I am Javier García Peña. Although everyone knows me simply as Peña. I became interested in cooking as a child, making donuts with my grandmother. She was the one who taught me much of what I know about gastronomy. At 17 I was a very bad student and I ended up by chance in a cooking class. There a passion was awakened in me, I decided to be a chef. Although I prefer to be called "cook". Since then I have had a dream. Go around the world doing a gastronomy program. Today I am going to start fulfilling it. (Music) Shall we go? (Head music) (Music) In this adventure I will look for the essence of flavor. The gastronomic secrets of each country. I will break down false myths and prepare a recipe with local produce and with a very Spanish touch. (Music) My journey begins here, in Medellín, Colombia. (Music) A country that perfectly blends both techniques and ingredients from three cultures: the local indigenous, the European, especially the Spanish, and the African. I'm already getting an appetite, so I'm going for street food. (Music) I have read that not all street food stalls are reliable, especially if you have a delicate stomach. That is not my case. But to make sure I have stayed with Tulio, a gastronomic journalist, or professional glutton, as he calls himself, who is going to take me to know the best places in the city. Tulio, how are you? Welcome! How are you man? What's up friend? Well well. Welcome to the streets of Medellín, to the revolution. Let's see how it goes. Okay, go ahead. (Music) Andrea, Andrea! -How are they? How are you? Super exaggerated well. I love it, positive energy. -How are things with you? -Making money. What do you sell here? Ripe roasts with cheese and sandwich. Better known as mature My Client. Here we do it like this. Butter the way the customer likes it. Or, if you wish, without butter. Plantain? Female? Male, female, hermaphrodite, everything! (LAUGHS) -We simply say "ripe banana" here. -Now we open it. See what beauty. We don't touch it with our hands, that's why I don't wear gloves. And it comes out like this. Ah, very good. My clients want ripe with good butter. And with a sandwich. That's the simple one. The special comes double, it's called Your Chest On My Back. Or I have The Orgy, there are three coming. Two against one. My Client, with pleasure. I see that they are very catchy names. Yes. Put your finger there. So you can prove exactly what it is. That is very much of us. -It's guava. Do you call it a sandwich? Snack. I really want to make one. You leave me? -May I pass you the apron? Perfect, sure. The competition is going to mount you. Where do we start? Let's start here. Watch out. Oh sorry. They run me over. I don't want to make a fool of myself, okay? We are opening it like this, right? -That. Like when we clean fish. Yes that's how it is. What I am doing is not easy because the banana is very soft. If you do not overcome it, here I leave it as a model. (Laughs) You're going to get the colors out of me. The colors and something else, my love. (LAUGHS) I've never cleaned a banana and he's been flirting with me. You can, my love. This we have said that we removed, right? -Yes. They ask me around how the chef looks like. -If he is handsome, if you would hire him. -Ave Maria, wonderful. It's very good. Huh, daddy? It took me a lot longer ... Look at me, my love, Jorge, I'm here. (Laughter) I can't work like that. -You made him nervous, he turned red. You have brought out the colors! Well, more or less I have. -Yes, for the first time it's very good. I am going to prepare Your Chest on My Back. -First floor. -It's exaggerated, me without misery. (Laughs) It's until the client says "no more." -And when you think that's it, someone else goes on top. Is another on top? Butt. If you see. Good good good. Fill me with kisses. Take advantage of this tropical anatomy body. (Laughter) Abuse me, my love! After removing the colors I am going to try a little. This is exquisite. With this I will have a power Hail Mary! for the rest of the positions. Yes. I'll give you this apron back, you do it much better than me. Here it is. For me it is an honor, Ave Maria. I hope to see you again. I don't even want to wash it. (LAUGHS) Oh my God! Ave Maria! Good luck, honey. See you later, thank you very much. Bye, Andrea! Lost, alone in the city. A couple of drinks to forget. Paint your lips today ... -Juliet, Juliet! -Hello how are you? Tulio told me that you have the best juices. -It has aphrodisiac juices. When you come here, you say, "Tonight you do the fifth!" I say, "No, please!" Borojo juice consists of several components. If you want I can show you. I think so. Red jar, which is granulated kola. Children like milk. Yes, it smells to me ... There is a thing in Spain called "calcium". Smells like that. As you can see, he has