Bal Harbour

Spring 2026

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P H OTO S BY G E N T L & H Y E R S "Revel: A Maximalist's Guide to Having People Over" by Mariana Velásquez Food stylist Mariana Velásquez is a generous host, her gatherings verging on sensory overload. Her evocative new book, "Revel: A Maximalist's Guide to Having People Over," out now from Ten Speed Press, celebrates her exuberant approach to entertaining. "I'm all about more is more, generosity, being ample," she says. "I love layers, I love print, I love color. I love things that don't feel too matchy. I want tables and spaces that tell stories—of travels, of family traditions." Velásquez grew up in Bogotá, Colombia, but has lived in Brooklyn for more than 20 years. "My grandmothers, my aunts, they're incredible hosts," she says. "But they don't enjoy themselves when hosting—they're so tense the whole time. I wanted to write a book that would help remove stress from the equation." The book offers roadmaps for removing the pain points from hosting, whether you're coddling a partner with breakfast in bed or throwing a garden party for two dozen guests. Her checklists for avoiding day-of disasters have every angle covered, from how much ice to purchase (2.5 pounds per person) to how much meat and cheese to budget for perfectly portioned aperitivo boards. Velásquez worked in restaurants and in food magazine test kitchens before finding her true calling of styling food—and food events—for editorial shoots. "I found that what fascinated me was the aesthetics of it all, making you salivate through amazing images," she says. A few years ago, she launched her own line of housewares—colorful aprons, dishes, and tabletop accessories—which led to a collaboration with Sur La Table. The retail giant will release her debut collection this spring. In 2021 Velásquez published her first book in English, "Colombiana," written during the pandemic and dedicated to the foods she pined for from her youth in Bogotá. The book launched just as the world was coming back to life. "When 'Colombiana' came out, I started hosting more than ever," she says. "Every week I was having gatherings—on rooftops, in parks, at other people's houses. And I started gathering menus and writing down recipes." Now she's collected those menus, and memories, in her new book, shot by husband-and- wife team Andrea Gentl and Martin Hyers, and featuring Velásquez and her friends feasting in locales in New York and Colombia. Potent Tomatillo Mezcal Marys fuel a summer brunch in her leafy backyard featuring giant rolled omelets filled with sheep's milk cheese and wilted greens. A "Manhattan Dance Party," with rooftop views of the Chrysler Building, includes whole roasted arctic char with cucumber scales, and a Champagne Jello tower. A monochrome luncheon, a study in pink, featuring radicchio salad, salmon rice, and cassis sorbet, served in a super-saturated pink dining room in Cartagena, riffs on the eccentric habits of Mexican architect Luis Barragán, an inspiration who, in the 1970s, says Velásquez, "used to have entirely pink lunches prepared for him once a month." Her spreads, covering every occasion, big and small—from hangover breakfasts (ginger-spiked broth, spicy micheladas) to dockside picnics to candlelit roast chicken dinners at home—are all as enticing to look at as they must be to eat. "I'm all about more is more," says food stylist Mariana Velásquez, whose new book features an exuberant approach to entertaining. "I love things that don't feel too matchy. I want tables that tell stories— of travels, of family traditions." — M A R IA NA V EL ÁSQUEZ BALHAR B O U RSH O P S .CO M

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