Chiriqui's recognized for being the produce pantry of Panama, that’s why my dish's focused on the earth’s bounty with key ingredients of the region. Seren, is a corn soup endemic to the region, with sweet and delicate flavors. My grandmother use the whole corn, from the husk to the cob, because she always says that what the land produces must be used in its entirety. Ubaldina is a homage to her, her heritage, and a journey through my childhood.
On this dish I want to express the life and customs of the first inhabitants of Paraguay. hunters, fishermen, gatherers and growers, showing that with products from the Paraguayan soil, which nature gives us by applying production techniques with adequate knowledge, they can be served with great pride.
The diet of the first inhabitants was based on cassava, corn, sweet potato, banana, vegetables and fruits.
They used hunting and fishing.
Through this dish I express my trajectory and the way I created my personality in the kitchen. It has elements from different countries and experiences that have formed me as a chef. It contains elements from Mexico and Panama, because of my nationality, from Italy by virtue of my descent and gastronomic formation and from Japan after the passion I’ve acquired over Japanese cuisine due to my current job. The fusion of them all create a mix of flavors and techniques that represent me.
This dish represents the diversity from Brazil, using ingredients that match each other and create a comfort space, just like a forest. In the plate is served culture, tradition, and influences from my Italian family. Putting my heart and belifs into a plate.
It’s a celebration of the plantain plant itself, all of it.
Plantain has always been the base of our nutrition. The most productive plant of the country and it’s never been seen as such.
After every ton of plantain consumed, 2 tons of waste are left, because of how little use its other parts. Due to the Chinese and afrocaribbean influence in our gastronomy (and in my heritage), plantain takes 3 forms in my dish: a bread (for the plantain was called bread for the poor) a a siumae, and a tamal.
A short time ago there was an oil spill on the coast of Peru, it made me realize the consequences of spills, they generate a tremendous environmental impact, but I think the wisdom of nature is greater than mine, and its benefits even more so, for this reason I want to use seaweed and mushrooms in my dish. My dish generates awareness but also sustainability, using a product that is not used to supplant others and obtain benefits for human health, for me that's one way to make sustainable cooking.
Alma Patagonia is a creation that captures the soul of Chile´s southern territory. It is a dish that intertwines delicacies from diverse ecosystems, which vary from the depths of the sea, to lush fertile forests. This blend pays tribute to a culture that bases its cuisine on the available ingredients that Mother Earth provides, which must be used fully. Pure nature permeates through a combination of flavors and textures, and surprises the palates of adventurous gourmands.
Give a tribute to Arequipa's Picanterias, Picanterias are places of traditions, good food since the end of the 19th century. Show a bit of the diversity of my country, also let you know ancestral techniques unified with an avant-garde techniques, which the main objective is to give a good experience.
The chinampas is an efficient and sustainable agricultural system, it is an articulated set of artificial floating islands that were built since pre-Hispanic times. Through this dish, which has been inspired by this ecosystem, using only ingredients that are grown or can be found in this place, applying techniques and preparations of Mexican gastronomy, I seek to highlight the importance of chinampas, the organic products that are grown there and also recognize the hard work of the producer.
For this contest I wanted to create a dish that had the essence of my country. For this, use several products that are not commonly used in Colombian haute cuisine but giving them a transformation, respecting their essence that reaches all palates, extolling their properties. All these foods have a great importance in the daily food of Colombians and by including them on my plate they can show the world the diversity that characterizes us as a country.
All the ingridients in my dish come from the farm I grew up, I sowed them myself, and I prepared them using traditional and contemporary techniques. The aim is for the judges to eat a humble part of Colombia at its best. I want this dish to be a way to give a voice to the farmers who had to leave their land and to create reflections about the crops and dishes that call themselves sustainable but often cause damage to the countryside and the traditional knowledge of peasant families.
A fufu portrait is the story of the Riquelme’s, my family from my mother’s side. In all our gatherings we’ll come together around this delicious soup made from fish head, coconut milk, curry, and root vegetables. Why just the head? Because the rest of the fish we pickled it in our family’s escobish.
As a kid, it was beautiful to see all my aunts having fun around those pots trying to feed a battalion. For me fufu and escobish represent the strong bond between my kin and the roots of my people.
The connection we have with our people and the land, our hands are channels with earth. Great dishes can be made using everyday products from our Mexican foods, we must use all of our natural resources without exploiting them.
Heritage, I am not from Oaxaca by birth but my family is, that is my heritage, here I show the value I give to the land of Oaxaca.
I’m very passionate about gastronomy; my country, its people, and its ingredients bring out the flavors, in each one, of my dishes. Self-expression, for me, comes with every texture, color, and form of each detail. I recognize the importance of my surroundings, my community, and the products distinguished by their performance within sustainability guidelines. I have the responsibility to share with diners the richness, tradition, and culture that Mexican cuisine offers.
I am proud of Mexico.