added a little. Powdered milk, two glasses of Mero Macho are added to it. It will go now in the evening. It will go with the borojo juice. In all the positions you are going to bring out the colors. (LAUGHS) Two of "ginseng." What you cannot miss is the famous cocoa. -They are putting all the energetic things on you. -I'm going to give him the milk. (WHISTLES) Wow! Hold it. She is nervous. Very well. This is the complete borojo, which they say makes you feel like a motorcycle. We're going to try it. Hum! It is dense. It also has a little touch that I don't know how to identify. It is the first time I have tried this. They have to realize that, in the end, many of the things we try on the street may be first and we don't have a record. And right now I just totally left this. He had not tasted a thing like it. Its very good. Is very good. This must be exported. (Music) Quick! Churris, churris! Look, I present to you ... Hello, my love. Very well. Hi! How are you? I've been told that you make the best home cooking on the street. -I give him a lot of love. -And it has something even more beautiful. Yes, I have the love soup. Very good! It has a love soup. If you arrive and you don't have money, she still serves you. -Get a good soup. Nobody leaves without eating where the Churris. -How many dishes do you have here? -13 or 14 talks. Look at the rice. Do you provoke him with beans? With everything. Is this the arepita? Arepita caserita. This is the arepa. Let's say it is the plan that is eaten here, in Colombia. How do you prepare the corn? I don't pour hot water on it. No? But cold water. Yes. Cold water? Do you like spicy? It should be sweet in the morning, salty at noon and spicy at night. Do you like the language? I like it. Look, the spoon goes in by itself. This gives us ... Well, a language. If it's a doll, you can eat it easy. If you have bad teeth ... Thank God, I still have no dental problems. Bon Appetit my love. Well, it has a texture ... It is very well cooked. Water is falling from behind me. -You're just below. -I have pricked ears. Likes? I don't think I can get out of here. With pure lemon juice? Yes. This is the first time I have heard that it is made with lemon juice. So that it cuts the fat. Give me some. I am 32 years old in this. But you are young. Or you take very good care of yourself. It's what you eat. Oh yeah, it's what I eat, love, it's the energy that it gives me. (Laughter) The inheritance of the kitchen is always the mothers, the grandmothers. The grandmothers. And don't miss out. Don't get lost. Honey ... -Oh, thanks for everything. -I cried for you. Excuse me. Oh, don't cry to me. But what a beauty, my son. God pay you, my love. This man ... Thank you very much. Coming from so far ... Goodbye everyone. -Bye! (Music) Well, Javier, I hope you enjoyed this tour very much. I wanted to thank you. I no longer just thank you, I want to invite you to dinner. We're having a dinner that I want you to attend. I will not miss it. I'm not going to leave without leaving you in that place over there. They are Marta and Jorge, who prepare empanadas. Close here? They make them in their own home. I'll leave you with them and we'll see you at dinner. God bless you. Nice to meet you, Tulio. Hello. Marta and Jorge? Enchanted, a real pleasure. -Pleasure. They have told me that the best empanadas in Medellín are made here. The success of us, truly, is corn. We work with corn, corn. We do not work with flour. We have been here for 36 years. And with this we support the family. What is the typical specialty that everyone comes to eat? We have Asprilla's first cousin. Great soccer player. (LAUGHS) Good thing I like soccer or I wouldn't have taken it. We have the tripe pie. Are tripe tripe? Calluses, yes. This is a bean empanada with chicharrón. We are going to give him an empanada to try. Look at the color that is so golden. This looks ... Really crispy. This is incredible, Jorge. Marta, what a hand. I would like to know where they have the kitchen. Marta, can you show me? On the second floor. I'm with you. Tell me how you start the empanadas process. We started, first, to grind corn. It is pure corn. And this is not processed. Once the grinding is done, let's see how to prepare ... The dough. A little salt is added. A little bit of cassava starch. He adds a little bit of cassava starch because the dough has to bind. And if it doesn't have that binder, it would totally unravel us. Exactly. Then a little water is added. I love it because it reminds me of my grandmother when she made donuts. Do you want to knead? Yes please! Has it been good? -That, that's where he got the touch. -He took the shot. Do you want to make the pie? Come on. But first I need to see ... I build one and you build another. That's it. The boss always builds the first and