Mariana Velásquez is a food stylist, chef, and cookbook author whose résumé runs from the pages of Vogue to the White House—she styled Michelle Obama’s cookbook, American Grown—and she has collaborated on more than 20 cookbooks, including two James Beard Award winners. But the most personal work has come under her own name. Her debut, Colombiana, brought the first serious cookbook devoted entirely to Colombian food to American shelves. And her latest, Revel, is a maximalist manifesto on the art of having people over, built around 15 menus and the radical idea that a great gathering starts with asking yourself why you’re hosting it in the first place. Mariana joins to talk about her career and her wonderful new book.

Also on the show, we have a fun conversation with Samantha Schnur, author of The Naughty Cookbook: Decadent Recipes to Seduce Your Taste Buds.

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749: Mariana Velásquez Throws the Perfect Dinner Party. You're Closer Than You Think.