ST. LOUIS — Tamara Landeiro is a master at her craft.
"Cooking Cuban food is in my blood," Tamara said.
She's dishing out delicious Cuban recipes at Havana's Cuisine on Washington Avenue.
It opened in October 2021, but the journey began almost a decade ago.
"We came by the border. At the time, Cubans were allowed to come to the United States by any border. We came to St. Louis in 2014," she says.
That's because her daughter, Thalia Cervantes-Landeiro, had her own set of skills.
Thalia started playing chess when she was a little girl. She learned the game at school in Havana.
"The thing about Cuba is that chess is everywhere and one world championship José Raúl Capablanca was from Cuba, so it became integrated in our culture," Thaila said.
Her passion led them to the chess capital of the country: St. Louis.
"I came to St. Louis to play a tournament and soon enough I realized there was a lot of chess culture here. And there’s the Saint Louis Chess Club, which is perhaps the greatest chess club in the world right now," she said.
Now, she's on the SLU Chess team.
"We are actually the No. 1 chess team in the nation. I have played in the U.S. Junior Championship five times this year. I tied for first and I got second place," Thalia shares.
On Thursday, Cervantes is also playing in the U.S. Women's Chess Championship in the Central West End. She's competing against the top 14 players in the country.
Just last year, she achieved the title of Woman Grandmaster. She currently has one International Master Norm.
Just like her daughter, Tamara had her own passion ever since she was a little girl. Her inspiration came from cooking.
"My family used to have a restaurant before the revolution in Cuba and my grandma cooked a lot," Tamara said.
While the move to St. Louis was for Thalia, Tamara also saw an opening.
She started cooking for some friends and reached out to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The organization helped her get settled with catering and help set up a shop at the Soulard Farmer's Market.
Soon, she got a food truck since it was hard to open up a new business in the height of the pandemic. In 2021, she decided it was time to make the move.
"Last year we decided to move to a place," she said.
She took her talents to Washington Avenue. It's a dream she always wanted and a chance to share her culture with the community.
"We want to focus on authentic Cuban food like you can eat it at home in Cuba," Tamara said.
The two are profoundly proud of the work they're doing, as they both carry out their biggest dreams in St. Louis.
Both worlds are intertwined, the love they have for each other, along with their Hispanic Heritage.
"I feel like I'm doing a service to the Hispanic community and bringing them more honor and attention," Thalia said.
Her mom echoes the same message.
"I'm trying to do it for others. To come to another country is very difficult. I tried to prove to other people, they can make it, I try my best. I do it with love and I think that's one of the things that help," Tamara said with a smile.