Latin American food is as expansive and contrasting as it is flavourful and robust. Its colourful history and diverse culture all culminates in a wonderfully rich and exuberant cuisine. Here are a few areas of interest to whet your appetites and perhaps ignite a desire to travel muy pronto!
1. Mexico
Mexico is renowned for its cuisine and whether you are up for a taco street tour or prefer to embark on a traditional Oaxacan cookery course, the gastronomy here is out of this world. However, worth mentioning is the new culinary era that has emerged in the colonial city of San Miguel de Allende. World famous Chef, Enrique Olvera, is cooking up a feast of contemporary Mexican food at the poolside restaurant Moxi. Frequented by San Miguel de Allende’s elite, the 7 course taster menu draws crowds and the chocolate mousse with mandarin and mescal is not to be missed.
2. Peru
Huaca Pucllana in the Miraflores District of Lima, Peru is located on a pre-Inca archaeological site. It is a spectacular setting, especially at night when the site is lit. The gastronomic experience is phenomenal. Traditional Peruvian dishes including ceviche, guinea pig, beef heart, and fantastic array of use wild vegetables grown across the country in the different microclimates. They also make a mean Pisco Sour.
3. Argentina
Siete Fuegos Restaurant at the Vines Resort & Spa is making headlines. Cooking beef here has become an art form, and most recently our own celebrity chef John Torode visited Siete Fuegos in BBC documentary ‘John Torode’s Argentina’ to learn a thing or two. With an open –flame cooking techniques and 9 hour cooking times, there is no question that the Siete Fuegos is serving up some of Argentina’s finest beef (and fish) and paired with exceptional wines, creating one of Argentina’s culinary highlights.
4. Cuba
Progressive Dining by Vintage Car. If you just can’t decide on where to eat, then this is the answer. Have a different course in a different restaurant. And so you don’t have to pace the streets, we’ll chauffeur you in a vintage car. Begin with cocktails at the famous Hotel Nacional or the Rooftop bar at the Saratoga. Your vintage car will then take you on for starters at Dona Eutemia by the San Cristobal Cathedral before main course at the incredible La Guarida – a sensational paladar, now with a roof top rum bar. If you like sharing, the Cuatro Leches desert at Chef Ivan Justo is a fun way to round things off which is presented in the original can of condensed milk – and 2 spoons! If the night is still young, the after dinner options are endless – it is Cuba after all.
5. Colombia
Bogota, Colombia is fast being recognised worldwide as a fantastic international city with a growing social scene and some great dining experiences. Most notably Club Colombia is one of the best known upscale restaurants attended by the city’s movers and shakers. Enjoy the taster menus or a contemporary twist on the traditional dishes such as Ajiaco, which is a potato soup typical of the Bogota region, livened up with chicken, corn and capers. However, if you want to sample the real thing, Colombian street food is delicious. Go to restaurant El Solar for the best Bandeja Paisa – it’s a heart attack on a plate but if you have a 15 hour day in the fields ahead of you – it is just the ticket. (At least the half an avocado on the side is ‘good fat’). Arepas are baked dough with cheese inside; warming and filling and served with almost every meal. But when you are feeling peckish you can buy them from a vendor on the street for just up a $1.
