she’d been a model and actress in Spanish-language soap operas. “It sounded like fun,” she says of the invitation. “I’m an adventurer.”