The wind blows hard and the sun shines to welcome the spring, the blue sky melts into the green landscape, the birds make their music and the flowers perfume the air. I feel that this moment of my life is very spiritual, this is definitely more than just working in a kitchen: it is putting your soul into what you do, it does not always happen, it is not often what you feel in the early, intense stages of becoming a chef.
At Michel & Sebastian Bras things are different. It is very hard work, as it is crucial that the client leaves satisfied. It is a 3 Michelin star restaurant, one of the most exclusive restaurants in the world. The responsibility of keeping the reputation they have built up over many years is in our hands. It’s a silent pressure that we carry every day.
Although at times it can be difficult, it is also a pleasure to be part of a team like this. I find the humility of the people here touching, which caused me to think on my hike over the surrounding countryside. I see the plants and the flowers as what they are, living things, because I am convinced that nature has a soul, and that we are able to connect ours with it.
I went out this afternoon after work, I was once again amazed by the beauty of nature, rolling on the ground like a child, taking pictures, trying plants, hugging the earth, I fell asleep, in love. Is this what they call happiness? Sometimes it takes less than we think.
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.
