“I studied anthropology before embarking on the culinary world!
Over time, I realized that gastronomy has a lot to do with anthropology. Food marks a society and is vital in defining the history of humans. When you know that the most important cuisines are based in countries where culture is fundamental, you understand that the connection is direct.
One of the things that attracted me to cooking was that I was taught to see cooking and gastronomy, not as a series of steps, but to understand the why and the meaning behind each recipe. It meant understanding that each recipe is a combination of flavors and association of ingredients.
Gastronomy as a social movement follows trends. However, when a trend passes, what happens? Globalization can have its good things, like the fact that you can get avocados all year round, even though avocados are produced in certain parts of Florida and California. Still, the entire United States wants avocados, so the avocado has to come from somewhere, and it doesn’t matter if it’s seasonal or not. We’ve gotten accustomed to Amazon. We order, and it arrives instantly! What is surprising is when people taste fruits and vegetables that have matured directly from the plant, they naturally are surprised by the taste of an avocado ripened correctly and not ripened on purpose with gas.
The topic of food you see is much more complex, and obviously, there is good business behind it. Although part of the ethics has been lost, as a restaurant, we keep striving to offer a quality product and make it as natural as possible. Sometimes you have to literally drop your pants and sell your product at the same price as the guy who has a chicken that is worth a dollar per pound, that is huge and is injected with hormones and antibiotics.
We often lose hope that the industry will change, and I no longer intend to teach anyone to eat healthily. We simply try to operate the best way we can for ourselves to be happy and be proud of what we do. Countries’ governments should understand that if they follow good nutrition, they will save a lot of money on health in the long run.”