the assistant the next. This is a small board with a plastic bag so that the empanada does not stick. You have to get muscle. See how it turned out: perfect. (LAUGHS) I'm putting all my weight on. Is it finite? Do more to it. And it makes the table like that. Ah! You have to dance a bit to make it look fine. This is the trick! You add the stew, which has: beans, rice, ground beef and pork rinds. But the chicharroncito you put it in filita so that it closes well. It's the boss's touch. (LAUGHS) Two or three little squeezes. With love, right? How it squeezes the bride. (LAUGHS) Here, when the butter is very hot, add the empanada and let it toast. The empanada is ready, take it out for the street. Well, thank you very much for receiving me in your home and teaching me ... With pleasure. See you later, be fine. Thanks Jorge. (Music) Today I have a meeting with Miguel Warren, a very young chef who combines the tradition of Colombian produce with the latest avant-garde techniques. (Music) Hi Miguel. Very well. How's it going? (Music) I really want to meet you and get to know your home. Ahead. (Music) You are doing something that is totally different from what we have been seeing these days in Colombia. At Barcal we take the product from all over the country and make a whole chain that involves social work. To support families, to put the industry aside, and that this good product that we have reaches us directly. I think it's a great idea. Ahead. What a cool kitchen you have. Thanks. What are we going to do? A dish inspired by the entire Caribbean Coast using plantain, banana ... what is this? They are some ripe banana dumplings. They are like gnocchi. Banana with some kind of flour? Or simply...? It is pure banana. We bring the prawn, smoke it and, before smoking it, we have cured it a little in salt. This is simply grated. I'm going to try a little bit. Yes. The texture is like grated cheese. Yes. But it tastes like ... sea. To love. And it tastes like smoke. We finish with a hot cream that is infused with bijao, where we wrap the tamales. We also infuse the stem of the banana. Nobody uses it. We dehydrate it and put it in the cream. There is a complement that makes the dish very interesting. The dried shrimp from La Guajira. The Wayú indigenous people do not have refrigeration. Come here. What they do is fish the shrimp, salt it and dry it in the desert in the sun. Can this be eaten like this? Yes. It is very intense. And so intense. (LAUGHS) And this is a maroon fuck. If the cimarrón is already powerful, I suppose that it is already made into powder ... It is a very powerful dish. In the menu we want to mark a lot of peaks. This must be explained. Now, in the tasting menus that are made in haute cuisine , the aim is for the customer to go for peaks. That we have him up for a moment, let's go down a little with carbohydrates, let's go back up with acid touches and spices. Can I try it now? Sure, go ahead. Hum! It has a gnocchi texture. But you don't expect the taste that comes after you. Amazing. We do not want to fill ourselves with recipes, with a number of combinations, but we want to show Colombian products. The rule is: no more than 4 ingredients on a plate. I hope not this philosophy and with that know-how, and with those 23 years that you have, you eat the world. As we try to do. Let's see, that's the idea. Thank you very much, Miguel. The same. A real pleasure. Beware. Thanks. (Music) Well, now, finally, I have arrived at the hotel. Right now I am dying. And ... I think I smell a little bad too. So I'm going to see if I take a little shower. Because I think I deserve it. Bye. (Music) 29 years ago a beautiful project began in the city of Medellín: the Campesino Markets. In them we can find products manufactured, cultivated and distributed directly by the peasants. Thanks to the markets, their quality of life and income have improved. (Music) Hi. Is this bread? I see it says "guava", "mango" ... Yes. What happens is that it comes with the filling, with fruit. Well, I think I'm going to take one. Help me. This. That is. Perfect. (Music) What kind of cheese is this? -Curd. Is it like a fresh cheese? Stew. Oh, this is wonderful. Hum! It has a lot of flavor. It wraps me up and I take it with me. Thank you. -That's dulce de leche. Known as "arequipe". Well, this is very good for me. (Music) Good morning. I'm going to need onions. Branch onions? Is this branch onion? Yes. And who is this pretty lady? My mother. With your child at the market? Yes. I want to know what the beans taste like here. -If you want, so you can see it. -There he is still very young. -He's cute. And this is cultivated by you? Yes. Where? Close here? Yes, on the farm. I'm interested, it's very Colombian. It is a flagship product. Could you go see how they grow it? Of course. Now