I started in the kitchen about a year ago, but the reality is that I’ve always loved cooking. The reason I never pursued it was because I used to work with my dad on his farm. He sells meat to businesses, so we would take the meat to the slaughterhouse where they would then distribute it.

I mainly worked with the cattle on the farm, milking them. I used to make a cheese we call “queso palmito”.

The place I’m currently working at gave me the opportunity to cook. I’m officially on the grill station. It’s a bit strange because I didn’t cook a lot before, but I do know a lot about meats.

It’s a beautiful thing because we have all this knowledge and people come and ask us about what we’re doing so they can learn more. It feels great to share the knowledge, meet new people and get to know what they like. It’s one of my favorite parts about cooking

Christian Guzman reporting and 📸 from La Fortuna, San Carlos, Costa Rica.