Chef Raquel graduated with highest honors from The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) after completing her externship at the renowned Le Bernardin in 2008.
In 2010, Chef Raquel was invited to the White House South Lawn to attend the launch of Mrs. Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign. Soon after, Chef Raquel joined Wellness in the Schools where she taught cooking and nutrition classes in public schools in Harlem and the South Bronx. She later became the lead chef instructor at the West Side Campaign Against Hunger. After relocating to CT, Chef Raquel has become fully engaged in her community and is known by many for her cooking education focused on healthy, clean cooking. Chef Raquel also mentors and provides culinary training to aspiring food entrepreneurs and teaches recreational cooking classes and team-building events in NYC and Fairfield County.
Chef Raquel is an active member of the Bridgeport Farmers Market Collaborative and sits on the Board of Cook & Grow and CitySeed Incubates Advisory Committee. In 2023 Chef Raquel was awarded the Hispanic Champions for Justice Award and in 2019 she was awarded Women Business of the Year by the Southern CT Black Chambers of Commerce. She is honored to add these accolades to her list of accomplishments.
