Norma Listman Sanchez is a celebrated culinary visionary and co-chef/co-owner of the acclaimed Masala y Maiz restaurant group in Mexico City. As a chef, she has played an integral role in the Mexican food scene, bringing together traditional flavors, ingredients and techniques with politics and migration histories to create unforgettable gastronomic experiences.

Norma was born in Texcoco in the State of Mexico and grew up between the bustling art and fashion worlds of Mexico City and the rural, small towns around Texcoco. Her work is driven by her love for Mexican gastronomy and the importance she places on native Mexican corn and corn techniques. Although Norma inherited a profound love for Mexican food from her maternal grandmother, she grew as a cook and chef in Northern California where she met her partner Saqib Keval and together opened Masala y Maiz upon her return to Mexico City.

Through her food, Norma expresses a gastronomic tradition that is not static, but ever-changing—a rebellious mestizaje. Her dishes convey years of research of Mexican foodways and put to question why we eat the way we do. As an artist and chef, Norma uses her platform to promote crucial causes of social justice. She believes it is her responsibility as a chef and business owner to use her restaurants as a focal point for change, highlighting labor and social justice in the industry and surrounding communities.