Mariana Velasquez:
I brought over the recipe, laid it out right there. And she said, "You have a great hand for food styling." I said, "What do you mean?" "You should become a food stylist." "What's that?" "Can you be the highlight? Can you only dedicate your career to being a food stylist?" She said, "Yeah, I'll introduce you to some people."
Kerry Diamond:
Hey Bombesquad, you're listening to Radio Cherry Bombe. I'm your host Kerry Diamond coming to you from a new location. This episode is being recorded live at Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center in New York City. Radio Cherry Bombe has a new home and we couldn't be more excited. We'll be telling you more about Newsstand Studios and all the exciting things going on at Rock Center in the weeks ahead. For today, joining me in this adventure is Mariana Velasquez. Mariana is best known as a food stylist, but she can now add cookbook author to her resume as her debut cookbook, Colombiana, comes out June 15th. It's a beautiful book and a love letter to her native country. It's a big month for Mariana as she was also the food stylist on In The Heights, the highly anticipated film from Lin-Manuel Miranda. It opens on the 11th and as a big Lin fan, I cannot wait.
Kerry Diamond:
I'm so thrilled that today's sponsor is Loeffler Randall, one of my fashion favorites. I'm sure a lot of you know their beautiful shoes, bags, accessories, and apparel, but you might not know the brand was founded by the wonderfully creative Jessie Loeffler Randall in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn only a few blocks away from where Cherry Bombe was born. You can explore the world of Loeffler Randall on their website, Loefflerrandall.com. Or if you're in New York, stop by their new boutique on Prince Street in Manhattan's Nolita neighborhood. You can find their iconic penny pleated mules and delicious sorbet shades. They're sporty chic sandals, picnic perfect tote bags, the sweetest scrunchies, and more. Jessie and her team believe in products meant to be loved and lived in for seasons and years to come, and I can attest to that. I have several pairs of Loeffler Randall shoes, and they have been in heavy rotation in my wardrobe since day one. I love them as much as I did when I first laid eyes on them. Get ready to fall in love yourself. Visit Loefflerrandall.com for more. So given that Loeffler Randall is sponsoring the show, it is perfect that the woman I consider the most fashionable food stylist in the biz is joining me today. Mariana, welcome to Radio Cherry Bombe.
Mariana Velasquez:
Thank you so much.
Kerry Diamond:
I have to say it's been over a year since I've looked someone in the eyes and said those words, and thank you so much for joining us today.
Mariana Velasquez:
It is an honor to be here in such an iconic place.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, absolutely. I do have to pinch myself though. We're recording this at Rock Center. As a native New Yorker, I am truly thrilled to be here and very, very excited. And I realized I talk with my hands a lot. I have not been with someone in over a year to record the show and I think I've formed this habit while I was recording by myself, in my studio apartment with my cat and I talk with my hands a lot. So you're just going to have to... I'm going to try to sit on my hands a little.
Mariana Velasquez:
No, no, no. You'll see me. My hands are going to start flying all over the place.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay, we're going to be just articulating wildly. And the fun thing is people can see us as they walk past. So I know a lot of people have been looking already and trying to figure out what is going on. Okay. So Mariana let's jump right into this. Today you're known as a food stylist, but you did not set out to be one. Would you take us back to when you were a teenager about to leave for college? What were your career ambitions?
Mariana Velasquez:
So this is Bogota 1996 and it's a city that is starting to sort of wake up, but restaurants are kind of few and far between. Going out to dinner was kind of a unique moment that you would celebrate with family, but it wasn't the regular event. And food at the table in my family was always a constant. And everybody in school, all my friends, I went to an all girls school, there were all very good at one thing, right? They were great artists or great mathematicians or great in design, and I wanted to find that one thing that I was really good at. And I found that cooking was something I loved and that I would do at home with my mom, my grandmother, and I started volunteering to make my friend's birthday cakes to bring to school.
Kerry Diamond:
That's so sweet.
Mariana Velasquez:
And I would see everybody gather and be in all of these surreally simple chocolate cake recipe. And I thought, you know what? I want to do something that I'm really good at and that makes people feel this way. And so I discovered that you could do that for a living, that could be a profession. My parents have a very different idea back then, he was like, "Wait, what? That's not really a career."
Kerry Diamond:
Right. Being a chef wasn't a thing you did. What did you tell them? How did you convince them to let you go off and do your thing?
