When my children were born I wanted to work from home. Writing was just a thought when, in 2003, Palm Beach Cottages & Gardens a new magazine, and Palm Beach Daily News, our local paper, published my first article on entertaining at home. Since then, I have written for Veranda, Town & Country Travel, Food & Wine, The Miami Herald and Palm Beach Illustrated, and I have contributed to My Food My Health, The Huffington Post, IBS for Dummies and The Park Avenue Cookbook. Southern Accents, Ocean Drive, Florida Travel & Life, Florida Table and HC&G have featured my houses, table settings and recipes. I am very proud of all my accomplishments and hope to continue to share my recipes and ideas.

Delicious!, is the first book I published as fund raiser for the school my children attended in West Palm Beach, FL. It nearly sold out in 8 months. My second book,  Delicious Flavors, received the silver medal from the Independent Publisher’s Award for cookbook of the year and was named “one of the best” cookbooks for the summer 2009 by Town & Country. I am now working on a third book, yet to be named, to accompany a TV series for Canal Cocina, Spain’s only cooking TV channel.

I have dabbled in TV and have created cooking and entertaining segments for our local ABC and PBS stations. “Delicious Entertaining” was a short-lived show for the Treasure Coasts’s PBS station. I have also lectured about my favorite subject: food and entertaining  at various libraries and taped video segments for various websites including plambeachillustrated.com and myfoodmyhealth.com. I stared in a reality/documentary television show for Canal Cuatro, Spain’s second largest station, which aired in the winter of 2011. Now, I am working on two TV shows for Canal Cocina and Canal Decasa.

What I want to share with you is that cooking and entertaining is not to be pretentious or stressful, it is to be a pleasure for all. Throwing a good dinner or lunch is about creating a comfortable environment where you and your guests have a good time, which is, after all, the reason for a party.

Everyday cooking is just as important and now more than ever. When budgets are tight and emotions at the edge, cooking is comforting and nourishing, it is a way for caring for those we love. At the end of a long day, a soup bubbling on the stove is more comforting and has more nutrients than those accumulated by a sum of its parts.

My cooking is simple, easy and full of flavor. Experience comes from doing things over and over again, it comes from making mistakes and learning from them, it comes from having organized, hosted and cooked for tons of friends through the years, it comes from family members (the worst critics of all!) requesting recipes, copying ideas and coming back for more.

I like to share my experiences, disasters, achievements and just everyday knowledge with all my friends, as I think that this is what makes us real and true. I hope you love my books, blogs and newsletters as much as I do.

Best

Victoria

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It all started when my husband and I moved to Florida from New York and actually had a kitchen. I re-discovered my passion for cooking and entertaining; as a Spaniard I believe it is in my DNA to be hospitable. Sharing recipes, ideas, what-to-do, how-to do-it and when-to-do-it has become my most favorite subject of conversation. 

I grew up between Madrid and Sevilla, and attended boarding school in England. In my early 20’s, I moved from Madrid to NYC, and now live in Palm Beach, FL and Greenwich, CT with my husband and our three boys.

I learned the art of gracious entertaining from my parents, the count and countess de la Maza, who always included us in the preparation and planning of all their events. Whether in town or in the country, our house was always full of family and friends and every meal was memorable.

I have always loved inviting friends to my house, wherever that may be. From a tiny apartment in the city, to weekend rentals and now at home, cooking for my family and friends is my refuge and haven, it is how I give back, it is my source of comfort and inspiration. It is a ritual that I embrace wholeheartedly and yes, it does take time but the time spent giving back, sharing, caring and loving those around me is a good time.

Delicious Homemade