"The Enfant Terrible of the chocolate world!" - Steve DeVries
 I wouldn't have a chocolate project at all if it weren't for Maricel. Her book, The New Taste of Chocolate was my favorite chocolate book. I wrote to the publisher and was thrilled to get an email back from Mrs. Presilla herself and an offer of help. We met at her restaurant Zafra in Hoboken and she gave me a big bag of excellent Trinitario beans from Hacienda la Concepcion in Venezuela. This is one of the best places for cacao beans. Also, Venezuela is next to Guyana where my mom and dad came from. After I made my own chocolate bar, I went back to see Maricel so she could be the first one to taste it. She liked it! She said that she was amazed at what I did and she was very proud of me.  I am so proud to be Maricel's friend. She has an awesome combination of talent and enthusiasm and she seems to know everyone in the chocolate world. |