Mariana Velasquez:
So I had two arguments. One was, I want to do cookbooks. And there was this Colombian woman who had moved to Australia and come back and she wrote several cookbooks and her name was Maria Vijelas. And we have very similar names, funny enough. But I said, this is what I want to do. And they were like, "What are you talking about? You're either a chef at a restaurant or you own a publishing house. That doesn't really exist." And I convinced them to let me come to New York to better my English at Hunter College for six months. And then I promised that I would go back and go to law school as they wanted me to. Because also there you start university with your chosen major, you don't go to college, you sort of start. And that was a promise. And I arrived in New York-
Kerry Diamond:
And you immediately broke the promise.
Mariana Velasquez:
And I was like, wow, nevermind. And I started stashing at restaurants. I met people who were going to culinary school at CIA, and would come to the city for the weekend and brought me through the back kitchen door into different places to stash for a day or two. And I was sold. I was convinced that was my calling, but it was hard to make a case. I mean, now I'm talking 1999 when the opportunities were few and far between for someone like me. Going back to Colombia to study, that wasn't an option. Then my parents weren't really into it. And so we were in the middle of this conversation with one of my mother's friends who lived in California and she was determined to take me back to Colombia and her friend said, "Why don't you come to California for a month, stay with us. We know some people who may be able to introduce you to a few chefs there and just stay at ours." Cut two, I moved to staff housing in Big Sur to work at the Post Ranch.
Kerry Diamond:
So that's how that happened.
Mariana Velasquez:
That's how that happened, yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. So for folks who don't know the Post Ranch Inn, which is one of the most beautiful spots, maybe in the world in Big Sur California. So now we know how you wound up there, can you describe the setting and the restaurant? Because it's just so beautiful.
Mariana Velasquez:
Yeah, it's so beautiful. So it's 1200 feet perched up overlooking the Pacific Ocean, over the water. And there's this beautiful minimalistic structure built by Mickey Muennig back in 1992. And imagine it's steel, glass and stone architecture. And the restaurant is really hanging over the cliff. The kitchen has the view of the ocean and the fog rolls in. It was one of those magical places. Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Let's talk about Post Ranch Inn. What did you do there and what did you learn?
Mariana Velasquez:
So I came in to really do a three-day stash. I met the chef Craig von Foerster, and he welcomed me in through the back door. I remember exactly what I was wearing, this pink sweater and black slips. He looks at me like, "Okay, yeah. I mean, you can change." He shows me into the shed to put on my chef's coat and I stayed for a year. Essentially, they took me in and I learned about farm to table before that was a term really. I mean, we had a new menu every day-
Kerry Diamond:
That in and of itself is extraordinary.
Mariana Velasquez:
No, extraordinary. We had kids coming to the back door of the kitchen with backpacks packed with morels and chanterelles. The bread was made by this lady up the hill. It was spectacular. The food was beautiful and it was all about respect to ingredients and also the setting. It was all about the scene, the flowers, the beautiful tablecloths, the handmade silverware. So I understood that food beyond the actual plate was about the atmosphere and everything around it.
Kerry Diamond:
So beautiful. At some point, did you go to culinary school?
Mariana Velasquez:
I did. So from there everybody in the kitchen, the sous-chef, the chef de cuisine, the pastry chef, they had gone to the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont. And they said, "Okay. So we think that you should go to cooking school." Even though now looking back, even though I love the cooking school experience, I feel that there's nothing you learn more than at work. You know what I mean? That doing the job every day really teaches you. But so yeah, I ended up going to school in Vermont, which was crazy. It was so cold, Kerry.
Kerry Diamond:
I was just going to say, I thought you said crazy. I thought you were going to say cold as your first word, because I went to college in Plattsburgh right near the border of Vermont and very, very cold. What did you learn in culinary school?
Mariana Velasquez:
I learned how to clean really well, which is a skill.
Kerry Diamond:
I still haven't learned that. That's pretty funny. So where did you go after culinary school?
Mariana Velasquez:
So the school's program was divided into school time and then internships in between. And on my second internship, I came back to New York where I felt everything started, right? And my dream was to divide my internship into Prune and Saveur magazine, and do kind of a combined two days at the magazine, four days at Prune. And I didn't know it was possible. I thought I didn't know if they were going to be into it, if it's going to be a reality. But then I showed up and had the interviews and I worked that out. And it was the perfect combination to get to know the city from a culinary's perspective.
