A FIRST FOR NEW JERSEY
It's a really big deal: Maricel Presilla, chef and owner of the restaurants Cucharamama and Zafra in Hoboken, this week became the first female chef in New Jersey to be nominated for a prestigious James Beard Award. In the food world, that's the equivalent of an Oscar nomination.
Maricel, a respected culinary anthropologist and former professor at Rutgers, started cooking professionally after she came to America from Cuba. For a dozen years, she juggled graduate studies with cooking at restaurants, most notably The Ballroom, the first upscale authentic tapas bar in New York City. In the intervening years, she taught, wrote cookbooks, magazine and newspaper articles. Then she ventured back into restaurants. First, she opened the Pan Latin Zafra and, three years ago, she christened Cucharamama.
It's a one-of-a-kind restaurant, a chic, yet comfortable corner storefront where Maricel turns out utterly personal artisanal South American food. What to eat at Cucharamama? Well, ordinarily I'd tell you to get the chicken with sour orange, the breads baked in the wood-fired oven, definitely the arepas, the potato dishes, the stews and, if you can plan ahead and special-order it, her roasted suckling pig. But when I called Maricel yesterday, she told me she was working on a bevy of new dishes. She's been traveling, learning, extending her culinary reach. Exploring, really, as she always has. What lies ahead on Cucharamama's menu will be an adventure for us all.
No question: Maricel Presilla, America's leading Latina culinary scholar, is absolutely tickled about her Beard nomination. But she's always going to be far more thrilled when she learns something delectably new about food.
Cheers,
Andy
3.20.07
P.S. If you would like to see a complete list of nominees for the 2007 James Beard Awards, visit www.jamesbeard.org
P.S.S. If you'd like to sample Maricel Presilla's food at Cucharamama, do call first for a reservation. The restaurant is located at 233 Clinton St., Hoboken; 201. 420. 1700.
Maricel, a respected culinary anthropologist and former professor at Rutgers, started cooking professionally after she came to America from Cuba. For a dozen years, she juggled graduate studies with cooking at restaurants, most notably The Ballroom, the first upscale authentic tapas bar in New York City. In the intervening years, she taught, wrote cookbooks, magazine and newspaper articles. Then she ventured back into restaurants. First, she opened the Pan Latin Zafra and, three years ago, she christened Cucharamama.
It's a one-of-a-kind restaurant, a chic, yet comfortable corner storefront where Maricel turns out utterly personal artisanal South American food. What to eat at Cucharamama? Well, ordinarily I'd tell you to get the chicken with sour orange, the breads baked in the wood-fired oven, definitely the arepas, the potato dishes, the stews and, if you can plan ahead and special-order it, her roasted suckling pig. But when I called Maricel yesterday, she told me she was working on a bevy of new dishes. She's been traveling, learning, extending her culinary reach. Exploring, really, as she always has. What lies ahead on Cucharamama's menu will be an adventure for us all.
No question: Maricel Presilla, America's leading Latina culinary scholar, is absolutely tickled about her Beard nomination. But she's always going to be far more thrilled when she learns something delectably new about food.
Cheers,
Andy
3.20.07
P.S. If you would like to see a complete list of nominees for the 2007 James Beard Awards, visit www.jamesbeard.org
P.S.S. If you'd like to sample Maricel Presilla's food at Cucharamama, do call first for a reservation. The restaurant is located at 233 Clinton St., Hoboken; 201. 420. 1700.
posted by Andrea Clurfeld at 11:15 AM
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