In 2014, in Beijing, her cookbook, Delicious El Salvador: 75 Authentic Recipes for Traditional Salvadoran Cooking, won the prestigious Gourmand award, category, best first cookbook in the world. Her Spanish translation, El Salvador, Sabores Deliciosos was a semi-finalist, category translation, in the 2018 Gourmand awards. These are the first international cookbook awards for El Salvador’s traditional home cooking.

Alicia was born and raised in Santa Ana, El Salvador. She lives in Los Angeles, CA since 1986. 

She immigrated to the United States at the age of nineteen.

Alicia graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in Art History, class of 1992.

From a young age, she learned to cook from her mother, grandmother, aunts and friends. Alicia's Salvadoran turkey was featured in Telemundo 52, Los Angeles. Alicia is known as El Salvador's Culinary Ambassador.

Alicia has taught Salvadoran cooking classes at her home, Whole Foods, Surfas Culinary District, and on live TV, in Viva La Mañana, a morning show in El Salvador. Featured Chef Latin Food Fest 2016.  Alicia was a contributor to The Immigrant Cookbook: Recipes That Make America Great, from Interlink Publishing. She represented the millions of Salvadoran immigrants living in the US.

Alicia has lectured on Salvadoran food history, and traditions for the Culinary Historians of Southern California, at the Los Angeles Grand Central Library, and via Zoom for the Culinary Historians of San Diego, and her alma mater, UCLA's 100 year anniversary celebration. Alicia has always celebrated and recognized the rich legacy of Salvadoran family recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation.

Alicia has been featured in Los Angeles Magazine, La Opinion, EFE, Telemundo 52 Los Angeles, CNN Latino, MundoFox, The Latin Kitchen, Cook’s Cook Magazine, El Tiempo Latino, and more. Alicia was named El Salvador's Culinary Ambassador by UCLA Magazine, Revista Ella from El Salvador, and Sercano TV.

In August of 2021, in Washington DC, the Ambassador of El Salvador to the United States, the honorable Milena Mayorga, awarded Alicia with a special recognition for being outstanding Salvadoran woman, for her work and effort to showcase authentic Salvadoran food to the world.

Shortly after arriving in Southern California, she met her future husband Joseph, and they are the proud parents of three wonderful sons. Alicia is writing her second Salvadoran cookbook in English.

Alicia enjoys hiking on the weekend, loves hanging out with family and friends, tending to her garden and travelling. She has visited Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Greece, France, Belgium, Italy, England, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala China and Sweden.