Kerry Diamond:
So wait, you interned at Prune and Saveur at the same time? This is like a dream internship situation. Amazing. All right. Well, I want to know what you learned at Prune because I know you learned more than just how to clean at Prune. That is an epic place run by an epic personality.
Mariana Velasquez:
Oh my God. Unfussy, beautiful food. Wholesome, real with a great story. Veals hired with gremolata and then Ovaltine ice cream for dessert, unpretentious, and just wonderful. And I learned that you can really create a great team with people you really like.
Kerry Diamond:
In the tiniest space.
Mariana Velasquez:
In the tiniest space when Prune didn't have AC, it was a sweltering summer. I remember we would drink these huge bottles of Avion and they were endless and it was magical. And I learned so much, speed, beauty and the essentials, it wasn't decorated. There were no squeeze bottles, it was just beautiful because it was pure and great ingredients.
Kerry Diamond:
And so many people love chef Gabrielle Hamilton's Prune cookbook. Are you a fan of that book?
Mariana Velasquez:
I am.
Kerry Diamond:
It's very Gabrielle. Okay. So you were also at Saveur, which we're going to go back to. I've read in your book that you also worked in Marrakesh, which you and I never talked about. When did you slip in Marrakesh on your resume?
Mariana Velasquez:
So I did this project with Quentin Bacon for Paula Wolfert's book, The Food of Morocco. And this book, Kerry, I mean, she writes about the food of this country with such appropriation in the best possible way, right? I mean, she explored all the kitchens. She did all the market research. She lived in Morocco for many, many, many years and told the stories of those cooks and those women whose kitchens she learned from. And we arrived in Marrakesh to photograph her cookbook for 12 days. We shopped at all the markets and learned so much from the women who were in the kitchen at the Riyadh, where we were cooking. And even though we didn't share a language, they spoke Arabic, my French is terrible. I pretend that it's good, but it's terrible. And the communication was all signs and food and it was incredible.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, that's amazing. What a dream assignment. What are some of the dishes that stand out from when you visited Marrakech? I've only been once and I still think about it and would love to go back someday.
Mariana Velasquez:
So I would say the dates with honey and fresh cheese really stayed in my mind. The mint tea, and then the lamb, the breast and the clay pots. So they put in the fire in the back of the hammams. I find that spectacular, to use a communal fire to cook your food seems like a dream. We should do that in Brooklyn.
Kerry Diamond:
Mint tea was one of the things I brought back with me, 100%. The tradition of taking fresh mint leaves and just pouring hot water over them. And you are so spoiled for the rest of your life, because it is so simple. It is two ingredients, but it is one of the most beautiful things you can make for yourself.
Mariana Velasquez:
It's so good.
Kerry Diamond:
So anytime I see mint at the farmer's market, I buy it and I make fresh mint tea.
Mariana Velasquez:
I love that.
Kerry Diamond:
You mentioned Saveur magazine, so you interned there, but you did wind up getting a full-time job.
Mariana Velasquez:
I did.
Kerry Diamond:
Correct?
Mariana Velasquez:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Tell us what you did originally, because you were not a food stylist.
Mariana Velasquez:
No, no, no. So I was doing research, I was doing recipe testing and one day we were doing a story in Pakistan around this great community in Pakistan and the photographer came in to photograph, to do shots of these recipes that she hadn't gotten on her trip. And I remember perfectly it was this eggplant over yogurt. And we're standing by the window in the kitchen, and her name is Brooke Slezak, and she came in and I brought over the recipe and played it right there. And she said, "You have a great hand for food styling." I said, "What do you mean?" "You should become a food stylist." "What's that?" "Can you be the highlight? Can you only dedicate your career to being a food stylist?" She said, "Yeah. I'll introduce you to some people." And really, I mean, the following week I called Sheila Levine who's my mentor and someone so special in my career and my life and I started working for her. It was very quick, I knew right away. I took the leap and I just felt it.
Kerry Diamond:
That is so amazing because you hear sometimes of that happening. Someone says something and it just sets you on the right career path, and that actually happened to you.
Mariana Velasquez:
Yeah. That one conversation changed my life really.
Kerry Diamond:
So you had no idea leading up to that, that you had those skills?
Mariana Velasquez:
No, not really. I mean, sometimes chefs in cooking school or at work would say, "Oh, you plate so beautifully. You should be in the cold station because you have such a hand for..." And I would be, I want to be on the grill." "What do you mean?"
