Zarela

Some important wishes of my life have come true as if the gods had pulled strings to have me in just the right place at the right time, request in hand. My first restaurant, Café Marimba, was an example. Of course it wasn’t really “my” restaurant, but it gave me the thrill of creation on a new level, at an exciting time for the whole restaurant business in New York. I was lucky to come there at the right moment—and lucky to have several years of practical restaurant experience under my belt just when another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity came along.