My name is Layla Pujol, my family and friends call me Laylita. I was born in Vilcabamba, Ecuador and currently live in Luxembourg. I spent several years in the US, both in Austin and in Seattle, and our family recently moved to Europe. My recipes are inspired mainly by traditional Ecuadorian dishes that I grew up eating in Ecuador. However, my love of food – and therefore the recipes posted here – go beyond Ecuador and include anything from Latin America, my mom’s spicy New Mexican cooking, my grandmother’s homemade Southwestern dishes and Texas style BBQ, my husband’s (and his family’s) delicious French food, new dishes introduced by my amazing group of international friends, and of course the great variety of seafood, vegetables and fruits available in the Pacific Northwest.
I am currently working on my first cookbook, which will focus on delicious Ecuadorian recipes (adapted to my style, of course!).
The longer version of my story
My approach to cooking and general instructions for using this site
Additional contact information
Photo and content use
Recipe development, product reviews, disclosure, and advertising
Privacy policy
If you have any questions or comments you can leave them in the comment section, or you can email me directly layla at laylita dot com
Laylita! Recién me entero que vas a publicar un libro de recetas ecuatorianas, que maravilla, lo he deseado por muchos años!!
Me imagino que va a ser un trabajo grande por lo detallado de tus muchas recetas, tus reseñas personales (que me encantan!) y el lujo de las fotos de la preparación de cada una. Me apasiona cocinar, colectar libros de cocina de diferentes ‘cuisines’, pero amo los de Ecuador y el tuyo se convertiría en mi favorito. Cuando crees que lo publicarás? Apresúrate ‘please’ (LOL), mi alma tiene prisa a mis 76 años de ‘vejentud’??
A nivel personal que creo te gusta compartir…nací en Guayaquil y viví allí hasta los 15 años, lo suficiente para cementar mi amor por su sabrosa y variada ‘cuisine’. De mami y mi abuela aprendí mucho de los platos tradicionales y también a ‘fusionar’ por siempre nuestra sazón y sabores con la comida de Estados Unidos, ya que vivimos 60+años acá. Estoy casada con un norteamericano que goza mucho de casi todo lo que hasta hoy cocino, al igual que familia y amistades. Solo hay un par de cosas/comida de las que él no es ‘fan’ and that’s OK with me, haha
Adelante Laylita, eres fantástica!
What more to say! Great recipes and the explanation for each, I love them all! I’m from El Paso, Texas. A border city to Mexico.
Thank you for all your great recipes!
Ahhhh thank you! Hope you have a wonderful 2026!
Hi Laylita, my name is Carlos Aguirre…I don’t remember how long I know of you…love the way you explain your recepies and lately I am getting brave enough to try making a Seco de Chivo…I am originally from Guayaquil, grew up in New Jersey and now I live in Houston, Texas…wow you are from Vilcabamba, Loja and my maternal grandma is from Loja and my mother used to make a Seco that till this day no one has duplicated…please let me know about your cookbook…best wishes for the Christmas Holidays for you and your family.
Hey Laylita, I was born in Quito but I live in the US (mostly New Jersey) for 60 years. I have cooked some of your recipes which, by the way, are all amazing. Please let me know when you publish your book, Thank you for bringing me back to the food my Mom used to cook with love for us all.
Can’t wait for your cookbook! Love ALL your recipes. Wishing you the best to your family and all your loved ones. -Ecuatoriana en Washington D.C.
Hola Laylita! Llevo 51 años de casada con un italiano, soy española, vivi en Venezuela, también en Redmond, Wa y ahora en Idaho. Siempre me ha gustado cocinar y modestia aparte, me defiendo (eso dicen) con comida española, italiana, americana, vegetariana y algunas cosas de Venezuela. Tengo muchos libros de recetas, pero sinceramente, TU eres mi ídolo en la cocina! Tu estilo de explicar cómo hacer las cosas, las buenas fotos, sin olvidarnos que lo haces en tres idiomas, es algo increíble, de lo que muchos cocineros en television deberían tomar nota. No te imaginas a cuantas personas les he recomendado tu pagina web. Felicitaciones!
Hola Jenny – Mil gracias por tu comentario tan lindo y por las recomendaciones! Hasta hace poco viví en Kirkland, WA – o sea casi éramos vecinas. Un abrazo grande!
So excited to find your blog. We just returned from 2 weeks in Ecuador. I fell in love with ALL the aji. And my husband ate locro at every meal and keeps being me to make it. We are headed to the Intl Farmers Mkt today to try to find some ingredients!
Laylita, my family and I lived a total of 15 years in Ecuador, 11 of those years in Guayaquil. It was in that coastal city that my family learned to love arroz con menestra and seco de pollo. My costeño friends introduced me to encebollado de pescado. Thanks for the great recipes!