Hi!!!! I’m Maira, an award‑winning chef, best‑selling Puerto Rican cookbook author, food and prop stylist, and culinary innovator with more than 25 years in the food and hospitality industry. My career has taken me from the sets of Telemundo, Univisión, Fox Utilísima, and WIPR to hosting Bizarre Foods in Puerto Rico, and to leading menu innovation and product development for brands such as Schlotzsky’s, Subway, and PepsiCo’s Frito‑Lay. During my time at PepsiCo, I developed two nationally launched products—Baked Lay’s Roasted Garlic & Herbs and Baked Lay’s Loaded Potato—along with additional flavor platforms still in the innovation pipeline.

​

I founded and operated Let’s Cook PR, a cooking school and culinary studio offering classes, catering, and corporate demos. I’m also the author of two books, including Gourmet Para Todos Los Días, which became Puerto Rico’s number‑one cookbook for 12 consecutive weeks. My work is deeply shaped by global culinary travel; each year I study with local masters around the world, exploring traditions, techniques, and ingredients that continue to expand my craft.

​

Born in Puerto Rico to a family with Cuban, Venezuelan, and Spanish roots, I’m bilingual in English and Spanish and conversational in several Romance languages. Outside the kitchen, I enjoy wine, photography, leather crafting, watercolor painting, and curating my archive of more than 1,200 restaurant menus dating back to the 1800s.