Grace Ramirez Speaker & Booking Information

Gregarious and gorgeous, Grace Ramirez sizzles with style in the kitchen. The Miamiborn chef combines comforting Latin American soul food with her own culinary chic. When the former Masterchef USA contestant isn’t creating dishes to die for, the honorary Kiwi likes to cheer for the All Blacks, go hunting and fishing and to roll up her sleeves volunteering for the Garden to Table programme. Grace brings warmth, honesty and passion to her role as presenter, cooking instructor or food tour guide. She loves to play hostess to fellow foodies, and to whip up her mouthwatering version of the Venezuelan national dish Pabellón, a soul-warming beef stew. You’re allowed – actually encouraged – to lick your fingers. Grace’s culinary inspiration is from a melting pot of Latin American cuisines. Her family hails from Venezuela, and she’s spent time absorbing the gastronomic delights of a host of Latin American countries. Grace’s family was in the fashion and entertainment business, but food was a serious business too: a typical weekend at home would see Grace’s grandmother cooking Venezuelan specialties for the often 50-odd family members visiting. Watch out anyone who didn’t clean their plate - or help with the dishes. The former producer and director spent a decade working in TV, first at kids’ channel Nickelodeon, then MTV and finally the Food Network. But the kitchen called, so Grace made the life-changing decision to quit her hard-won job on the network’s biggest show,Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and auditioned for the first series of Masterchef USA. Selected from 60,000 people to compete in the Gordon Ramsey show, Grace made it to the second round, and Chef Ramsey encouraged her to get formal training and come back. She won a scholarship to the prestigious French Culinary Institute in New York City, but when her husband got a job in New Zealand, Grace was hungry for a new culinary adventure. As a New York city chef used to having strawberries and fresh basil in the middle of winter, she’s had to take a more seasonal approach in New Zealand. Grace volunteers for the Garden to Table programme which aims to teach kids about where their food comes from. Grace admits the experience opened her eyes not only to seasonal cooking, but how things grow. She’s also learned to fish, and to hunt and slaughter, skin, preserve and cook different kinds of game meats. And as this city girl discovers her inner-hunter gatherer, she does it in style. Her hunting outfit is pure Burberry, and she’s on the look-out for a pair of hunting heels. She drives an Audi, but dreams of owning a rugged four-wheel drive – anything she can get dirty. Grace loves giving back to her community and as well as volunteering for Garden to Table, she is an ambassador for Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) in New Zealand, a not-for-profit organisation that helps orphaned, abandoned and at-risk children in South America. She enjoys the simple things in life and her perfect day would include a fishing trip, and then feeding friends and family for lunch before heading to a pub to watch the All Blacks, or perhaps a spot of salsa dancing. She also feeds her spiritual side, visiting a meditation centre in Uruguay for a month every year. When she’s not planning or creating delicious Latin feasts in her stylish kitchen, Grace is biking to her local beach, entertaining friends, searching for cafes to feed her newfound passion for local coffee, or chatting with her family on the phone. She aims to write a cookbook and host her own TV show, and share her passion for food and cooking with kids