Kerry Diamond:
But you wouldn't... Now that I kind of know you and everything you do is so beautiful, I can just see you with your beautiful plates of food and someone next to you in culinary school with a pile of food that's just a total mess. And it not occurring to you that this isn't something that everyone can do. All right, back to Saveur. You were working in the test kitchen and you decide you're going to transition over to food styling. Did you leave the magazine?
Mariana Velasquez:
I did. Yeah. Because I mean, as freelance assistance, I had to just be available any time. And yeah, I left the magazine and everybody was really supportive. I felt like it was also the point where if I wanted to continue to work in a food magazine, I would have had to get an English degree. If I really wanted to evolve my career in the publishing world, I would have had to take a different route. And for me, I didn't want to stop cooking, but I wanted it to take a more at the sake direction.
Kerry Diamond:
So what did you learn as a young apprentice food stylist?
Mariana Velasquez:
Oh my God, so many things. Being very organized, finding all the good places to shop, finding the best resource for bread, the best for cheese, the best for potted herbs. Knowing how to schlep in New York. You have to carry all those bags-
Kerry Diamond:
You have to schlep. Anybody who's listening who wants to move to New York, if you don't enjoy schlepping, you might want to reconsider.
Mariana Velasquez:
I mean, when sometimes I go and work anywhere else in the world, right? There's usually a car that you put all your groceries in the trunk, and it's such a treat. In New York, you start shopping at the farmer's market, at Eataly, at Garden of Eden, at D'Agostinos and you start to carry all over it. You see those people on the subway, or at least you used to. I used to joke that it would say on my tombstone, "She schlept, now she's sleeping" Because that just has totally been my New York experience.
Kerry Diamond:
All right. So you schlept a lot. I bet the cleaning came in handy that you learned how to do it in... It's an expensive cleaning class, learning that at culinary school. When did you branch out on your own? When had you learned enough and it was time for the little bird to fly?
Mariana Velasquez:
So it was 2008 and after this food and wine shoot, I haven't thought of those in years. After this food and wine shoot she pulled me aside and she said, "You know what? You're ready. I'm not going to hire you anymore." I was like, "I just signed a lease on this new apartment, what do you mean?" And she was like, "No you're ready. You've been working on your book." She, the entire time would push me to test on my own with other creatives who were also building up their books. When books were on print, you would print your images and-
Kerry Diamond:
Right. You're talking about your portfolio, right? Not that you were working toward Colombiana, but they know where you were, but this was your portfolio.
Mariana Velasquez:
Yeah. And-
Kerry Diamond:
Now Instagram is everyone's portfolio.
Mariana Velasquez:
Exactly. Back then it was print and bound linen, usually light gray. And I had to take the leap. I'm thankful now for that push, for someone else to say, "You're ready and don't get comfortable." And you start showing and sending your portfolio to magazines, to editors. And as an assistant, you get to meet those people and make those relationships and to observe and see that set of etiquettes that you learn while being there. And so, yeah 2008.
Kerry Diamond:
How would you describe your approach to food styling? What would you say makes you different from other food stylists?
Mariana Velasquez:
I would say it's a pretty organic food styling but it's not very studied, it's very loose. I don't usually fuss very much with it, it's like a one or two-stroke situation. If I have to tweak it too much, it just kind of loses it. So yeah. Very quick and spontaneous, I feel like. Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
And what are some essentials in your stylist kit?
Mariana Velasquez:
I mean, my tweezers, I have to say they're an extension of my hands. But good scissors and the-
Kerry Diamond:
Do you have a brand you like?
Mariana Velasquez:
Joyce Chen, they're so good.
Kerry Diamond:
Joyce Chen?
Mariana Velasquez:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, I don't know about... Are these magical scissors?
Mariana Velasquez:
They're magical. You can break up a chicken, you can cut up a chicken, they're incredible. They're very sharp, never used them on paper. They're wonderful.
Kerry Diamond:
And the tweezers that you use, I have a picture of my eyebrow tweezers which probably are not what you use. But is there a brand that stylists love?
Mariana Velasquez:
I don't know of a specific brand. I use what dentists use, which I like very thin and long, but have a pointy tip.
Kerry Diamond:
A dentist tweezer, we're getting all the secrets here. Okay. Very, very interesting. You have worked in more than 20 cookbooks as a food stylist, which is so mind-blowing, including one very special one that you did with Michelle Obama. Did you sign an NDA or can you tell us a little bit about that project?
