Age: 39
male
Ismael Cruz Córdova (born April 7, 1987) is an actor, entrepreneur currently based in New York. Born and raised in Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico. At age fifteen, Ismael began working locally in commercials, TV and film shortly after joining his High School Drama Club. In 2006 he decided to further pursue his dream and moved to New York City where he studied at NYU's Tisch Shcool of the Arts. in NYC Ismael has been recognized for his acting work with several awards and critical acclaim named one of the 25 Leaders of the future by Latino Leaders Magazine, and awarded a VOCES de Ford Award by Ford Motors, which is given to trailblazing exemplary Individuals in the media and entertainment Industry.
What if you could have one last meal with someone you’ve loved, someone you’ve lost? Combining the magic of Under the Whispering Door with the high-stakes culinary world of Sweetbitter, Aftertaste is an epic love story, a dark comedy, and a synesthetic adventure through food and grief. Konstantin Duhovny is a haunted man. His father died when he was ten, and ghosts have been hovering around Kostya ever since. Kostya can’t exactly see the ghosts, but he can taste their favorite foods. Flavors of meals he’s never eaten will flood his mouth, a sign that a spirit is present. Kostya has kept these aftertastes a secret for most of his life, but one night, he decides to act on what he’s tasting. And everything changes. Kostya discovers that he can reunite people with their deceased loved ones—at least for the length of time it takes for them to eat a dish that he’s prepared. He thinks his life’s purpose might be to offer closure to grieving strangers, and sets out to learn all he can by entering a particularly fiery ring of Hell: the New York culinary scene. But as his kitchen skills catch up with his ambitions, Kostya is too blind to see the catastrophe looming in the Afterlife. And the one person who knows Kostya must be stopped also happens to be falling in love with him. Set in the bustling world of New York restaurants and teeming with mouthwatering food writing, Aftertaste is a whirlwind romance, a heart-wrenching look at love and loss, and a ghost story about all the ways we hunger—and how far we’d go to find satisfaction. Lavelle’s debut is a multi-course tasting menu of a book that will sate, delight, excite, comfort, and inspire even the pickiest of readers.