later or tomorrow. Perfect. I believe that with all this purchase and four details that I am missing, we are going to make a very Colombian recipe and, at the same time, very Spanish. Oh my gosh how heavy it is! Diego. Gabriela. -Bye. Bye! Many thanks. (Music) If there is something that we cooks like, it is going to discover the product at its origin. And to that I am going, to San Antonio del Prado. Diego and his family are waiting for me to show me one of the star products of Colombia. So I think this promises a lot. (Music) You saw what you saw, no need to ask. Good grief, what a road. What slopes. I did not expect beans to grow so tall. I really want to get there. It is quite steep. Life is a time, but time goes by. Small dogs that I do not see with the car. You say we can fix the problems. That there is something at the end but I can't wait to see you being in the sun. Under the sun. You play in the sun. (Barking) Gabriela, Diego. -Hello. How's it going? How are you? Good and you? Very well. What a pleasure to have you here. What views you have here. This is like heaven, but a lot of work is done. I taught him to work agriculture, when they were very young they lacked their father. Was she a widow too early? 37 years old. How did your husband die? He was murdered in the same house, in the dining room. On this same farm? Yes. And one day some gentlemen came up. My husband got up, went downstairs, argued with them, threw them out. That was Thursday morning, and Friday at 7:00 p.m. ... We were watching news when they came and they killed him on the table. They were Pablo Escobar's hitmen. I was left alone. And after so many years, here I am. And I say to all of them: Live the beautiful life, well, look at the example. Let's talk about nice things now. How beautiful you have all this. Do you think? Yes. And they show me all the wonderful product that they make everyone in the market happy with. You think? -Of course. (Music) Mother, give me your hand. What do we have here? -Look, an avocado stick. -Old. This avocado ... There it goes! Oh, Peña! Oh my God! No problem! Oh ... He fell. -This is an avocado stick, Colin Reed species. Makes an avocado of this size. And this ripens healthily with the ripe banana. AHA. Release like pollen that helps it to ripen. And here we already have the beans, right? Yes, here we come to beans. Do you eat this bean or not, in green? The pod? The pod is washed ... No, only beans are eaten here. The bean, when it is finished. (SEATS) In Spain we also eat this. We like. You don't use pesticides here ... No, no, nothing. (Music) Here we are getting to the tree tomato cultivation. I have never seen such a large tomato plant. This is small! Is small? Can you eat like this? Yes. How do you feel? Is the skin eaten? No. It does not eat the skin. It is important. We eat it like that. A) Yes? (SEATS) We do it like this and it goes away. You only eat inside. Hum! There you did get the taste of it. Now, yes. I'd like you to try it because ... Because you crave it. Terrific. And could I eat it like fruit? -Yes. (Music) Well, it wasn't bad at all, right? Yeah right. Now I understand a lot, everything you sold me yesterday, how much it costs to grow it. The value it has. And here I bring you a little bit of tree tomato. Well, this ... Taken by the stick. Taken directly from the stick? Directly from the tree. Many thanks. With pleasure. What is this? Cookies. Sit with me. I want to thank you for showing everyone your farm, what you do, giving value to this work. And I am very happy to have you here. I never dreamed that people from abroad would come to my farm, to walk with me, even to sink, like this poor man who fell. But I found it very nice. I wish everyone was as simple as you. Because the people of the city do not know anything about what the country is. Take care of yourself. Thank you. Goodbye, family! "See you later, Peña!" (Music) -Electric. -Energy in the body. -Electric. -Soil strength. -Electric. -Sparks around the place. You can go to a lot of restaurants. But until a family invites you to their home, you don't know the gastronomy of a country. Luckily I know Lucero Vílchez. She studied Advertising. But for a few years he has had a cooking show. I'm going to see what's going on up there. They tell me that every time he puts on his apron, friends come out all over the place. (Doorbell) Hello! How are you? Hello, Lucero, how are you? (Music) How delicious you are here. I see a lot of ingredient here. Yes, you asked me for a paisa tray. And all this takes a paisa tray? This and even more. It represents our culture a lot. It has what the muleteers ate. A lot of carbohydrate, they needed a lot of strength. You'll see: banana ... Thank you very much. Lots of meats too. It has between 11 and 14 ingredients. The rice, the