Hoffmann is the daughter of pilot Billy Hoffmann. She was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, and raised in Cali, and Curaçao. She began cooking at a young age with her mother, Yolanda Ibarnegaray, a Cordon Bleu-trained chef who worked in restaurants and catering. Hoffmann also worked in modeling and acting, appearing in 16 telenovelas by age 20. She moved to Miami, Florida in 1985, where she opened La Capricieuse, a high-fashion luxury boutique in Miami's Coconut Grove.

Hoffmann opened a Miami restaurant with her mother and two business partners. Rocca, the first restaurant in Miami to feature tabletop cooking on heated lava rocks, opened in January 1993 and quickly became a local celebrity hot spot.

After hosting a cooking segment on a Miami-area television show in 2002, Hoffmann was offered a biweekly segment on the Spanish language morning show Despierta America. Her own show, Delicioso, launched on DirecTV Para Todos in 2005. Delicioso now airs on Univision's cable network, Galavision. The Food Network contacted her the day after her March 2006 appearance on Martha, and Simply Delicioso debuted on the Food Network in July 2007.

Hoffmann contributes a monthly culinary column to People en Español. She has her own cookware line, Simply Delicioso with Ingrid Hoffmann, by T-Fal, and a cutlery and kitchen accessories line by Furi on HSN.

Hoffman participated in the Hispanic "Got Milk?" campaign in November 2009 as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. She is currently a board member of New York City’s Food and Education Fund, and she supports Miami’s Amigos for Kids, Believe for Colombia Foundations, and Humane Society.

Hoffman is single and currently lives in Miami, Florida.

Books

• Simply Delicioso: A Collection of Everyday Recipes with a Latin Twist (2008)

Television

• Delicioso (2005-present)
• Simply Delicioso (2007- present)