Chef Natalia Vallejo
Haga clic aquí para leer el artículo en español
By Natalia Otero
Puerto Rican Chef Natalia Vallejo, or as she prefers to call herself, Cook, won the James Beard Award for Best Chef South.
As she tells it, in Puerto Rico there is a gastronomy and culinary identity that, due to colonialist tendencies, is lost. It is not easy to find books about it and the new generations are increasingly influenced by the United States, forgetting what is proper and authentic in Puerto Rico. For this reason, for Vallejo, the most important thing about this award, and the purpose of her cooking, is to maintain that tradition of what they are.
“I admire those cultures that defend their own. That is why I take care of that gastronomic heritage, that heritage of a whole line of women who have been there, in front of the fires in the kitchens, defending those traditional and artisan recipes, so that they are not lost,” says Vallejo.
Vallejo says the award supports her work to defend that gastronomy and encourage people to visit Puerto Rico and get to know her cuisine. She says what fills her heart the most is knowing that her dishes awaken memories.
“The James Beard Award reminds us that we truly do have a gastronomy and that we can continue to abound and reconnect through these foods. Truly, much remains to be done. For this reason, I work from pride, to make other young people proud and to get them interested in rediscovering that culture of which they are a part.”
Since she was a child, Vallejo was delighted with family meals, where the grandmothers prepared food for many people, full of love and affection. This is what she seeks to convey with the her dishes that evoke that feminine family love. In addition to that maternal blanket, Vallejo has been curious about life. Her parents, artists, took her to travel the world, so she became interested in other cultures and took pride in her own.
“The cooks in Puerto Rico are women who have known how to stand in front of the fire. These women are the ones who have made a family and have moved a gastronomic economy without knowing it. I defend that tradition.”
In her restaurant, Cocina al Fondo, located in San Juan, she seeks to maintain that origin and that simplicity. She uses the caldero, the stews, the rice dishes, while looking for that Caribbean flair on the plate with colors and flowers. Her menu brings the countryside to the city, tradition to modern life. Traditional dishes, such as rice with rabbit, are served with Arabic notes to amplify the traditional recipe. Vallejo says her chicken broth, made with so much love, has made more than one diner cry, for reminding them of their grandparents.
One of the jewels of Cocina al Fondo is the Carmencita vanilla dessert. The name honors her mother, because it was she who put it on the menu. It is a traditional dessert from Puerto Rico, which is taken to family meals, and for which everyone has their own recipe. Carmencita proposed it on the menu and Vallejo added gooseberry jam (a seasonal red fruit widely used in Puerto Rico). They don't offer it all the time, but when it is there, it sells very quickly.
“That dessert is one of the few recipes that my mother has, and it is the typical one that she brought to family parties. It has been a success because it represents our ancestors. It comes from that line, from that tradition, combined with a currant jam that gives it a touch of freshness. It is a classic, rustic dessert that represents family union, partying, sharing, and grandmother.”
Natalia Otero is a regular contributor to el Restaurante. She lives in Colombia.