Friday I was invited to lunch at the Colombian Ambassador’s house; along with a small group of food/travel writers we would hang with and learn from, the chefs in the kitchen before we all met the Ambassador and sat down to dine.
On my way to the kitchen I stopped to wash my hands, then spotted hand towels, embroidered with the British and Colombian flags. Far too delicate to dry my hands on! My snooping didn’t stop there, of course, I managed to wander through one of the side rooms and found the Ambassador’s hats! Arent they wonderful!
Here is the Ambassador, Nestor Osario’s, collection of hats. Dont tell him I snapped them, okay?
The kitchen was full of happy activity, every surface of the room covered with trays and platters of foods and ingredients; the chefs–I noticed that they were all women– were welcoming and busy, so busy: rolling, chopping, stirring, frying; it was all happening.
Our two chefs were visiting from Colombia for a Colombian Food Festival; Juanita Umana, London-trained, is a food columnist and restaurant-owner; Gata pardo magazine recognized her as one of the best chefs in Latin America in 2002. Diane Garcia graduated from the Culinary Institute of America has been recognized as a significant contributor to the cuisine of the Caribbean coast of Colombia.
I put on my Juan Valdez embroidered apron,-we were all issued one–and rolled up my sleeves. Before long I was patting out arepas and filling them with eggs, stuffing pasteles de yucca, and tasting lots of different ingredients: who knew that pink pickled onions were made into a piquant dipping sauce in Colombia? or that guava membrillo was eaten with cheese, or that capers, avocado and sour cream were added to the wonderful chicken and potato soup which seems to be the Colombian national dish known as ajiacco.
Soon we were nibbling and noshing, as dish after dish was prepared by the chefs along with a constantly revolving narrative of directions.
When everything was ready, we took off our aprons, and entered the dining room.
I LOVE THIS. !!!!! i’m officially y’alls #1 fan. the only crtcsiiim i have is that i couldn’t really hear fox’s voice or his instrument so you might want to make some adjustments next time you record. i love you guys! so much!