As Maria Marta delicately places pieces of succulent pink lobster over creamy yellow mango sauce, the staff and chefs at London’s Barrafina gather around her in awe. To them, and us looking on about to eat this delicious morsel, her smiling Caribbean serenity couldn’t be further from the image of the shouty macho celebrity chefs we see on our television screens: refreshingly, this michelin-starred chef is every bit the warm Latina mother figure.
When Maria Marte, a single mother from the Dominican Republic, arrived in Spain to work as a dishwasher at Madrid’s famous El Club Allard, like many immigrants, she left her children behind armed with a bag full of hopes and dreams.
‘’I never thought I was going to become the person I am now. I had kids, I was their mom and their dad. My mom was also sick and I felt the need to help her and my dad. My only purpose was to work, to give my family a better life.’’
The fact that Maria’s dreams ultimately became a reality, however, was no lucky accident. From the very beginning at Allard, Marte made a decision to learn from her fellow teammates while maintaining her cleaning duties. By 2006, she was Head Chef Diego Guerrero’s right hand and, by 2013, she was named Head Chef herself. In 2016, Maria’s inspirational book Luchar, Soñar, Cocinar (Struggle,Dream,Cook) became a bestseller. In 2018 Maria became the only woman in Spain and Latin America to achieve two Michelin stars while helming a kitchen.
Today, Maria’s innovative dishes, such as her 'Hibiscus flower with pisco sour foam and pistachio crumble', have earned her prestigious global accolades and invitations to showcase her work in restaurants around the world, including here at Barrafina in London.
Marte's story is an inspiration to young female chefs from the Latin Caribbean and beyond, not least her own daughter, Paula, who now works alongside her. It is a story of determination and transformation, from humble beginnings to a celebrated culinary artist who continues to promote Dominican Republic cuisine globally.
Growing up in Jarabacoa, Maria’s passion for cooking began when she was a kid, inspired by her father, a restaurant owner, and her mother, a pastry chef. “My parents have been my biggest inspiration. They encouraged me to become the person I am now,” Maria recalls.
Maria’s dreams came with significant sacrifices, however, including leaving her children behind for nine years when she travelled to Spain, the hardest choice she says she ever had to make: “As a single mum, I knew I had to fight for my children. They were my biggest inspiration. I am so blessed now because both of my children are chefs. Paola, my daughter, goes with me everywhere. She is just as passionate about the culinary world as I am.”
Maria learned everything she now knows at Club Allard, where her creativity was allowed to blossom, using the flavours of her heritage, such as her signature Hibiscus flower desert, also known as Cayenas. ‘’Cayenas was my first creation in Club Allard and that's why it is so special to me. It is a plate that excites people.’’
“A chef is a food artist," Maria emphasises. "To be creative, a chef has to be able to transform everything around her into food." Maria urges chefs to make mistakes in order to achieve this transformation: "creativity is all about taking risks.” Her advice to those who want to develop new dishes is to persevere but also to allow a pause, a space, before coming back to a dish. ‘’Some ideas never come to fruition. But the day you least expect it, that idea comes back to you and you might have the chance to create your signature dish.’’
In 2018, Maria decided to return to the Dominican Republic to open her own restaurant Cayenas, after her favourite creation, showcasing her own brand of Dominican Republic and Spanish fusion cuisine. ‘’I always traveled with a piece of the Dominican Republic inside of me and this is the style that I developed,’’ she says, adding that the key component in all of her creations is mixing ‘’lo de aqui con lo de alla’’, bridging her roots in everything she makes.
Outside of the kitchen, meanwhile, using the prize money she won from the Eckart Witzigman Award for Innovation, she launched the Maria Marte Foundation. The cookery school gives young Dominican women the opportunity to study, learn the secrets of the kitchen and a career in the cooking world.
"Being a woman in the professional kitchen was not an easy path, but I had my own inspiration in chefs like Carmen Ruscalleda, the chef with the most Michelin stars in Spain, who started washing dishes like I did. And certainly being a mum and a chef is not easy. I had four restaurants to manage, but when you are a chef, you live for that.’’
With her foundation, Maria provides that same inspiration and training for a new generation of young female chefs in Latin America. "The girls that are selected study in Jarabacoa for two years. Then we select the three best students who get the chance to study in Spain for a year. It’s my way of giving something back to my country, and particularly to women.’’
While she is certain it is harder for women than for men to gain respect in the industry, she implies that women also have the strength to overcome those difficulties.“This is why I always encourage women to never give up. You are always going to find challenges, you are always going to find people putting you down."
Through her total dedication and work, Maria clearly found a way to command respect. As Ibero-American Ambassador of Culture, now she gets to represent her country worldwide. ‘’This is what gives me the most pride. I get to represent my country through its gastronomy.’’ Maria also launched Cocinera Feliz, a company that delivers Dominican cuisine at private events around the world, along with her own inspirational talks and workshops.
‘’I have always been a dreamer. Life has made me a fighter,” she says, but Maria has also found happiness in the Dominican Republic where she says she has been able to finally find a balance between work, teaching and being able to give back her knowledge.
Maria’s legacy is a story of gratitude, one that she wants her children to follow. ‘’I want my kids to always be grateful and to do things right. I believe we are in this world for a reason. We are here to plant seeds and to give back to the world.”
She wants people to remember her as a chef that was always generous, humble and whose entire purpose was to do things right. ‘’I want people to remember me as someone who wanted to help women, not only women in Latin America, but also all over the world. That is what we try to do through the Foundation and what I want my children to continue. ‘’A legacy of humanity, of humbleness.’’
Maria Marte’s story is a testament to the power of perseverance, hard work, and resilience. Her journey from dishwasher to Michelin-starred chef inspires many to fight for their dreams and never give up. “The most important thing about falling down is that you get up.” she concludes. “Believing in yourself is key to everything in life.”
Maria Marte was the first chef in this year's Barrafina Invita guest chef series, that sees the Barrafina team invite some of the best Spanish or Latin American chefs to cook a special menu. The quarterly series showcases the breadth and quality of Spanish cooking from all over Spain and the rest of the world, in partnership with Gin Mare.
