Hey there! Thank you so much for stopping by my little corner of the Internet. Cooking with Books started February 2011, after doing some traveling with my then boyfriend (now husband)! But my love of cooking, baking, and writing start much, much earlier.
First of all, you need to know I was born and raised on the gorgeous Caribbean island of the Dominican Republic, to a mother that baked desserts on a daily basis and a father that juiced every single tropical fruit he could get his hands on. You could say there was a good balance in the way we ate! Discover the flavors of the Dominican Republic in one of my favorite posts.
After 24 years living the tropical island life, I was ready to explore the world a little more and by exploring, I mean attending The Culinary Institute of America for my Baking and Pastry degree. Two years at CIA were just enough to make me fall even harder with the food world – we lived and breathed food and everything about food. If you’re thinking about attending culinary school – here are 10 things to know before!
From there, I was hired to live and work on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. An island I had no clue even existed, but one that would soon become my home and the place where I’d fall head over heels with the love of my life. Currently, I work as a Pastry Chef at a private golf club during the warm weather season – meaning May through October, alongside my husband (yes, we work in the same kitchen, all day every day of the season!) and also run a successful digital marketing company called Shored Up Digital, where we manage social media platforms for island clients.
Some of my past work includes being the food columnist for our local newspaper, The Martha’s Vineyard Times, and my writing has been featured in SheKnows, Marcus Samuelsson, Startle – Forbes Travel Guide, Woman’s Day, NBC Latino, and other food publications.