Mariana Velásquez

[upbeat music] Hi, everybody.

You're listening to Radio Cherry Bombe, and I'm your host, Kerry Diamond, coming to you from Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center in the heart of New York City.

I'm just back from Maine, where I had a really lovely break with my family.

I swam in the Atlantic and did not get eaten by a shark, I'm happy to report.

I didn't go out to eat as much as I would've liked, but I did hit my favorite farmers markets and cooked a lot, and made it to two places I love in Portland; Onggi, an incredible Asian pantry shop with a matcha cafe in the back, and Tandem Coffee Shop and Bakery, which has some of the best baked goods in the whole country.

If you find yourself in Portland, go visit.

And thank you to everyone who shared their Maine recs with me.

Well, it's still summer, and today's guest will put you in a summery mood if you feel like the season is slipping away.

It's Mariana Velásquez, the celebrated food stylist, author, and entertaining expert behind the cookbooks Colombiana and Revel.

We just did a fun project with Mariana and the folks from Miele.

I'll tell you more about that in a second.

Mariana and I cover a lot of ground in today's episode; summer produce, cooking beans, kitchen essentials, why she's Team Galette and not Team Pie, how she got her start in food styling, and some summer hosting rules.

Top of that list, make sure you have enough ice.

I loved talking to Mariana, and you will love her, too, so stay tuned.