Over the past 30 years, Chef Yadira has maintained a "pay it forward" mantra and has spent much of her career volunteering, mentoring, performing cooking demonstrations, and serving culinary creations throughout the Washington Metro Area. She has performed cooking demonstrations at the Farm-to-Street Party, as part of the 'Eat Local First Week', as well as during 'Growing Healthy Schools Month', which celebrated the DC Healthy Schools initiative that was launched by First Lady Michelle Obama in public schools throughout the District of Columbia.
On July 20, 2014, Chef Yadira's dream of becoming a Restaurateur finally came to fruition. She opened Esencias Panameñas Restaurant & Catering, in Washington, DC, where she prepared and served authentic Panamanian and Caribbean dishes and beverages. However, due to gentrification, Esencias Panameñas Restaurant & Catering, in Washington, DC – winner of the 2017 and 2018 Best of DC – Best Latin American Restaurant, closed its doors to the public on December 31, 2018. But she continues to provide catering services.
She is a member of Chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen (WCK) Chefs network; volunteers with ‘N Street Village’, No Kid Hungry DC, and the Washington, DC Capital Area Food Bank; and has participated in the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance Organization's annual "Turn Up the Heat: A Celebration of Women Chefs" event, the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show, where she assisted in the preparation of the food presented by The Neelys and Paula Deen, and the Congressional Black Caucus 47th Annual Legislative Conference,
In celebration of 'Hispanic Heritage Month', she's been called upon to speak about food policy, and to cater events at the AARP Organization, NBC4 News, Montgomery County Park and Planning Commission, the USDA and the FDA. In 2018, Panama qualified for the finals of the FIFA World Cup, and she was featured on FOX 5 Good Day DC, on Telemundo, who telecasted the game live from the Restaurant, as well as in the Washington Post and the New Yorker newspapers, and on WTOP radio.
Chef Yadira has also been featured in online magazines, in several blogs, both in Panama City, Panama, and in the DC Metropolitan Area. For more information, please access the "Media" page.