Born in Mérida, Venezuela, Tatiana Mora was just 10 years old when she lost her mother. With no one else to manage the household, she stepped into the kitchen. Her two grandmothers, both excellent cooks, taught her how to prepare traditional dishes such as arepas and arroz con pollo.
She went on to attend hospitality school in Venezuela before coming to the United States for a one-year internship with Walt Disney. From there, she spent time cooking in Spain, returned briefly to Venezuela, then moved on to Barbados and Mexico before settling in the United States permanently about a decade ago.
In 2019, she joined the ownership team behind Serenata, a triangular cocktail bar with luxe bites inspired by culinary traditions across Latin America and the Caribbean, located inside La Cosecha in Washington, D.C.’s Union Market district. There she met Miguel Guerra, one of the opening chefs of Elcielo, the high-end Colombian tasting menu restaurant next door helmed by chef Juan Manuel “Juanma” Barrientos. Because of the pandemic, the restaurant had not yet opened, and Guerra was eager for a creative outlet.
Mora and Guerra began creating vegan Latin American dinners to go under the moniker Mita, a name that combines the first two letters of each of their names. The first dish they developed together was a watermelon crudo featuring ruby melon, charred avocado, cucumber–cilantro leche de tigre, and a wild rice crisp. It remains on the menu today.
The pair transitioned to hosting pop-up tasting menu dinners in the jewel-box demo kitchen at La Cosecha, which consistently sold out as they built a fervent following. The response gave them confidence in the concept and inspired them to create a stand-alone restaurant. In late 2023, Mora and Guerra opened the brick-and-mortar version of Mita just off Washington, D.C.’s bustling U Street corridor and across from the iconic 9:30 Club. The restaurant earned a Michelin star in 2024.
