Panama’s gastronomy has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, largely due to the arrival of chefs from other countries who have brought their experience and passion. A clear example is Argentine chef Sebastian “Manacha” Di Lorenzo, who leads the kitchen at Francis Rasenna restaurant in Panama City. A chef whose passion for cooking was born in his childhood, shaped by the influence of his father and the hard work of his grandparents’. At the age of 20, he decided to pursue a professional career at the Gato Dumas Cooking School and later perfected his craft in Spanish cities such as Valencia and Palma de Mallorca, where he discovered his love for Mediterranean cuisine. Upon his return, he brought cuisine innovations to La Plata with “Manacha Kitchen.” In this edition, Chef Sebastian, with his outstanding human warmth, shared time with The Visitor – El Visitante to speak about Italian food in Panama and how it influences the tourist experience in the country.
How do you see the gastronomy in Panama currently versus other countries you’ve been to?
“Well, I really liked everything about Panamanian dishes. I thought it was something simpler, but I ended up falling in love with it. Having Italian cuisine, the truth is that Panamanian cuisine is very rich, very tasty, with good seasonings. It’s not classic like Argentina, for example, which focuses only on meat. Here, they do rice very well, the fish is incredible, and I also have a weakness for Panamanian stews. The beef soup, beef foot soup, and the chicken sancocho blew my mind.
The gastronomic industry in Panama is favored by the large amount of fusion coming from all over the world. People from other countries have taken authentic Panamanian recipes and fused them with the food of their country of origin. This is because they were able to achieve a good fusion directly with local products, for example, fish. European products don’t have the variety they have here in Panama, which makes it possible to fuse it three times more than they could do in Europe. For variety, tuna is one of them, dorado, red snapper, they are perfect”.
How would you describe the culinary experience at Francis Rasenna restaurant and what kind of diners it caters to?
“Well, actually, the cuisine at Francis Rasenna is 100% Italian. We make pasta with semolina straight from Italy. In our kitchen, the produce is always top-notch; we only work with the best brands. We’re in a new phase where we’re going to launch a charcuterie dish, but we make it ourselves, from mortadella with pistachios, with no preservatives or additives, nothing, also ham, brezahora, and pork shoulder. Next month, we’ll launch it. At Francis Rasenna, pasta is our strong point. Then we have Milanese Napoletana, a risotto, and sometimes we change them up depending on the season, but we’re a classic Italian kitchen, very tasty since we use products without any additives”.
How can Italian cuisine complement the tourist experience in a country like Panama?
“Well, I was actually amazed by the number of Panamanians who came to try Italian cuisine. We also have to consider that Panama has a significant European influence. We have to remember that many people from Italy went to the United States and Italian neighborhoods were established, and from there they went to Argentina, as well as to Panama. That’s why, for me, it was very easy to expand Italian cuisine here in the country, and the truth is, it’s taking off quite a bit. Italian cuisine has grown so much that in two years, eight new Italian restaurants have already opened, so that means it’s in high demand compared to other types of cuisine”.
What are diners’ top 3 favorite dishes at Francis Rasenna?
“Well, the most requested at Francis Rasenna would be the escamorza fumichata, which is an escamorza made by Andrea an Italian very well-known here in Panama City, who has an impeccable product, which comes with sauteed mushrooms, truffle oil and some sprouts, with two varieties of pesto, one with basil and another with sun-dried tomato. Then the bucatini alla matrichana is one of the strongest pastas, as is the grilia, which is made with the guanchare that we cure here at Francis, so we have something different in the dishes, which other Italian restaurants may not have. Well, and then there’s a Milanese that’s meant to be shared, with crispy potatoes, which is a Neapolitan made with New York beef. That beef is Argentinean, it’s from a well-known meatpacking plant there, and the truth is that it makes quite an impact on the table when it arrives and people order it a lot”.
Photos courtesy: Chef Sebastián Di Lorenzo – Restaurant Francis Rasenna