Mariana Velasquez:
No, I can tell you. No, that project was fascinating because it was all about the White House garden and the seasons and the foods in the garden. And Quentin Bacon again, he brought me into this project and it was pretty surreal to be there, at the White House garden in full bloom, September 2011 and it was insane. You watch Michelle Obama walking with bow.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh my God, I would cry. I can't even imagine.
Mariana Velasquez:
And I prepared all these baskets for the cover and the baskets, I broke the two. So I went all around and found different baskets that had either the handles in the middle or on the side to see what was more comfortable for her to hold and what was less awkward, but also better in the frame and all those details that most people don't think about. But it really matters how you hold your arms in, out, on the side. And she came in and she saw the baskets and she was so appreciative, which imagine for someone like that to care about the baskets. And so that appreciation really, I don't know, meant so much. Just because for someone to be so present while the world is moving around them is quite special.
Kerry Diamond:
She was such a fabulous first lady. Have you watched Waffles and Mochi on Netflix?
Mariana Velasquez:
No
Kerry Diamond:
You haven't watched it yet?
Mariana Velasquez:
I have to see that.
Kerry Diamond:
Mariana, you have to watch that. You know that's her show on Netflix with the two puppets, Waffles and Mochi. It is the cutest show in the world.
Mariana Velasquez:
I have to see that.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. I know you've been a little busy, but once things calm down you can watch it. All right. Finally, let's talk about Colombiana, this beautiful book. Why did you set out to do a cookbook dedicated to the cuisines of Colombia?
Mariana Velasquez:
I felt it was time. 22 years living here, learning about foods from all over the world. I was ready to write about my own food and it wasn't until then that it was the right time. Before I didn't even question it, I didn't think about it, I didn't consider it. And I think to talk about your own cuisine, you have to have a certain expertise to be able to do so and kind of like that respect to really honor it in the right way. And it was at a time where I was feeling kind of confused creatively, I was a little bit lost in my passion for food. Because when you're working so much back to back and cooking nonstop, sometimes all you want is miso soup and vegetable broth, because it's too much and you get sort of lost in the mix of it. And I needed something to ground me and I started writing these proposals and I found the answer. I had to go back and remember and look at all those things and maybe the cook that made me the cook that I am today. Think about all those people who made a big, big influence in my life going up. And yeah, the timing was right. But it's hard to explain exactly why.
Kerry Diamond:
I was trying to think of if I had seen any books from major publishers over the past several years on Colombia and I have not.
Mariana Velasquez:
No.
Kerry Diamond:
How do you feel in terms of representation for Colombian cuisine, chefs, et cetera.
Mariana Velasquez:
Yeah, so it's a hard one because Colombian food is very, very regional. Our country's geography, it's so vast and varied. So we have the Andes running from South to North, imagine these humongous mountains and valleys and all of the micro-climates that result from that. So you have the Pacific coast, you have the Caribbean coast, you have desert, you have rainforest. And it's very hard to get from place to place by car, right? Because the roads are difficult, which in turn makes the food to be very local, right? And there's ingredients and preparations from Bogota that people in Santander don't necessarily know about. Or these delicious cookies made in the Cauca Valley that people in Barrancabermeja have never heard or tried. And so Colombia's food is kind of separated in its own, right?
Mariana Velasquez:
It stayed encapsuled. And so to put it into one book, it's either a very anthropological cookbook that may be hard to relate to, or I don't know what I did, which was my own take on Colombian cuisine and through my eyes, through my own experiences. So I talk about food from all over the country, but because I've tasted it, I've lived it, I've experienced it and it's made a mark. And so, I mean, I hope that this book is the first of many, because I feel that I only touched the surface of all the variety of indigenous techniques or the ingredients, the variety of our cuisine is just incredible. And so, yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Now, even though it is hard to pinpoint what is Colombian cuisine because of that, you still identified three foods that you felt were very unifying for the culture and the cuisine. Can you tell us about those three foods?
Mariana Velasquez:
Yeah. So Arepas, right? For breakfast, sometimes for dinner, the corn cake that could be from white corn, from sweet corn, from yuca, from chickpeas. So that's a very unifying factor. Arepas you can find anywhere. Empanadas of course, deep fried with a squeeze of lime and a dollop of Aji, which I'll tell you it's this delicious cilantro and green onion sauce. And then the one-pot meal, I feel everywhere you go, you'll find a great stew made with whatever is available. So if you're in the mountains, it will be potatoes and pork and corn and herbs. And if you're on the coast, it will be fish and coconuts and planting. So depending on where you are, you'll find these big pots cooking slowly over a fire.
