This weekend we made a special trip to the south coast of Ecuador. Our final destination was an ecological resort near the town of Puerto Lopez. Every year from June to the end of September the humpback whales come to this region of the world to give birth and reproduce; they have their annual holidays here. After, some will go to the South Pole and others to the North Pole.
It was amazing to get to watch this beautiful and peaceful creatures in their habitat. While camping the idea was to make our own food, in the freshest way possible of course. We found a fisherman returning from the afternoon fishing. We bought two king crabs, some fish and a few vegetables and transformed them in a very nice moment shared between family and friends. To be honest, it was delicious. It is great to cook with products that are just coming out of the sea combined with beautiful nature around us.
Rodrigo Pacheco is a top-notch Ecuadorian chef who bases half his time in Quito and the other half in Banos, where he prepares meals made from fresh organic ingredients at Casa del Abuelo Art Hotel & Restaurant. He is also the executive chef at Cuisine Standard in Quito.
He has studied with some of the best, including Madrid Fusión in Spain, Alain Ducasse Formation in Paris, the Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon, France, and the Instituto Inacap in Santiago, Chile among others.
He has done a Government Cultural Exchange in Canada and the Masters of Food and Wine tour of the world in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
representing Ecuador as an invited chef. Rodrigo was also a Culinary radio show host on Saberes y Sabores.
