The perfect excuse to visit Caracas | Let’s Travel Together | Magazine

If you had asked me a year ago about Venezuelan cuisine, my answer would most likely have been limited to typical foods such as Tequeños or Queen Pepiada, which today are easily available in our country thanks to immigration.

However, this perception changed when I traveled to Caracas and ate at restaurants, and the restaurant recommendations surprised me. My enthusiasm began when Cordero, led by chef Issam Koteich, was named a restaurant to watch by Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants. I took notice, and the recommendation helped me review the vibrant culinary scene the country was experiencing.

Lamb Philosophy

Today, the world’s best restaurants proudly claim the identity of their producers and are committed to traceability so that diners know “when, where and by whom something was produced.”

Cordero is exemplary, as 80% of the products on its plates are produced thanks to its ally Proyecto Ubre, a 100-hectare farm and more than 3,000 export-grade animals. Before we started our tour of the farm, Pedro Khalil, one of the founders of the project, told us that for them “every animal is important,” and as we walked forward I saw a worker carefully clipping the nails of the sheep, and I saw them organized in a waiting room waiting to be sheared.

This wool cannot be used for textiles, but part of it goes to ecological projects that absorb waste from oil spills. In the end, I agree with Pedro: in this place, animal life is respected. This ethical breeding method is good for both the animals and the derived products.

No animal is wasted on Issam Koteich’s menu: we try butter, cheese, spareribs. Its eight-course tasting menu builds on itself, offering us dishes we recognize, like lamb chistola croquettes, rich thanks to the unctuousness of sheep’s milk cheese, but less so with roasted garlic aioli and smoked apple puree; until we get to the most complex of techniques and flavors: the lamb shoulder, which takes days to cook and is so tender you can flake it with a spoon. Cordero’s vision has remained intact since opening.

At some point, they thought about trying the “Sea and Mountain” proposal, but the chef loved the original idea and decided to go in a more vegetarian direction. Born in Syria, Issam has the strength and experience of being a vegetarian and vegan, which gives him a deep understanding of how to handle vegetables. Their beet carpaccio is an example, cooked with salt and served with aioli and beet caramel with a little yellow beet and lemon.

Food Panorama

Culinary exchanges are often good for the industry. I experienced this once at Robusto, a cigar bar with a cigar “humidor” room in the middle, surrounded by a bar and a few tables. In this setting, two invited Colombian bars hosted an event: Jardín, Drinks and Cakes from Bogotá and Mamba Negra from Medellín.

It was very interesting to see how the menu paired sandwiches and desserts with cocktails and mocktails (cocktails without alcohol) to create surprising and delicious combinations. Karla Palacio and Will Corredor from Jardín and Charlie Ostos from Mamba Negra showed impressive adaptability in their preparations using local Venezuelan products, even though it was their first time.

Karla used sheep’s milk from Proyecto Ubre and 70% chocolate from Hacienda Sabaneta. Charlie and Will used cocuy, Venezuela’s flagship agave distillate from Destileros Ancestrales, a craft brewery that produces award-winning spirits. I reviewed some of the places that impressed me: Bocca di Lupo, Italian cuisine with Venezuelan products; Mesa, a very interesting French-Caribbean proposal; Azú pastry shop, French technique impeccable; Arepa Pelá, typical Venezuelan empanadas and tortillas; and the secret location of the speakeasy 6310 that wows customers. Mine got it.

Before you go

I think the most important thing is to be inclusive and non-judgmental. Venezuela is going through a very interesting period and is recovering from the crisis.

As my guide Rodrigo Capriles said, I am proud to see citizens become protagonists of the Venezuela they want to see in their lives. A Venezuelan understands that to see his country develop, he must be determined, and this group of businessmen who bet on the country’s development is an inspiring example and a model to follow. (Anyone)