Kerry Diamond:
So I should mention that we are working with our chief engineer Joe for the first time. And Joe, I forgot to warn you that you should eat lunch before we record an episode of Radio Cherry Bombe. It's very painful to do these interviews on an empty stomach. All right. Those all sound amazing. Tell me how to pronounce that, the salsa that you-
Mariana Velasquez:
Aji
Kerry Diamond:
Aji?
Mariana Velasquez:
Mm-hmm.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. I would love for you to tell me about Aji. So you describe it in the book as a type of green salsa. It's a sour and spicy condiment. I'd love to know how you make it and what you put it on.
Mariana Velasquez:
So I take two bunches of cilantro, about eight scallions, and mind you that I chop the cilantro stems, leaves and all, the whole thing. Finely chopped. You put it into a bowl and you add about eight scallions, also greens and whites, pretty finely. I take a Thai pepper, red or a jalapeno if I don't want it too spicy. I add a little bit of white vinegar and lime juice and some cold water. And that stays in the fridge for a day.
Kerry Diamond:
And do you blend it?
Mariana Velasquez:
No.
Kerry Diamond:
Mortar and pestle?
Mariana Velasquez:
No. You let it sit and basically it gets spooned over everything from a short rib broth for breakfast, to Empanadas, to all kinds of soups. I say in the book that it's like the Sriracha of Colombia, you can put it on everything.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, it sounds so good. And the jalapeno or whatever pepper you decide to use, seeds and all?
Mariana Velasquez:
If you like it spicy, yes. And I like it spicy.
Kerry Diamond:
So you can go for it.
Mariana Velasquez:
You can go for it.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. Excellent. You said in the book, when it comes to entertaining and feeding people in Colombia more is more, which I loved. You said that's the main rule, but in terms of aesthetics and generosity, it's more is more. Can you tell us how that's put into practice back home?
Mariana Velasquez:
Yeah. So it's all about the flowers and the textiles and ceramics and there's bowls made for specific soups. And you find the place mats that you can only use at certain times of day. I mean, the ritual of the table is very rich and very visual, and it doesn't really matter where you are. You can go through this roadside restaurant and even though the tablecloth may be like oil cloth, plastic, you'll see the really kitschy, Han salt and pepper shakers, and the little ceramic spoons. There's a real attention for detail when it comes to the table.
Kerry Diamond:
And how about in terms of quantities of food? You said more is more, counts in that respect as well.
Mariana Velasquez:
When there's room for 10 people at a table, there's room for 12. So it's that abundance. You add more water to the soup, you can always sip everybody. There's always leftovers. You walk away from dinner and you always take a little to go container because there's always a big part of Sancocho, there's always more rice. So it's an abundance that is not excess, it's about generosity and kind of that plentiful food that doesn't feel... Everybody can come essentially.
Kerry Diamond:
I was so struck when I read that in the book, because the more I've gotten to know you, I really think of you as a generous spirit, and now I know where that comes from.
Mariana Velasquez:
Thank you.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. You have a section on the Colombian pantry in your book, which I loved reading because everyone does a pantry section and it's always so unique to the author. You have everything in there from canned coconut milk to Yuca flour. Can you walk us through a few of the items you mentioned and call out some of the things that you use over and over.
Mariana Velasquez:
So Yuca flour is something that I use quite a bit and it's throughout the book in several recipes, both savory and sweet. And it's so great because now it's widely available in the US. But I also really enjoy achiote, which I call the red turmeric. It's a really good way to refer to it but it's these red spies. And they're the seeds from these beautiful pod that you can use either in seed form and then use a mortar and pestle to ground them, or you can use the powder. And it has a very interesting taste because it just gives dimension to food. It adds that extra layer of little bit of bitterness and spice that really works.
Kerry Diamond:
Do you use the powder or do you prefer to grind the seeds yourself?
Mariana Velasquez:
I mean, it depends. There's moments when I prefer to grind the seeds, sometimes I put the seeds in a little packet and put it into the broth and just take them out. But the powder I have next to the stove, I just sort of sprinkle it over things all the time. Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Tell us a few other things in the pantry.