beans, the pork rind. This is already the acme. Blood sausage, chorizo, ripe banana, arepas, the hogao. And a respectable paisa tray also has a fried egg on top. OMG, all these ingredients on one plate. On a tray, actually. What I need you to do is peel the banana. Well. (LAUGHS) Well, well ... I know this has its trick. Let's not put double meaning on it. Modern Mom's Trick: Microwaves for 20 to 30 seconds and then peels off very easily. It is a fairly hard banana and that is why we are going to cook it. In the end, it will do the same ... When my grandmother made the beans, she made the potato. In the end, he's going to drop that starch. It is the same principle, exactly. All this goes to the pot. A few minutes, but we have to make a stew, a hogao. Hogao is a Creole sauce. It is the most representative sauce of our kitchen. This is starting to ring a bell to me. Yes? Tomato, onion ... It's great. (LAUGH) What do you do from Monday to Friday? Well, I'm usually stuck in a kitchen. I like it, you are gaining more points still. (LAUGHS) Look at this beauty. It is a bacon of the part of the belly, very fleshy. In Spain we call it "bacon". And the cuts are made, here we call it "the legs." We're going to put some baking soda in here. Cast? It's a trick. It will give the crunch we want so that it is to bite. Do you eat meat of this type in Spain? No. It's ground beef. A meat that does not have fat. This is already turning. That's OK. We are going to take this that we have liquefied again. I'm going to turn the pot back on, now without pressure. And we can sit down to have a coffee or whatever you want. To tell us the stories of life because it will take a long time. We get up to date. (Music) They should look like this. These are well done. Do you want to plate? Come on. You put pork rinds on it. Pork rind. A chorizo, a blood sausage. Let's say it is something very similar to stew, which also has chorizo, chicken ... "Mamma mia"! (LAUGHS) We add a little broth. We'll see. We did it! Well, piece of tray paisa. It was beautiful on you. With what you have taught me, my idea is to make a little recipe a bit fused. I want you to attend. Yes please. I'm going to take a photo of it. And, of course, one with the chef. I want to introduce you to my family too. Hello. Hello. How are you, Ivan? How are you? Hi how are things? I hope you can help me a little. The beans were very tasty. (LAUGHING) Families that are very from here meet, almost always on Sundays at the grandparents' house. This dish cannot be missing. Now you have to break the yolk of the egg. (Bell) -They rang. -Yes, they are my sisters. Hello! Come on, this is Javier Peña, the chef. Hello, nice to meet you. What's your name? Alexander. Sit down, there is something for everyone. You arrive on time. There is a paisa tray. Reach for everyone. Half of the tribe sits and the rest is bringing. It is a matriarchy. (LAUGH) (Music) This ends with what? With a guaro, a brandy. Well, butt. Long live Colombia! Health, dry and turned. -Right. -Right and within. To the bottom? To the bottom. Oh! (LAUGH) Well, after I put the tray in, I can do this. Do not do it at home without eating a paisa tray. It is not recommended by the doctor. Health! Health! Oh my gosh. (LAUGH) And I wanted to miss this day. Can I lend you a pajamas? (LAUGHING) Yeah yeah yeah! Here in this house, how do family gatherings always end? -Singing and dancing salsa. You have to dance salsa with Javier! I follow you. Come on. (Salsa music) That. Roll your shoulders. Two things at the same time I cannot do. (LAUGH) No, no, no. This is the easiest, don't be late. -Very good, it's over. -Yes. I have to be very red right now from the shame I've been through. Thank you very much for the welcome, the food ... I will replicate this in Spain for sure. But with a good table, like here. Oh, I hope so. It is an honor to receive you in the house and to be able to transmit a little of who we are, of the traditions. Many thanks. And we go. (Music) Another great day. But if there are big things here in Medellín, it is arriving at the hotel and having another little thing prepared for you to eat. This is inciting. And another thing that I love is this type of soap opera that I had not seen for a long time. Everyone cries and everyone has grudges. But if you come to Medellín later and the people are not like that. I do not understand. Let's get some rest. I save that treat for the morning. Bye, see you tomorrow. Empanadas, potatoes, fritters! Medellín is a city that never stops surprising me. And although my trip is fundamentally gastronomic, there is a place that I could not miss: Comuna 13. (Music) In the 80s it was one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world, dominated by hitmen and drug traffickers. Today it is famous for its graffiti, its