Tony Valladolid
Operator. Entrepreneur. Steward. Recovering bureaucrat.
I've spent nearly three decades inside complicated systems—public service, finance, executive government and advisory work. A life shaped by San Diego and Tijuana has taught me to look beyond the organizational chart.
Today, as Founder & CEO of The Food Maestro, I'm building technology that helps people make better food decisions, starting with the family table.
What I'm building now · Founder & CEO
What are we eating tonight? The Food Maestro helps people decide which meal makes sense for the people eating it: their preferences and needs, trusted expert guidance, and what's already in the kitchen.
Personal Intelligence, Maestro Intelligence and Pantry Intelligence bring those considerations together. The point is not another 8,000 recipes. It is a better food decision, with more room for the people around the table.
Most meal apps give a list; TFM gives the right one.
Selected work
Public service & advisory
Nearly three decades across elected and appointed leadership, finance, executive government and advisory work. Experience shaped by the practical responsibilities of institutions and a San Diego–Tijuana perspective.
Selected experience →La Vida de Tijuana
I helped co-create and steward a project preserving the people, stories and memory that shaped Tijuana. Cities have memories; giving them attention and care is part of the work.
La Vida de Tijuana →The Food Maestro
As Founder & CEO of The Food Maestro, I'm putting operating experience to work on an everyday problem: helping people choose a meal that makes sense for their lives.
The current work →
Las Californias holds a geography familiar to me: a region whose boundaries are never only lines on a map. A piece from my collection, and an invitation to look a little more closely.
Explore the collection →Building something interesting? Thinking about food, AI, institutions or Mexico–U.S. opportunities? Or simply wrestling with a problem that refuses to behave itself? I'm usually happy to talk. Some of the best things in my career began with “You should meet this person.” No pitch deck required.
30 minutes. One good conversation. No sales funnel.
Coffee optional, despite the title.
Have a Virtual Coffee