Photo of Gaby Acosta courtesy of El Novato.
El Novato is a line of unique, locally made salsas crafted with integrity. This new company is the creation of film costumer Gaby Acosta. Born in Tijuana, where she lived until she was three, Gaby has spent her life divided between Mexico and the LA/Orange County area.
Gaby was motivated by the difficulty she had finding salsas she loved that were not made by her family. “Growing up so much in Mexico really influenced my tastebuds. I’m very connected to Mexico. In Los Angeles, there’s amazing food and in Santa Ana, where I grew up, but there were never salsas like at my house. It’s hard to find the salsas I like — so many things get watered down. If a salsa was designed to be spicy, I want it to be spicy! Either you like it or you don’t. I don’t want to compromise.
Gaby found success in entertainment — working in wardrobe for the 2019 blockbuster “Captain Marvel” is her biggest credit so far. But when Covid shut down filming last year, Gaby decided to finally focus on the project she’d thought about for years but never had time for: creating a line of salsas that taste as good as the ones made by her family. She told me, “When the pandemic hit, I thought, “Now I can actually fill out the paperwork and do the things I couldn’t find time for before. It helped me get organized and finalize the recipes. This pandemic has been a blessing in disguise for me and my family. It’s been difficult but we’re happy. I always complained I didn’t have enough time. Now I finally did.”
