Chiles en nogada

Chef Barbara Sibley of La Palapa Cocina Mexicana in New York

If you like enchiladas con mole, give thanks to Mexico’s convent kitchens

Arts, Culture & Media

Barbara Sibley is the chef and owner of La Palapa Cocina Mexicana in New York, but she was born and raised in Mexico. Her parents were expatriate Americans who fell in love with Mexico and decided to stay. At college, Sibley studied anthropology. And maybe that’s why she’s so interested in the roots of modern Mexican cuisine, and especially the role played by Mexican convents in creating that cuisine.