CookingDiva

Thursday, September 20th    6:30–9:00 p.m.    $45

Chef Melissa has an extensive background in food and has trained in the United States, Panama, South America and Asia. She has worked to promote the tropical ingredients of Panama through the development of numerous pastry recipes, as well as cooking classes and a website. Her class will allow us to experience the best of the tropics and guests will learn how to prepare plantains (patacones), green mango and coconut!Guests will enjoy original topical creations that include Patacones with Salsa Chimichurri; Tropical Crab Cakes with Tomato Chutney and Mango Salsa; Flan de Coco y Chocolate served with Panamanian Coffee.  Register online

Whole Foods Market Culinary Center
525 N. Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX 78703
512.542.2340

Panama Boutique - Select Travels and Treasures

This has been a marvelous trip! Austin is a beautiful City and I have been delighted to cook here. I will sure blog later about my experiences, but now I am leaving you with this review that Kay Marley posted in her Dancin' Down Congress Avenue Blog: Chef Brings a Taste of Panama to Austin. Thank you Kay!

"One mouthful and I fell in love with a country I’ve never visited. A coconut explosion of lime, mint, cilantro and lemongrass marinated tilapia that has woken up my taste buds to the wonders of Panamanian food. The baked banana leaf wrapped fish, paired with rice and black beans and accompanied by a baby greens salad with coffee vinaigrette was the main attraction of an evening this week with Chef Melissa De Leon." Read the complete review by visiting Kay's blog...

I have posted some photos at My Facebook, and I will be posting more soon...so stay tuned!

Melissa

(Photo credits: Kay Marley...Thank you!)

Thank you Karina Arrue and The Green Magazine for featuring The Cooking Diva this month!

Food blogging is a thriving enterprise these days; with over 48,000 blogs in theu.s. dedicated solely to culinary pursuits, these palatable web diaries are changing the way we relate to food. From popular blogs like Chocolate and Zucchini to Gluten-free Girl and Smitten Kitchen, there is bound to be a self-proclaimed foodie on the net, armed with the recipe needed to satisfy your precise hankering—say for an artichoke and goat cheese mille-feuille—at any given moment.

Their growing number leads me to believe that a small culinary miracle occurred when I stumbled upon the Cooking Diva a couple of months ago. I was looking for a recipe for carimañolas, a yucca fritter made in my father’s homeland, when I first came across Chef Melissa De Leon’s charming blog, and I have been a regular visitor since. The 30-something Panama native drew me in with her knowledge of Latin American cuisine, which is a rarity on the Internet—especially in English—despite the food blog boom. While her perspective on cooking is exceedingly cosmopolitan, no doubt a product of many years of living and traveling abroad, her voice is refreshingly warm and lacking the pretension often found in elevated culinary circles.

Open the PDF file with the complete article...Download MarApr08_DailyBREAD.pdf

I feel honored for The Cooking Diva being featured in the new edition of "Panama Days" by Nights Publications.

***Nos sentimos honrados por el artículo que se ha publicado en la nueva edición de la Revista "Panama Days" un artículo extenso sobre nuestro trabajo, al igual que una sere de fotos de nuestra autoría.

La revista se ofrece en casi todos los hoteles de la ciudad de Panamá y el interior del país. El artículo está escrito en Inglés y en Español, por lo que les invitamos a que le den una ojeadita cuando tengan la oportunidad.

Trusted and recognized throughout the Caribbean, Nights Publications has earned its reputation as the premier lifestyle and travel magazines, with a readership of over 3 million readers annually in Aruba, St. Maarten/St. Martin, Bonaire, Curaçao and Panama (over 1.8 million readers on Aruba alone).

All soft and hard cover magazines feature enlightening stories on local culture and history, an attractive and engaging design, valued entertainment and activity recommendations, high-quality advertising and an abundance of practical information for tourists.

Muchas gracias Sandra, Rossana y a todo el equipo de Night Publications por esta oportunidad!

La Revista MIA publicó el 20 de Septiembre del 2012 el siguiente reportaje sobre la Chef internacional Melissa De León, Pastelera y Chef de Cocina profesional. Los invitamos a leerlo!