IMAGES: STOCKFOOD; FAUSTO DÍAZ
EAT
From left: Panela sugar is used to make the popular local drink agua de panela; the bar at Humo Negro, a Colombian take on an informal Japanese izakaya
F IVE FOOD FIND S PANELA Colombians each consume an
average of 30kgs of this unrefined whole cane sugar a year — often
infused with water and lime juice in the form of agua de panela.
CURUBA Also known as the banana passionfruit, curuba is a fragrant
but tart fruit, typically consumed as a smoothie with milk and sugar, or infused in a mousse.
EMPANADITAS DE PIPIÁN These small, fried pastry parcels containing potatoes and ground
peanuts get their reddish hue from peppery achiote seeds.
COFFEE Colombian producers Libertario
Coffee Roasters, Azahar Coffee and Devoción Coffee use top-quality
beans from the Eje Cafetero coffee- growing region, west of Bogotá.
VICHE
Popular on the Pacific coast, this sugarcane spirit is fast becoming Colombia’s answer to mezcal, with dozens of artisan brands emerging.
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fine-dining restaurants such as Peru’s Central, and Boragó, in Chile, which are also exploring uncharted territory for native ingredients. When I visit El Chato, a four-minute
walk away, I’m in more familiar territory. Other than a few extra tables upstairs near the kitchen, things are as I remember from previous visits. The menu, though, is markedly different. During the pandemic, chef-owner Álvaro Clavijo started a fermentation programme here. The intention was to develop new flavour profiles from native ingredients, but it has the beneficial side effect of cutting down on waste. He has also recently opened a French bistro called Selma nearby, a tribute to the years he spent cooking in France. On shelves going up the stairs I peruse a
collection of jars filled with cheese cultures and coconut and tucupi vinegars. Álvaro’s dishes usually employ just three ingredients, so a drop of fermented oil here and vinegar there adds explosive flavours throughout the menu. A standout is a dessert that uses aubergine — roasted, to bring out its natural sweetness, then pickled — for a touch of acidity to an otherwise unassuming quenelle of vanilla ice cream. After eating, I head with Álvaro to the
Thursday-night Semper Mendoza market. “It’s quite unique,” he tells me as we enter a vast warehouse packed with an array of aromatic herbs and flowers. “I’ve never seen something
like it anywhere else. A market that focuses on herbs. We come once a month,” he continues. “We buy a lot of things from here.” Álvaro points out thyme-like leaves from
a small shrub called diosma. They’ve been harvested in Chingaza National Natural Park’s páramo (a high-altitude, shrub-dominated zone), he tells me, and are commonly used to flavour cooking oil. Then there’s ruda, a herb that helps with blood circulation and is added to teas to aid relaxation, although Álvaro uses it in cocktails or infuses it in aguardiente, regarded as Colombia’s national spirit. In the kitchen, they’re currently experimenting with the best way to add it to a dish with oysters and bone marrow. As I traverse the city over the next few days,
moving from meal to meal, I can’t help but notice how distinct each dining experience has become in Bogotá. There are different influences drawn from disparate landscapes, and all venues have a unique vibe. And yet they’re all saying the same thing about Colombian food and biodiversity: everything starts with the ingredient.
HOW TO DO IT: Avianca flies between Heathrow and Bogotá direct. Flight time 11hrs. Other airlines fly via their European or US hubs. Stay at Casa Lėlytė, a boutique hotel in Chapinero with four rooms and a vegetarian restaurant and bar. From £72 per night, B&B.
avianca.com
casalelyte.com
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