Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Maria came to the U.S. to follow her passion for food & hospitality. She graduated from Johnson & Wales University with an Associate in Culinary Arts and a Bachelors in Food & Beverage Management, where she had the opportunity to work alongside many accomplished chefs. Throughout her time at JWU she completed an internship at SantCeloni in Madrid, Spain under Chef Oscar Velasco where she was able to return to her Spanish roots.

From working in kitchens in Madrid, The Dominican Republic and the U.S. to directing The Cochon555 U.S. Tour across the U.S., amongst other event productions, Maria has been working in the food & wine event space for the last 12 years. Currently, Maria works in the private dining space where she can craft personalized seasonal menus depending on the hosts desires. Aside from private dinning experiences, Maria works closely with White Oak Pastures, a farm leading in the Regenerative Agriculture space,  in Southern Georgia crafting dinners for their Center For Agricultural Resilience program (CFAR) and other special occasions.