In November Panama celebrates National Holidays month, and Panamanian gastronomy takes on a greater dimension as it reflects what it means to be Panamanian. This important celebration leads The Visitor – El Visitante to invite one of the people who laid the foundations for the development and promotion of Panamanian cuisine. A professional of the restaurant industry who, together with two other partners, founded the most famous Panamanian food restaurant in Panama 42 years ago: El Trapiche. Domingo De Obaldia (father) is a visionary when it comes to Panamanian food and on this occasion, he speaks with us to talk about the importance of native gastronomy and how it can be promoted as a tourist product.
Why is it so important to maintain the native food of a country?
“I am someone who, when I travel, the first thing I want is to try food from the country, and I go to two or three places. If you go to Peru you are going to eat a good Peruvian ceviche, or a Chaufa, and if you go to El Salvador you will want to eat their famous Pupusas. Panama, as it has been a country of transit, has also been exposed to the mix of different cultures, with the construction of the canal we brought the African part of the food that mixed with ours, as well as the Spanish since colonial times.
So, I think that maintaining our gastronomy is a way of giving foreigners part of our culture, and also explaining how we do it. For me, being able to maintain our customs is infinitely important. Our gastronomy is very rich, however we have stayed with traditional food”.
How can we promote Panamanian food so that it is a vital part of the tourist experience?
“That is a very good question and that is something that we have to do together, both the Panamanian or foreign owners of restaurants along with the national government. We have a very rich and varied gastronomy. You go to the coast and it is totally different of what you are going to eat in the Azuero peninsula or in Chiriqui. I think that a lot of efforts are being made through the national government. Now I think it would be very good to be able to take our gastronomy to international fairs so people can try it abroad. The Panamanian airline just did a joint venture with the private sector for its stopover campaign. It is a very good way to promote our gastronomy since they are making promotions in a variety of restaurants so that tourists can try their menu when passing through Panama or coming back. Also, every time there is an international diplomatic mission, I understand that they are taking Panamanian chefs with it. As a country, we can do again what was done two years ago during November (National Holidays Month) where restaurants promoted a Panamanian dish on their menu, it was a very good activity and I think it could be resumed in conjunction with the new Chamber of Gastronomic Tourism.”
What does a tourist feel when they try Panamanian food for the first time?
“There is very good feedback from tourists, I feel that we have done a good job for 42 years, the gastronomy that we handle, the native and the traditional, has always had very good comments, also for the flavors, Ropa Vieja (special dish made out of meat) is not the same as the one made in Puerto Rico, which has a different flavor. Our Sancocho is a very simple soup, some tourists tell me: “hey, but you are from a hot country, how do you sell this soup?”. I say it’s called Sancocho, and it’s our traditional soup. Even though it’s midday and it’s hot, you eat your Sancocho hot and people love that. Last week, there was a customer who told me he wanted to buy the “pailitas” (small pan) where we serve the food, and asked me where they it was made, and well, people look for experiences, and we seek to give them the best”.
According to your perception and observation over the years, what are the Panamanian dishes that tourists like the most?
“Well, look, Panama’s famous dish is Sacocho and is requested a lot. In our restaurants we created a dish called Fiesta Panameña (Panamanian Party), with the idea that tourists could try various dishes from our cuisine. and that one has become very popular with tourists, because they have a Sancochito, arroz con pollo (Chicken with rice), pot tamale and Ropa Vieja. But I would tell you that it is basically the Sacocho, ropa Vieja and the Panamanian party. In frituras, I would tell you that tourist like very much carimañolas”.
