Maricel Presilla Location: Hoboken, New Jersey Maricel Presilla is an award-winning chef, author, and culinary historian. A well-known expert on Latin American cuisines, capsicums, cacao, and chocolate, her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Saveur, Epicurious, Food & Wine, Splendid Table, and others. Presilla has published several highly lauded books, including The New Taste of Chocolate (2001, 2009), Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America (2012), and Peppers of the Americas (2017). Experience With her academic background in Spanish medieval history and cultural anthropology, Maricel Presilla taught history at Rutgers University prior to entering the food industry. She is perhaps best known for her acclaimed (now shuttered) restaurants, Cucharamama, Zafra, and Ultramarinos in Hoboken, New Jersey, where she specialized in Spanish, Latin American, and Caribbean food. Presilla won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Mid Atlantic in 2012 for her work at Cucharamama, and was inducted into the Beard Foundation's Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America in 2015. She has also garnered numerous accolades for her writing, including the James Beard Award for Cookbook of the Year for Gran Cocina Latina, an IACP award for Peppers of the Americas, and two JBF journalism award nominations for articles written for Saveur.In addition to her published works, Presilla co-founded and serves as Americas director of the International Chocolate Awards and the International Institute of Chocolate and Cacao Tasting. She is also the president of Gran Cacao Company, a Latin American chocolate research and marketing company, a member of the advisory board of the Culinary Institute of America's Latin American food studies program in San Antonio, and a board member of the Fine Chocolate Industry Association. Education Maricel Presilla studied medieval history at the University of Valladolid, Spain. She holds a doctorate in Medieval Spanish History from New York University and also received formal training in cultural anthropology. About Food & Wine Food & Wine, a Dotdash Meredith Brand, is an award-winning online resource for anyone passionate about the culinary world. With rigorously tested recipes and the most trusted restaurant, drinks, culinary travel and home coverage, we inspire and empower people everywhere to discover, create, and devour the best in food and wine. Learn more about us and our editorial process.