Ivan Ospina remembers being on his Grandmother’s sugarcane farm and smelling the sweat. It never bothered him. He liked it. Now, closer to Bogotá’s cosmopolitan beat, when he smells sweat, it reminds him of the country, of the farmers, of where food really comes from. It reminds him of Guarapo, a fermented sugarcane juice. Ivan says there was always a big pitcher of it that was fresh and everyone used to sip. But then there was a pitcher of really strong, fermented Guarapo that Ivan used to sneak off and drink when no one was looking. It was what the farm hands used to drink, and it was delicious.
Colombian chef Ivan Ospina grew up eating the same boring rice, beans and tasteless pieces of meat in a small farm town in central Colombia. When he came to Bogotá as a young kid, he started to reflect on how his country’s gastronomy could be better. Now, at 39 years old, Ivan’s restaurant and kitchen are transforming the way Colombia tastes. Continue reading on Beacon…
Wes Michael Tomaselli 