hip-hop movement and street art. I've met Julián, or as everyone knows him here, Güey. He's going to be the one to show me the Commune. And my cauldron of rice. I go "won". Oops! Fried mojarra and shrimp. Chipi chipi and my rice cauldron. I go "won". What's up bro? Everything's fine? They all say that I must know Comuna 13 and that you are the one to show me all this. Of course, if you come to the city and do not know Comuna 13, it is as if you had not come to Medellín. You better show me. Yeah right. (Music) -I don't want to earn millions -What? -I don't want to stay in "New York." -Why? Empanadas, potatoes, fritters! In this street I graffiti of love. For something special? Hello. How's it going? Ah no, this is so. Let's see, there. What do you dance? Exotic. Exotic? And how do you dance that? (Music) Okay guys! I am walking and opening doors. I am building and looking for answers. Here people built a little as they wanted, right? -Yes, how the communes start is like an invasion. Because each inhabitant built his own house. Or people displaced from the countryside. Also because of the guerrilla issue. Exactly, by the FARC. (Music) Wow! It is mind-blowing. How do you see a house, after another house, after another house ... Do you know exactly how many people live here? Medellín is divided by 16 communes. And 13 is one of the largest, it has 31 neighborhoods and approximately 140,000 inhabitants. Oh my gosh. I come from Valladolid. There are four or five neighborhoods. And well, what to say? (Music) I'm telling you. This is the viewpoint of Commune 13. After the love graffiti, we have the viewpoint. This goes all the way. All this ... I don't know if I have told you that it is one of the few cities that have escalators on the street. (Music) The stairs are the turning point for social change in the neighborhood. Yes, exactly. This helped a lot to change the image of the neighborhood. It was a very violent neighborhood that no one came to before and today it is becoming one of the most touristy. How have you managed to make this spectacular change in 20 years? Go from being crossed out on the map as a violent city to now being recognized by everyone as an example for many places that have very similar problems. They think that they cannot stay in that mourning and that life has to go on. Since then, many groups have started to emerge, such as schools of music, dance, theater ... Many social leaders began to emerge who created positive projects. (Music) This is Casa Kolacho. You can't leave Comuna 13 without doing your own graffiti. Pleasure. (Music) With this symbolic act, you are officially part of Commune 13. You know, this way, welcome. We will wait for you with the doors open. A real pleasure. (Music) One of the joys of traveling is being able to try dishes made with surprising ingredients. I am heading to La Chagra, a unique restaurant in the world. Its chef Santiago Gallego uses products and ancient recipes from the Amazon and is dedicated to promoting and preserving indigenous culture. Hey, Santiago. Peña, how are you? Welcome. (Music) What does your restaurant have that everyone talks about? Surprises What do you have here for me? Something very indigenous. Food, for indigenous culture, has a very different connotation. It is a ritual. When they go to feed themselves, the first thing they do is ask permission from the jungle, from the Pachamama. That he is going to paint me. Of course. Okay, okay, okay. This I did not expect. Now you can sit down. The indigenous people eat on the ground and we want to represent the ritual of feeding. It's a bit awkward for a long guy like me. Wow! Oh my gosh. I guess the scales are tricky to remove. Yes, with a machete. The pirarucú is the largest freshwater scale fish in the world. It is a carnivorous animal and that is the reason for its flavor. Let's take a little picture. They come out a few servings with such a fish. What we are going to do is the patarasca. In ancient times there was no metal. This was the indigenous induction pot. This would be like the indigenous tamale. Hogao. Let's put a little coriander on it. I am going to take this cooking method to Spain and disseminate it. (Music) Surprises are beginning to arrive. Is that a ... worm? It is the larva of a beetle that lives in a palm. The natives eat it alive. We remove the head. Let's get the guts out. And this is the head. Right now we roast it and you taste it. Can I take the guts out of the other? Yeah right. So I put myself in flour, for that you have put the paint on me. Yes of course. It's a little ... Not unpleasant, because it's not. But it does impress. In the end, it is still a worm. Let's chop this small, mix it all up. The flavors are already starting to rise. Lots of jungle. There it goes. And to fill. We have to be careful because