Nachos innovator Rocha dead at 77

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Carmen Rocha, credited with introducing Los Angeles to nachos, has died at the age of 77, the owner of the restaurant where she worked says.

Rand Salisbury, whose family owns the El Cholo Mexican restaurant, said Rocha died of cancer Oct. 9, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

Actor Jack Nicholson, who dines at the restaurant frequently, lamented her passing.

"Carmen was wonderful, to me and to everybody," Nicholson said. "It's a community loss."

Author Merrill Shindler credited Rocha as the person who introduced nachos in Los Angeles after she started working at the eatery in 1959.

"Carmen Rocha introduced an iconic dish and helped popularize it," the author of "El Cholo Cookbook: Recipes and Lore from California's Best Loved Mexican Kitchen" said. "Now, everybody eats nachos. If they were called 'Carmens,' not nachos, her name would be remembered forever."

The Times said Rocha is survived by five children, 14 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.