Inspired by traditional cuisine, the Chilean territory, and its unique products, these three kitchens offer a unique and creative touch to the national gastronomic heritage. These are three Santiago-based kitchens whose distinctive style and incredible flavors you shouldn’t miss out on.
Bodega 1883 by Aurea
Located in the middle of the Concha y Toro winery in Pirque, Bodega 1883 by Aurea is a wine bar and restaurant that offers a cuisine that seeks to highlight the product and Chilean wine in the same noteworthy place. Run by chefs Tomas Saldivia and Ismael Lastra, both with experience in Spain and Chile, their proposal includes Mediterranean cuisine as well as traditional Chilean cuisine, in addition to dishes of their creation such as Cordero al pimiento, which “was born from a mixture between Ismael and myself because Ismael comes from a very Spanish culture and I come from Chile, and the piquillo bell pepper is used a lot in Spain. We decided to stuff the piquillo pepper with something interesting because it has a special flavor that goes well with wine. So we roasted a lamb for 14 hours, larded it, and then made a tomato sauce ragout (from a recipe inherited from a grandmother in the family of these partners). That was this recipe’s starting point”, says Tomas Saldivia. And he adds: “Then we added Mapuche and Chiloé potatoes, which are native, to give it a little more identity. The lamb and potatoes come from southern Chile, while the tomato sauce has a Spanish touch”. Visitors may enjoy this elegant-flavored dish with a diverse selection of wines, including Marques de Casa Concha Carmenère.
More information at https://reserva.cyt.conchaytoro.cl/cytWP/assets/gastronomica.pdf
La Calma by Fredes
Inspired by Chile’s more than 6,400 kilometers of coastline, La Calma by Fredes is a restaurant in the Nueva Costanera neighborhood that stands out for its marine cuisine with 100% Chilean products, which its chef Ignacio Ovalle calls “telluric sea.” In addition to fresh fish and seafood, they also have some local products like the dish De Cordillera al Mar, inspired by a typical dish from the Maule Region called Pollo Mariscal. “It is a chicken cooked with seafood and Oro rice. The latter is an organic rice from Maule with wheat flavor, and we make a version that consists of organic chicken thighs (from Casablanca) baked with lots of juice and seafood. We join the chicken and seafood juice to cook a rice base with limpets from the central coast between Papudo and Cachagua, mussels from Ancud, octopus from Antofagasta, peppers, peas, and sometimes razor clams. It is a brothy rice dish finished in the oven”, explains Ignacio Ovalle—a plate for two people that brings together sea and land flavors.
We recommend pairing it with a bottle of Chardonnay. More information at www.lacalma.cl
Cora Bistró
Manuel Balmaceda began cooking as a child, at 14, influenced by his grandmother’s old recipes. Then he began to read French books and La Buena Mesa (Olga Budge de Edwards, 1943), where he found many yesteryear recipes from the nuns. From there comes her fascination for cochayuyo, potatoes with mote, and casserole. “Chilean cooking, my favorite cuisine, are the dishes I like to eat the most,” he says. He is the chef of Cora Bistró, a signature cuisine that stands out for seasonal dishes inspired by Balmaceda’s experience and influence. “The Cochayuyo Gratin is a reversion of a typical dish catholic nuns used to call Cochayuyos Cornelia, consisting of a kind of Tomaticán with roasted cochayuyo baked with eggs like a pudding and gratin with thinly sliced french fries. Our version winks at it, but it has native potatoes (Yagana and Michuñe) sliced and cooked in milk like a Gratin Dauphinoise. We add a little tomato and goat cheese from Ovalle to give it personality and serve it with a salad of aromatic leaves dressed in lemon”, explains the chef. A dish that, due to its marine influence, lactic notes, and flavors of goat cheese from the Limarí Valley, works perfectly for a regional pairing with a Chardonnay from the same area, as it could be with Marques de Casa Concha Chardonnay.
More information at https://www.instagram.com/cora.bistro/
