Cocina

Maricel E. Presilla is a culinary historian, chef and author specializing in the cuisines of Latin America and Spain. She has lectured for organizations ranging from the James Beard Foundation to the Smithsonian Institution. Her most recent book is The New Taste of Chocolate: A Cultural and Natural History of Cacao with Recipes (Ten Speed Press), and she has completed a major Latin American cookbook for W.W. Norton, forthcoming in 2008. A native of Santiago de Cuba, she is co-owner and chef of two Hoboken, N.J., restaurants, Zafra and Cucharamama, and was a 2007 James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic.

Her website is www.maricelpresilla.com.

Write to her at mpresilla@miamiherald.com.