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Three Minutes With: Celele Restaurant [Video]
We asked the chefs of the hottest restaurant in Cartagena, Celele, to share their best kept kitchen secrets.
In just 5 months, Celele has become one of the hottest places in town –and we can totally see why. This project by the Colombian chefs Jaime Rodríguez and Sebastián Pinzón, is the product of an extended investigative process —Proyecto Caribe Lab– which explains the instant success the restaurant has had in the foodie scene in Cartagena.
Proyecto Caribe Lab was born as an initiative to add value and visilibity to the gastronomic culture and the biodiversity in the Caribbean coast in Colombia. For around 3 years, Jaime and Sebastian went on a quest through the whole region searching for popular recipes, ancestral techniques and unexplored local ingredients to experiment with, as well as all the tools they could gather to develop this new gastronomic proposal they have in their restaurant, Celele: An innovative approach on Colombian traditional cuisine. Those seeking for an authentic experience now have a new not-to-be-missed spot.
One ingredient?
“Yucca root.”
One aroma?
“Cilantro.”
One kitchen tool?
“A knife.”
One spice or herb?
“Cumin.”
One memorable experience?
“Having the opportunity to make traditional Momposino cheese in Mompox alongside an lifelong artisan cheesemaker.”
One gastronomic destination?
“Montería.”
One person who inspires you?
“Daniel Patterson, the chef of the Coi restaurant in San Francisco.”
What’s on your cooking playlist?
“A must in our playlist is the Colombian group Systema Solar.”
What changes or trends have you seen in the industry in Cartagena in the recent years?
“The most important thing we’ve noticed is that chefs are appreciating more to cook with local and tradicitional ingredients from the region.”
What would you consider the key factor that makes Caribbean cuisine so unique?
“Definitely the amount of different cultures that influenced what we know today as ‘Caribbean culture’. It’s important to remember that the Africans, the Syrian, the Lebanese and the Spanish arrived to the Caribbean coast, where there were native indigenous tribes.”
What’s next for Celele?
“To keep evolving its gastronomical offer and someday be a part of the 50 best restaurants in Latinamerica.”
Celele Restaurante
Calle del Espíritu Santo, Cra 10C #29-200
Cartagena, Colombia
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