Maribel Lieberman's 'Sweet Success': How fearlessness built a beloved NYC luxury Chocolate boutique

It’s so funny, I get that question all the time. I grew up in a very small village. My mother was a seamstress. I’m the youngest of eight kids. Even though there were eight of us, my older siblings were always away studying because, in our village, the school only went up to sixth grade, not even middle school. It wasn't easy.

We had very little, and the only money I was allowed to spend was two pennies a day. With that, I could buy two candies. That’s where it all began. I remember wanting to make caramels; I’ve always loved caramels! However, I was probably seven or eight years old at the time and didn’t know how to make them. My nanny, Catalina, helped me. My mother said, “I’ll give you the sugar and the butter, but who’s going to cook them?” And I said, “Catalina!” I paid her one penny from my two pennies, and she made the caramels. That was my first business!

Later, we moved to the capital so my siblings could attend university. That’s when things really began to change for me.

I was always a dreamer. In my family, everything was practical, if your brother studied engineering, you did too, because we already had the books. But I was the lucky one. Being the youngest, there was less pressure by the time it was my turn.

I wanted to study architecture because I loved to draw, I always got 100s in that class. But my mother said, “I’m afraid you won’t finish university. You’re always anxious to make money.” And she was right. I was the only one working during school vacations. In Latin America, we don’t have summer camps. I’d wrap gifts at department stores every December. I loved it, especially the presentation. That’s when I first realized how much I liked packaging and selling.

My mother wanted me to do something more stable, so I joined a bilingual secretary program that also counted as high school prep. I thought, “Okay, I’ll learn English!” But I didn’t know what shorthand was, or even how to type. I passed the first year, barely. The second year, I failed.

I was 17. My mother was very tough, and she told me, “I’m very disappointed in you.” That was really hard to hear. I started looking for a job. And it’s so funny, at that point, I thought I could type 60 words per minute because that’s what we needed to pass. I counted them, “one, two, three…” but no one told me they had to be 60 correct words! I applied for a job and was told, “You typed 10 good and 50 bad.” 

Through a friend, I learned that her sister in Washington, D.C. needed someone to stay with her two kids. They were already in middle school, but she just wanted someone there after school. She offered me a student visa. I’d get to study English during the day and stay with the kids after school. I thought, “this is my chance!” So I went. That’s how my journey in the U.S. began. I first lived in D.C., then New Orleans then New York city.

It was lovely. I worked at a department store selling cosmetics, Shiseido. It’s Japanese, and it had just started to expand into the U.S. I had two job offers, one from Lancôme, with a huge team of glamorous girls, and one from Shiseido, which had a tiny counter, just me. Lancôme was commission-based, and I thought, “Oh my God, they’re going to eat me alive!” So I took the Shiseido job to learn.

Eventually, that job brought me to New York. I started working for Shiseido here and enrolled in night school to study fashion.

Well, I’ve always loved fashion. My mother was always sewing. We always had catalogues and followed trends. I thought I wanted to be a fashion designer. When I entered the world of fashion, I realized, it wasn’t for me. I loved the art of it, but I didn’t identify with the industry. Even before that, in New Orleans, I had started discovering a love for cooking. 

I cooked for my roommates. When I moved to Brooklyn, then Soho after marrying my husband, I continued cooking. I started exploring all the different neighborhoods, Greek, Indian, Chinese, Japanese. I began buying unfamiliar ingredients and combining them with the foods I knew. That curiosity led to experimentation in the kitchen. Eventually, I was hosting dinners, and friends loved my food. That’s when I started thinking, “Maybe I can do more with this.”  

I was making pâtés at home. I wanted to create things that required a lot of effort but had a beautiful final result. I was obsessed with Food Network, Jacques Pépin was my hero. I started using his recipes. One day, I decided I wanted to try to sell my pâtés to Dean & DeLuca. The beautiful, iconic store, right on Prince and Broadway. My husband said, “They probably only buy from big companies.” But I didn’t tell them I wasn’t one. I made a portfolio, styled a table with my products, and presented it to the charcuterie buyer. He fell in love. One pâté took me all day to make. That’s how Maribel’s Gourmet Cuisine started. That was my first venture into this world.

Another step, I did catering before that. At that time, I was approached to do a dinner party. From there, I launched a catering business. I rented a kitchen, started doing events for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, and eventually even cooked for President Clinton. Can you believe that? 

Years later, I was invited to the Manhattan School of Music Gala and was seated at the same table as the Secretary of State at that time, Hillary Clinton. 

I went up to her and said, “You probably don’t remember me, I cooked for you and your husband, you have many chefs cooking for you, but I only had one president.”

I told her I went from catering to chocolates and that's when she remembered. She remembered which was so sweet! That was over 30 years ago.

I always say, the worst thing a person can carry is fear. As long as your life isn’t in danger, and you’re not doing something illegal, just try! What’s the worst that can happen? Someone says no? That’s okay. At least you knocked on the door.

My personality has always been open. My husband used to say, “You’ve got chutzpah!” That’s how I’ve always approached life.

They help a lot, but you have to be smart. Banks want a track record so be strategic. Still, if they’re accessible, those lenders and banking options can be lifesavers for new entrepreneurs.

I also think you have to know yourself. I’m strong in marketing and creation, but not finance. If I could do it again, I’d find a financial partner. Someone to fill in that side. It makes such a difference.

Yes! When Oprah’s editor came in and said she loved our hot chocolate and wanted to feature it in her Favorite Things. I said, “Of course, I have 10,000 tins! And I’ll have enough! We had to scramble to make it happen. It was crazy and a lot of work, but that feature helped us grow and place our chocolates everywhere. It’s still one of my happiest memories.

One of the things I’m most proud of is being able to share my story, especially with young people. I love talking to them and, if I can, inspiring them to dream. Because I truly believe that inspiration can awaken the desire to dream in someone. And it’s those dreams that make their world move forward.

If I can give these kids even just a drop of that spark, something that stirs their hope, their faith, and their ambition to achieve, then that, to me, is one of the most meaningful things I can offer. That’s something I carry with pride.