Fourth week as a digital nomad. Location: Medellín, Colombia.
Dates covered: June 20th to June 26th, 2021.
Keywords: Food, Fine dining & Coffee culture in Medellín.
PS This blog entry includes spoilers for the 22 tasting course menu at El Cielo.
“Colombian food is simple”.
Food is highly subjective to your life experience and memories, but I also believe most Colombians would agree there is truth to the simplicity in their cuisine. Don’t get me wrong, simple is not bad. Colombian cuisine is like a comforting, reliable, and generous friend, but they’re probably not your first confidante to help you choose a party outfit. I say the latter because spice and acidity, two key components that tantalize the taste buds and responsible for the popularity of other well-known cuisines, are just not overly present in Colombian cuisine. In fact, Colombian dishes rank fairly low in spice and chile heat and lean more towards earthy, woody, and herbaceous flavors. The greatness of Colombian food boils down to the quality of its main ingredients and how fresh and widely available they are in this biodiverse part of the world.
The majority of the Colombian food in Medellín is quite healthy.
I know what you’re thinking, that ‘Bandeja Paisa’ doesn’t strike you as the healthiest, but truth be told, as much as you’ll encounter fried foods (Buñuelos Fried Dough Balls and Chicharron Fried Pork Rind/Belly), most of the food preparation stays away from overprocessed ingredients and leans more on raw ingredients and simple preparation. There’s a strong presence of fresh fruits and juices, hearty comforting soups, a lot and I mean A LOT of avocados, and even more fresh corn arepas, plantain, yuca, and potato. If you make it to Colombia, make sure you try everything written in this paragraph and if you had to try just 1 soup, I would highly recommend the Sancocho, oh and also a Tamal Tolimense, to get a sense of the food that’s enjoyed in the Paisa countryside.
So what is Colombian Fine Dining like?
Like the economic and social transformation that Medellín has witnessed, Colombian food is slowly but surely getting more exposure on the international stage. Colombia currently boasts 4 entries in The World’s 50s Best’s South American list. While most of the fine dining is currently in Bogota, we did have the pleasure of dining at the Medellín branch of El Cielo, whose Washington branch (serving the same tasting menu) recently won a 1 Michelin and is the first Colombian restaurant to do so 🎉.
I could write a whole piece about fine dining. My career in fine dining as well as UX and Service Design, coupled with an unrelenting curiosity to improve the overall human experience, has created a tendency to overanalyze every fine dining experience I’ve had the pleasure to partake in. Without digressing too far from Colombian cuisine, I believe 5 key components result in an overwhelming feeling of joy and awe after a successful fine dining experience. First and foremost, the genuine attitude of the staff, both front of house and back of the house. Ultimately if the staff is taken care of, the staff will take care of the rest — a simple rule of business, yet often overlooked. Second, the food has to be a marriage of delicious and skillful execution (ideally things I would not be cooking for myself or even attempt to). As a food professional, I hold a significant amount of respect for this industry, yet I have little tolerance for meals where skill and ego get the better of taste. Third, the intentional design of the physical space where you are about to spend the next 2–4 hours of your life. Fourth, the price of the meal, this one’s a bit tricky to nail down, but in a world where amazing food can be obtained for a mere percentage of the fine dining bill, pricing a tasting menu fairly can go a long way. Fifth, the guest. After all, it’s an interactive experience and I truly believe that the positive and open-mind curiosity that diners bring to the table, can elevate the whole experience.
El Cielo ticked all the boxes for me. I loved watching the chefs in the open kitchen and seeing the staff move so effortlessly around the dining room. Everything was timed perfectly to create a sense of professionalism and calm. The journey of the 22 dishes is a huge nod to Colombian ingredients and history. Woven in are highly sensorial experiences, such as the exfoliation of the hands with a 70% cacao mix, and lots of theatrical moments aided by the use of liquid nitrogen. I felt a lot of joy eating this meal, and vicarious joy seeing others experience similar reactions. The dining room was vibrant yet super relaxed. This was one of the most affordable tasting menus we’ve had —2 x tasting menus + 1 wine pairing and a cocktail totaled around USD 200. As you can see in the video below (fast fwd to timestamp 04:03), we were completely immersed in this experience.
Colombian Coffee is seriously good.
To understand Colombian coffee, we need to talk about the different waves of coffee. The First wave in the 1800s starts with mass consumption, which leads to the Second wave during 1970 with the globalization of coffee culture (think Starbucks, or if you’re Colombian: Juan Valdez), and in the 2000s we move into the Third wave which focuses on artisanal brewing methods alongside the rise of the barista. I believe the Fourth wave delves more into the science of coffee as well as the rise of the producer. While Colombia offers a lot of options for those seeking Third and Fourth wave coffee cultures, the locals themselves haven’t been as exposed to them due to the mass exportation of good Colombian coffee. This means that table-side V60’s are still the rage here as coffee professionals are keen to share their craft and knowledge. We’ve seen some older-generation locals in Medellín taken aback with delight when they discover the color of brewed coffee and the stark contrast in taste between their dark bitter brews and that of a V60 filter.
Colombian coffee leans on the sweeter side, with notes of panela, honey, and fruits. This is partly because a lot of Colombian coffee trees are grown in the same area where you’ll find sugarcane, beehives, and banana trees. We also learned that Colombian producers are experimenting more with hybrid processing methods to produce more sustainable, sweeter coffees. We’re used to seeing photos of roasted glossy coffee beans (the seeds of the coffee fruit) and that’s a result of processing methods called ‘Washed’ or ‘Natural’ —both with the end goal of roasting the stripped-down coffee seed. The difference between Washed and Natural is that the latter involves the whole drying of the fruit before separating the seed/coffee bean for roasting. The Colombians are focusing on another process called ‘Honey’ processing, which leaves more of the fruit intact during both the drying and roasting process, resulting in more complex sweeter flavors.
My final thoughts of Medellín
To this day, Medellín remains a hidden gem. With perfect year-round weather, abundant nature and greenery, thriving art scenes, and great coffee culture, I sometimes wonder why there aren’t more ex-pats and nomads leveraging the convenience and affordability to work and live here. I hope these past few entries convince you to check it out for yourself. Thank you for joining me in the first chapter of my nomad life in Medellín Colombia. I look forward to sharing my next entry as we travel to the transcontinental metropolis in Istanbul, Turkey.
A quote to sum up this blog entry:
“It’s ludicrous this place exists and everybody doesn’t want to live here.” — Anthony Bourdain on Colombia.
and a cool photo from this week,
Your travel friend,
Zi.
