Viviana Carballo was born and raised in Havana. She earned the prestigious Grand Diplôme at the Cordon Bleu in Paris and has studied regional cuisine in Spain. Her articles have been published in several national magazines, and she currently writes a weekly food column for the Orlando Sentinel and El Sentinel. Carballo is also a respected food consultant and recipe developer for the Hispanic market. She has traveled extensively and has lived in Manhattan and San Francisco and now resides in Miami.