Mariana Velasquez:
Panela, which is the unrefined sugar, where they take the sugar cane and they grind all the stalks and the liquid comes out and they put that incredible syrup into these big copper vats and gets boiled down and then poured into molds. And it's amazing because the texture is almost caramel-y and is a little bit chewy. And in Mexico it's piloncillo, in Thailand you also see it as this raw sugar cane and in Colombia it's used everywhere. We have these beverages that is Agua de Panela, like Panela water, and it's essentially a little cube of panela, a little bit of ginger and then a couple of cubes of cheese, believe it or not.
Kerry Diamond:
Cheese?
Mariana Velasquez:
Yes. Totally wrong move though. You're sipping this sweet water and you fish cheese out with a spoon. Totally bizarre and you have to try it.
Kerry Diamond:
You know what? I love sugar, I love cheese-
Mariana Velasquez:
It's sweet and salty.
Kerry Diamond:
So which recipe in Colombiana should people start with? What's a good introduction to the book?
Mariana Velasquez:
There is the Tialli Litaz coconut custard. We used to call my grandmother Tialli Lita and it's a very simple dessert, but Kerry, every single time I either make it or bring it to someone's home, people go for a second and thirds. It's a hit. So I would say it's a pretty safe and crowd-pleaser recipe to start with.
Kerry Diamond:
And I'm sure most of us can guess what's in it, but walk us through the ingredients.
Mariana Velasquez:
So it has graded coconuts, sweetened condensed milk, which is one of my guilty pleasures, eggs, it's just so good. Vanilla, yeah. Cardamom.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. I need to make that. Before we get to the speed round, I want to talk about your apron company, because in addition to all these things you do, you also have your own apron company. Can you tell us about it?
Mariana Velasquez:
So when I transitioned from working in the kitchen on the line and even at Saveur and I went out to become a food stylist, as a stimulus stylist I could wear my own clothes. Which I mean, you know me, clothes are a way of expression for me and I really enjoyed, and I couldn't believe that I could actually wear my own clothes on set. But I also needed to wear an apron because you're actually cooking and it's utilitarian, but the atmosphere on set is so different than any kitchen. And I wanted to wear something that made me feel proud of either doing the dishes or the schlepping, or chopping up a storm. But to have that pride of my apron and also feel well-dressed. So I started designing my own aprons and making them, and over the years, people always ask, is that an apron? Is that your dress? What are you wearing? And I wanted a layer that complimented what I had on, and my street clothes. And so my husband Diego, one day said, "We have to just make them and sell them." And that's how the brand was born and we started making aprons and now-
Kerry Diamond:
And the name of this lovely brand is?
Mariana Velasquez:
Is Limonarium.
Kerry Diamond:
And what does that word mean?
Mariana Velasquez:
So it's not a real word, but Limonarium evokes all things such as beauty, nature, dreamy spaces, and it just transports me to kind of cooking barefoot somewhere under a grapevine.
Kerry Diamond:
Very dreamy. So is it limonarium.com? Is that your website?
Mariana Velasquez:
Yes, exactly.
Kerry Diamond:
Great. Everyone should check it out. The aprons are so pretty and they're so romantic and they really don't look like other aprons out there. So I think there are a lot of folks out there who I'm sure collect aprons as well as cookbooks. So if that's you, you should take a look. Speed round. Okay. Coffee or tea?
Mariana Velasquez:
Coffee, black, whole the milk and sugar.
Kerry Diamond:
This is so funny because this is one of the questions earlier. What did you eat for breakfast today?
Mariana Velasquez:
Nothing, coffee.
Kerry Diamond:
Most treasured cookbook.
Mariana Velasquez:
The Zuni Cafe Cookbook.
Kerry Diamond:
The Zuni Cafe.
Mariana Velasquez:
Yeah. Reading those recipes is like reading literature. And I haven't cooked too much from it, but I've read it cover to cover.
Kerry Diamond:
I've never been there, is one of my great shames and I would love to.
Mariana Velasquez:
You must.
Kerry Diamond:
When I go to San Francisco next time visit. Most used kitchen implement.
Mariana Velasquez:
I mean, I would say kitchen scissors, the Joyce Chen scissors or a mandolin.
Kerry Diamond:
The famous scissors or mandolin? Okay. Nigella Lawson told us about this glove she uses when she uses her mandolin, because she's always afraid she's going to...
