Marian has had a lifelong interest in food and cooking. She has lived in Lima, Peru for the past four years with her husband and three children, where they have been overwhelmed by the amazing food Peru has to offer. Marian received a degree in pastry from Le Cordon Bleu Peru cooking school.

Marian learned to love cooking from her mother and grandmother. She collected recipes and developed her cooking skills while she went to medical school and raised her three young children. When she and her family moved to Peru 4 years ago, her baking skills were suddenly in demand from fellow expatriates who missed bagels and other American pastries. She started her business, Blazing Bagels, and became known around Lima as the "bagel lady." Marian is fluent in Spanish, and she and her husband have traveled extensively in Peru and other South American countries, where they have enjoyed the opportunity to learn about South American cuisine and culture.

Marian received a degree in Pastry Arts from The Cordon Bleu Peru in Lima. The two year program included an extensive course of Peruvian and South American pastelería as well as traditional French pastry education.

My time living here in Peru has been quite a culinary adventure. I have had the good fortune to meet many people from Peru and other South American countries who have shared their knowledge of their country's cuisine, teaching me new things and sharing recipes. South America is in the midst of a gastronomic boom of sorts: new restaurants, cooking schools, and gastronomic tours for visitors are cropping up everywhere. It is impossible to live here without becoming obsessed with food. Happily, many Latin ingredients are now more widely available in the US and other countries. South American food is simply fantastic, and the variety of flavors astounding. You would need more than one lifetime to explore it all, but I am eager to share with you what I have learned so far.