According to Marisol Peralta, family always comes first. As a mother of two small boys and a small business owner (Baking Life SWEETER, LLC), Peralta knows how to strike a delicate balance between family life and career. 

Although she started cooking at a young age, on a stove that had to be lit via match and paper towel, Marisol has kindled that flame and passion for culinary arts through her adult life. She chose to pursue her culinary and baking certificate at Rowan College at Burlington County due to the accommodating class schedule and reasonable cost. 

“I am a self-taught baker of 12 years and always wanted to attend culinary school but raising my family was the top priority,” Peralta said. “Now that my boys are able to attend school and daycare, it’s time to focus on me.”

Peralta is taking off in her studies at RCBC and is even hosting a Hispanic Heritage Month Cooking Demonstration on September 30, where she will make empanadas and flan de queso (Find the ingredients at the link above, so you can follow along at home!). And, this isn’t her first rodeo. Peralta learned all about how to produce a top-notch food show when she worked on the production team for “Throwdown with Bobby Flay.” She believes that cooking and baking should be enjoyed by everyone, especially for those who say they don’t know how to cook or bake. 

“Being chosen to host the cooking demo for Hispanic Heritage Month is definitely my most memorable experience at RCBC,” Peralta said. “It’s really an honor to represent the Latin culture for this month.” 

Peralta has extensive experience in various kitchens across the United States, including as a pastry chef in the heart of Nashville at the Music City Convention Center and doing freelance work for different athletic stadiums. She’s produced, from scratch, desserts for parties as small as 20 people to military balls as large as 1,000 people. Her go-to recipe is an amaretto bread pudding, as she loves the sweetness from the amaretto and the dash of coconut extract. 

“It's a dessert you can eat cold or warm and pairs perfectly with black coffee,” Peralta shared. 

As for her future plans, Marisol hopes to open a small cafe bakery. After she graduates in May 2022, she anticipates opening the bakery by the end of that summer. When she’s not busy honing her craft, she enjoys bowling and baking with her kids, creating on her cricut and using her Peloton. 

To learn more about RCBC’s culinary arts offerings, visit rcbc.edu/culinary.