Mariana Velasquez:
It's the worst nightmare.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah. I won't even say it out loud. She calls it her Game of Thrones glove.
Mariana Velasquez:
It's probably that metal mesh glow.
Kerry Diamond:
Well, I had this vision of one of those oyster shucker gloves, but she says it's a little different from that. Okay. Where were we? Last pantry purchase.
Mariana Velasquez:
I just bought a little packet of sumac at Kalustyan's-
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, Kalustyan's.
Mariana Velasquez:
Yeah, it's one of my favorite places in the city.
Kerry Diamond:
If anyone is planning to come to New York or lives in New York and has not been to Kalustyan's put that on your list. It is a food stylist heaven. Absolutely, every spice and ingredient known to womankind. Do you listen to music in the kitchen?
Mariana Velasquez:
I do. I mean, I have to say either listen to NPR or-
Kerry Diamond:
NPR is not music just FYI.
Mariana Velasquez:
I know. But it's that company, it's kind of really soothing voice that gives me comfort. And I think from my years in Vermont NPR in the car was... And the funny thing is [crosstalk 00:38:21] exactly VPI. But I also listen to playlist that I've put together for dinner parties. In the book I actually put together a playlist for every menu.
Kerry Diamond:
That's right. You did.
Mariana Velasquez:
Yeah. And so I'm always trying to discover new music to add on to these playlists.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. Kitchen footwear of choice.
Mariana Velasquez:
Swedish Hasbeens, the sandals.
Kerry Diamond:
Specific color?
Mariana Velasquez:
Blue.
Kerry Diamond:
The sandals?
Mariana Velasquez:
Mm-hmm.
Kerry Diamond:
So open toe?
Mariana Velasquez:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
You're brave.
Mariana Velasquez:
Don't tell anybody.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. I won't. Oldest thing in your fridge.
Mariana Velasquez:
This orange blossom water that I've had for ages.
Kerry Diamond:
Probably will last for a while, right? Okay. What do you use it for?
Mariana Velasquez:
I use it for different desserts. Sometimes I sort of mix it into yogurts or in my cookbook, I made this cheese bread where I fold in some of the orange blossom water, but it's so good. And sometimes it's just like a little dab of it on my wrist and it's delicious.
Kerry Diamond:
Lovely. Okay. We're bringing back our old questions. It always was our last question when we would record face to face, so I thought this would be a good time to bring it back. If you are stuck on a desert island... I can't even say it with a straight face. If you were stuck on a desert island with one food celebrity, who would it be and why?
Mariana Velasquez:
I mean, it would have to be someone really fun, right?
Kerry Diamond:
Well, the number one answer is, this is unscientific because I didn't really go back and count them, but it tends to be either Anthony Bourdain or Nigella.
Mariana Velasquez:
I would say Anthony Bourdain for sure. I think you would need someone with great humor, also a little muscle strength and kind of resilience. Yeah. Someone to be game.
Kerry Diamond:
All right. Mariana, this has been an absolute pleasure. You are amazing, your book is amazing. I can't wait to see... We didn't even talk about In The Heights. We'll have to have you back one day and you can talk all about that. But tell us quickly, how was that experience In The Heights?
Mariana Velasquez:
It was magical. And I'm so excited that it's coming out now because the city feels like it's exploding and it's coming back to life. And that movie really celebrates that community, neighborhood, local flavors and cultures from all over the world.
Kerry Diamond:
It was supposed to come out last summer.
Mariana Velasquez:
Exactly.
Kerry Diamond:
So you have been waiting for this for a year and now your book and the movie are coming out within days of aach other.
Mariana Velasquez:
Can you imagine?
Kerry Diamond:
I just got goosebumps.
Mariana Velasquez:
Me too.
Kerry Diamond:
That's so incredible. Well, June is your month and we're thrilled that you're here. So thank you for your time today.
Mariana Velasquez:
Thank you so much.
Kerry Diamond:
All right, everybody. Thank you to Mariana for joining us. Be sure to pick up a copy of Colombiana at your favorite bookstore. Radio Cherry Bombe was recorded and mixed by Newsstand Studios chief engineer, Joe Hazan. And I should give a shout out to Jenna too. And thank you to Cherry Bombe's Jenna Sadhu do for all her help on Radio Cherry Bombe. And thank you to Loeffler Randall for supporting our show. Lastly, thanks to you for listening, you are the Bombe.