Panamanian gastronomy has been growing impressively in recent years to the point that it is part of the tourist attractions that many visitors want to experience during their stay in the country. The creativity, innovation and teamwork of many of the players in this Industry is beginning to bear fruit.
Our guest of the month is one of the professionals who started the concept of New Panamanian Cuisine, an International Ambassador of Panamanian gastronomy and Executive Chef at Maito, the only restaurant in Central America to be selected by The World Best Restaurants, as one of the 50 best in Latin America since 2016, being awarded again in 2021.
Chef Mario Castrellon is passionate about Panama and all that its gastronomy has to offer and a tireless worker to turn the country into an international culinary destination. In this exclusive interview, he tells us his analysis of what we have advance as a country, what we still have to do as a gastronomic destination and how it is possible to enhance it while keeping our Panamanian identity.
What do we need to do to achieve that signature dish that people abroad say “that’s Panama?
“What we need more is for people when trying our food abroad to say that’s Panama!. More than what we can do here in Panama is the time when Panamanian food is exported abroad. The revolution of all these cuisines that are well known in all parts of the world is because whether they are chefs, restaurant owners, head waiters or people looking for work in other countries, they ended up opening a restaurant with their culture in another country. For example, Peruvian cuisine started the revolution and then today you see Peruvian restaurants all over many countries and that is when you get the whole world to recognize a gastronomy. When people leaves their country and restaurants are opened with that concept and ideas abroad.”
How can Panamanian gastronomy promote tourism beyond taking people to restaurants, both culturally and artistically?
“Gastronomy today is a tool and an opportunity to tell different stories, therefore, in a cultural way, if restaurants are using local producers, they are replicating original recipes, and incidentally the service, the waiter, the cook do the work of telling that story to customers of: Where does it come from? How was it done? Who did it? We are bringing culture to those tourists who may suddenly be interested in visiting a region, if it is a product that comes from Chiriquí, Los Santos, or comes from Darien. Through the sensory nature of food, we can motivate that desire to visit other destinations in the country.”
Boquete has become a pole of gastronomic development, thanks to its renowned chefs and culinary offerings. What places in Panama do you see going down a similar path and why?
“In addition to Boquete we also have Bocas del Toro where the entire Afro culture is found, all those flavors are as Panamanian as our country. There is the great Joseph Archbold, a super chef who has two points of sale, a sophisticated restaurant and a food truck where he expresses the recipes and flavors of Bocas del Toro. And in the same way, the hospitality industry has been growing in this region, bringing five-star hotels and therefore clients who know the Panamanian culture. In the same way, what has been happening for a long time is reflected in Playa Venao, as well as in the Central Provinces, where you can feel that more traditional food of Panama.”
The food and ingredients of our indigenous people have enormous potential to create an original and Panamanian culinary proposal. How can we expand and enhance this food and make it more accessible?
“Native food definitely has a space and a communication that Panamanians themselves do not know, nor do we understand, nor of the tradition or the ingredients used by these communities. Personally, I have had the opportunity to work a lot for many of these communities and each one has its secrets, its ingredients, its way of manipulating it. At Maito we have made the effort to bring those ingredients to the city when they are in season or when we can, to be able to demonstrate them, to say where they come from, who harvests them, what they are like, so that they know them. I believe that the intention would be to encourage that Panamanian or tourist to look for that native food in the same native communities, rather than bring them to Panama.”
What do you feel is what tourists like most about our food and what perception do they get when trying it?
“Through the tasting menu we can tell a little about the interpretation of Panamanian gastronomy and its mixtures, cultures, identities and races. At the end of the day, the foreigner leaves when the menu ends with the concept that Panama from its beginnings is a Melting Pot of races, flavors, with many techniques and many cultures that allow us to have a totally varied cuisine.”
What is your favorite Panamanian dish other than Maito’s and why?
“My favorite Panamanian dish is really sancocho, all of Latin America has a sancocho that is very similar, since it is based on vegetables and meats that are in the fridge, all in a single mixed soup. However, the Panamanian sancocho has a very strict structure, since it has to be chicken, yams and coriander. Hence, if you add onion or some oregano, and that makes it different from the rest of the continent.”
