The 2010 Hudson Valley Wine & Food Fest is proud to present celebrity Chef Maria Liberati as one of our featured cooking demonstrators. Chef Liberati will be presenting one demonstration each day of the Fest from her latest book that was selected as The Best Italian Cuisine Book in the US by Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, titled The Basic Art of Italian Cooking : Holidays & Special Occasions.
As a former international supermodel, Maria Liberati never dreamed that she would go from being a fashion diva to a domestic diva. Ironically, while jet setting off to modeling assignments around the world, Maria became closer to the simplicity of life and food in the country setting of her family’s vineyard in the mountains of central Italy.
Maria’s great grandparents owned a well known bakery in their region and vineyard (both in Italy) and her great aunt cooked for some members of the Italian royal family. This made it inevitable for Maria to enter the culinary arts. She began studying with chefs in area trattorias and country farms and completed formal culinary training. She soon found herself putting together cooking programs for English, German and Japanese tourists at various vineyards in Italy. Her University degree in Foreign Language Education with a minor in nutrition was finally being put to its’ full use.
Today, Maria is considered one of the foremost experts on Italian cuisine and culture. She has hosted and delighted audiences from International Wine Festivals, cooking events for both consumers and trade and conventions all over the US to Rome, Abruzzo, and Florence, Italy. She is consistently endorsed by some of the world’s leading chefs for her savvy and simplistic, yet healthy approach to cooking and great food.
Chef Liberati’s latest book will be available in August of 2010. If you would like to know more about Chef Maria Liberati, you can check out her blog and more at www.MariaLiberati.com
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