María Luisa García

María Luisa García (July 7, 1919 – October 12, 2019) was a Spanish Asturian chef, cookbook author and leading expert on Asturian cuisine and the culinary traditions of Asturias in northern Spain. Her debut Asturian cookbook, El arte de cocinar (The Art of Cooking, first published in 1970, sold half a million copies and became ubiquitous in home kitchens throughout Asturias. It remains the best selling Asturian coobook in history. She published a second part of her landmark cookbook, El arte de cocinar (parte 2) in 1982. Her other best known works include Platos típicos de Asturias (Typical Dishes of Asturias), released in 1971, and her collaboration with other chefs on El libro de oro de la cocina española (The Golden Book of Spanish Cuisine).García was born in Figaredo, a small parish in the municipality of Mieres, on July 7, 1919. She studied culinary arts in Madrid and began a career teaching cooking in Asturias. Her colleagues and students encouraged her to compile and publish her first cookbook on Asturian cuisine, which was originally conceived as an additional text for her cooking classes.García cooked for Pope John Paul II during his official visit to the Principality of Asturias in 1989 at the request of the Archbishop of Oviedo. Main regional dishes prepared by García for the Pope and his guests included cider sausages, Cantabrian hake and Spanish omelettes. Beef for the other dishes was sourced from cows in Cangas de Onís. Other smaller, Asturian dishes and desserts served by García for the occasion included empanada de bonito, sea urchin caviar canapés, cream cheese, stewed beef, casadiellas, buñuelos, and cabrales cheese.During the 1990s, she taught courses and workshops at Asturian cultural centers in Argentina, Belgium, Germany and Venezuela with the support of the autonomous government.She received several cultural and culinary awards, including the Insignia de Oro de la Hostelería de Asturias and the Grouse Award from the Asturian Center of Madrid.María Luisa García died at her home in Mieres, Asturias, on October 12, 2019, at the age of 100. Her funeral was held at San Pedro Apóstol parish in Mieres.