Andrea Meling, the frienly matriarch of Meling Ranch...

Meling Ranch, also known as Rancho Meling or Rancho San José, is the product of a marriage uniting two Baja California pioneering families, the Melings and the Johnson's. Both families settled in northern Baja California, Mexico, in the early 1900's; some buildings at Meling Ranch date back to 1907. The ranch is owned and operated by descendents of the original Melings that pioneered the area in the early 20th century. The ranch has only 5 employees, including Andrea Meling, who is a partial owner of the operation.

Photo: Andrea Meling gives my digital camera her award-winning smile, in the kitchen annex, as Julie and Jicelia begin to prepare dinner.

Allow me to introduce Andrea, Meling, who is runs the ranch, and is a member of the family that owns the operation. The employees love her, and refer to her as "La Patronia," which loosely translates as "Boss Lady" in English. Andrea is quite a conversationalist, a very nice person, and quite a cook.

When you walk into the dining room, you'll be greeted by Andrea Meling, who is the hard-working, chief cook and bottle washer of the entire operation. Andrea and her sister, who resides in Ensenada, are the primary owners of the operation, although there are many minor owners, all who are in the extended Meling family. Like the girls who work at the ranch, Andrea wears a green vest to identify her as a staff member, and she works as hard as her employees do, and along side of them. Talk to her in English or Spanish, it doesn't matter, as she's equally fluent in both languages.

Photo: During my October, 2007 visit to Meling Ranch, I pose doing what I do best, hugging lovely women.

Andrea Meling is a co-owner of the operation, and a member of the extended Meling family, but she has a huge stake in the operation, as she actually runs the entire operation, including the ranch, motel, and the kitchen. Andrea and her four employees operate as a family, such as Andrea is the "mom," and the employees are the "children." Andrea may run the ranch, but she also works very hard in the kitchen and the dining room, alongside Jicelia and Julie, and during the afternoon break, you'll find her outside, planting marigolds or petunias. She may be the "boss lady," but she works hard alongside her fellow staff members.

Photo: Samuel looks on as Andrea examines fresh vegetables that he just picked from the garden. The vegetables were used that evening for fresh, cooked salsa.

Operating a 10,000 acre working cattle and guest ranch with just 5 staff members can be an impossible chore during peak times, and Andrea related to me, after being peppered by many of my intrusive questions, that they do bring in extra staff during peak times, to cater to guests, and most of the additional staff are extended family members recruited from Andrea's extended family in Ensenada.

Photo: During my September, 2008 visit to Meling ranch, Andrea makes potato pancakes.

Andrea Meling is an outstanding cook, a nice person, and when you're a guest at Meling Ranch, she and her friendly staff will treat you like family.