Meet Chef Maria: How Star Wars Food at Galaxy's Edge Is Built for Batuu

Chef Maria Colon Cabrera, head chef for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disney's Hollywood Studios, has helped shape the land's culinary identity since its opening, collaborating with Lucasfilm to ensure every dish feels authentic to the fictional outpost of Batuu. Menu development starts with storytelling: color, plating, naming, and ingredient choices all serve the Star Wars universe first, flavor second. As the Star Wars franchise expands with The Mandalorian and Grogu, her team continues to evolve the menu accordingly.

Chef Maria Colon Cabrera, head chef for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disney's Hollywood Studios, has been integral to defining the land's food identity since she joined the opening team. Every dish in the Black Spire Outpost is developed through a storytelling lens first: color, ingredient choices, plating, and naming must all make sense for the fictional world of Batuu. As the Star Wars universe grows — including the upcoming Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu — Chef Maria and her team continue asking: what would you actually eat in a bustling galactic marketplace?

A Career That Grew Up with the Galaxy

As a second-generation Disney cast member, Chef Maria grew up with Disney as part of her family story — both of her parents built full careers with the company before retiring. Her own path led her far beyond what she initially envisioned.

“Knowing my parents are proud means everything to me. Leading a team here and creating something so meaningful feels incredibly full circle,” Maria said.

She joined the opening team for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, a formative experience unlike any other Disney culinary assignment. Building a menu for a place that did not yet exist — designing dishes for a fictional world still under construction — required creativity, discipline, and an encyclopedic knowledge of the Star Wars universe.

“Joining the opening team for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge was unlike anything I've ever experienced,” Maria said. “As a Star Wars fan, seeing it built from the ground up — from dirt to props to menus — was truly a once in a lifetime thing.”

Supporting her through that journey is her wife, Olivia, whom Maria met while both were working at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Olivia continues her own Disney career today as a leader at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park.

Food as World-Building on Batuu

The culinary development process for Galaxy's Edge is rooted in narrative, not nutrition facts. Menu concepts start broad — often dozens of ideas — and narrow through tastings and story conversations. The team weighs what guests love to eat alongside what would plausibly appear in a galactic trader's stall on the edge of Wild Space.

“Pot roast, carrots, and potatoes are classic comfort food,” Maria explained. “But what's the Batuu twist? Add turmeric for a warm golden color. Suddenly it looks like something you'd find in a trader's stall in Black Spire Outpost. Food is a big part of the story at Galaxy's Edge. If it doesn't make sense for Batuu, it doesn't belong.”

Color becomes an unexpected storytelling tool. Ingredient substitutions can reduce waste while also making a dish look unmistakably alien. A garnish, a sauce shade, or an unusual plating shape can prompt a guest to pause for a photo before the first bite — which is, in a sense, the ultimate form of world immersion.

Collaboration with Lucasfilm

One of the most distinctive aspects of Chef Maria's role is direct collaboration with Lucasfilm. Ensuring a dish is not just delicious but canonical — consistent with how Batuu is portrayed in the broader Star Wars universe — requires alignment across storytelling and culinary teams.

“It's an honor,” Maria said. “We're continuing the story they envisioned for Batuu through food.”

That collaboration touches dish names, presentation refinements, and small thematic details that keep the land authentic. For Star Wars fans, tasting a Galaxy's Edge item that feels credibly Batuuan reinforces the immersion they feel throughout the entire land — and creates a connection between what they experience at Disney's Hollywood Studios and what they watch on screen.

Leading with Curiosity

For Maria, leadership is inseparable from creativity. Many of the cast members who helped open Galaxy's Edge remain on her team, still developing and evolving the menu together. She actively encourages cast to bring their own cultural perspectives and culinary backgrounds to the land's food story.

“You don't know your potential until you try,” she said. “Don't be afraid of making mistakes. Learn from them and be better than you were yesterday. The best storytelling happens when many voices help shape the experience.”

That philosophy guided her rise from a part-time cook position to leading one of the most immersive culinary teams at Walt Disney World.

What This Means for Galaxy's Edge Visitors

As the Star Wars franchise grows with the release of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, the Galaxy's Edge culinary team will continue evolving its offerings to stay in step with the expanding universe. For guests at Disney's Hollywood Studios, every meal and snack in Black Spire Outpost is the result of a deliberate creative process that takes storytelling just as seriously as taste. The full lineup of new food and beverage offerings from Galaxy's Edge is available through Disney Eats.