Daisy Maria Martinez is an actress, model, chef, television personality

Celebrity

A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...

 and author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

, who hosts a PBS television series, Daisy Cooks!

Daisy Cooks!

Daisy Cooks! is a half-hour cooking show on PBS starring Daisy Martinez which features Spanish-Caribbean, Puerto Rican, and Mexican cuisine and their preparation.- Episodes :Daisy Cooks! is a half-hour cooking show on PBS starring Daisy Martinez which features Spanish-Caribbean, Puerto Rican, and...

, which launched on April 15, 2005.

Career

Daisy was born to mainland Puerto Rican parents in Brooklyn, New York, where she lived at her grandmother’s house until she was almost five years old. From her grandmother, Valentina, and her mother, Conchita, Daisy learned an appreciation of Latin cuisine. She attended Long Island University

Long Island University

Long Island University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution of higher education in the U.S. state of New York.-History:...

, where she met her husband.

Before becoming a TV chef, Daisy was an actress and model. She became the Martinez Valero Girl for the Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 shoe company by the same name. Daisy appeared in American commercials for Ford, and in Spanish-language commercials for AT&T. She has also appeared in Carlito’s Way and Scent of a Woman

Scent of a Woman

This article is about the American film. For the Korean drama, see Scent of a Woman .Scent of a Woman is a 1992 drama film directed by Martin Brest that tells the story of a preparatory school student who takes a job as an assistant to an irascible, blind, medically retired Army officer...

.

In 1998, Daisy matriculated at The French Culinary Institute

French Culinary Institute

The French Culinary Institute , also known as The International Culinary Center has locations in SoHo, New York City and in the San Francisco Bay Area of California....

, where she won first prize for her final project, "The Passionate Palate". Shortly after graduation, Daisy worked on the set of PBS' Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen

Lidia Bastianich

Lidia Matticchio Bastianich is an American chef, author, and restaurateur....

 as a prep-kitchen chef, and as a private chef in New York City, which she did for three years. In addition, Daisy managed a small catering business, "The Passionate Palate", which she continues to operate.

One of her books was IACP nominee and winner of the Best Latino Cuisine Cookbook in the World by the Gourmand World Cookbook Award

Gourmand World Cookbook Award

The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards were founded in 1995 by Edouard Cointreau.In 2008, books from 102 countries participated in the competition...

s.

Since January 2009, she has hosted a six episode series, Viva Daisy!, on Food Network

Food Network

Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....

.

Daisy currently resides in Brooklyn, NY, with her children, Marc, Erik, David, Angela and husband, Jerry, a medical doctor.

External links

• Official website
• Article on Daisy Martinez - FCI Review, French Culinary Institute of New York City newsletter