it can jump a bit. The important thing is that the skin is crispy. Good good good. The tucupí is going to give you ... Flavor. We are going to recreate the Amazon here. Yes. Wow! A little bit of liquid nitrogen. One last. I can't wait to sink my teeth into it. Is it held by hand? Yes. Oh! Its very good. But very rich! When it comes to flavor, you can see the coriander a lot. That contrast of flavors. The texture. I'm hallucinating. Who was going to tell me that I was going to eat a worm and it was going to look delicious to me? Here we already have this beauty. This is simply to open it with your hands. You also play a lot with that, the indigenous eats with their hands. With your hands, yes. Well here I go. It is a very juicy and very noble fish. It had been a long time since I had eaten a white fish with this juiciness. The tucupí appears again to make my hair stand on end. Once again, I got a super pleasant surprise in Medellín. This, for me, has been the turning point. Know what is done in the Amazon. How did you think of everything? Thanks, I'm excited. For any cook, coming to your house is a must. Thank you very much for showing the world the good face of Medellín and Colombia. (Music) Well, the great moment has arrived. I have to show what a good cook I am. They are going to lend me the kitchens of El Botánico. A restaurant that is one of the "top" in Medellín. Let's see how I do. (Music) I'm going to do, let's put it like this ... It's going to be a paisa tray in my style, but a little lighter, a slightly more "gourmet" dish. With these tomatoes that Diego gave me, we are going to make something very Spanish: A sofrito. Then we are going to sauté the Creole chorizo along with the ham. And when we have it ready, we will add the beans. We are going to moisten them with a little chicken broth and then we are going to add our sauce. It has to be a small stew. We are going to crown all this with a poached egg. Let's make it fun, then I'll show you. Without further ado, I get into trouble. (Music) (SIGHS) For our sofrito, chopped chives. Now I'm going to grate the tomato. And a tree tomato. The garlic that I have also bought at the Mercado de los Campesinos. Olive oil, one of my fetish products. We are going to fry for two or three minutes so that it softens a little and takes a golden color, and we add the tomato. We will have this, more or less, another 4 minutes until it reduces. Make it look like a paste. And we started to prepare the eggs. -Juan, how are you? -Tulio, how are you? -Everything's fine? -Well, good to see you, brother. I am going to put it in a container, we are going to add olive oil. Vamos a cascar el huevo y lo vamos a dejar en el interior. Y lo que queremos hacer es una pequeña bolsita. -Hello. Santi, ¿cómo estás? Qué gusto verte. -Qué alegría verte -Hola, Tulio. La alegría es mía. Una de las dificultades de hacer recetas en otro país es que, muchas veces, no sabes a qué saben los productos. A mí me pasa con esto. Este chorizo criollo no lo había probado nunca hasta que he llegado aquí. Yo creo que puede ir bien. Voy a quitarle la barriga, solo quiero la carne. He encontrado un poquito de jamón. Voy a aprovechar y voy a meter un poquito. Y, rápidamente, las habitas. -¿Le cocinaste una bandeja paisa a Javier? (RÍEN) ¡No te imaginas! ¿Y tú lo pusiste a comer mojojoy? Do not tell me! -Yes. -¿Y pudo? Lo acompañé a comidas callejeras y la gente estaba feliz. Me decía la Churris: "Cómo hablan de lindo los españoles". ¡Enamorada! Además, es enamorador. -Se supone que nos está preparando una fusión de todo lo que aprendió. El toque español: el pimentón de la Vera Tenemos el huevo. Cocido por fuera, y fijaros. En su punto por dentro. Wow! Esto huele... ¡Cómo huele esto! Yo creo que va a hacer algo con aguardiente. -Es que yo ayer lo vi interesado. -¡No puede ser! -¡Lo dañaste! -Del todo, lo perdimos. Directos a emplatar. Si yo me pongo a pensar qué se atreverá a preparar, que yo diría que tenga algo que ver con plátano maduro o una cosa así. Crujiente de plátano, el broche final. Primer plato, plato salado. De lo que más me ha gustado es la elaboración de la empanada. Yo voy a intentar replicar lo que ella me enseñó. La parte difícil de la receta: la masa. Voy a ir añadiendo ingredientes como lo hizo Marta. Pero como soy español, al final, he añadido un ingrediente sorpresa. El azafrán. Marta le echaba media cucharadita de sal. Una cucharada de azúcar. Otra de harina de maíz. Fécula de yuca. Con todo esto, vamos a amasar. Ahora que estás aquí, ahogado en medio de la gente. Cuando lo hacía Marta parecía muy fácil, pero... No sé yo. Ya no sé si se me ha secado, si no... De momento, creo que la masa está. Vamos a estirarla y vamos a hacer el relleno de las empanadas. Lo pongo encima del papel. Y pongo otra encima. Y la vamos rellenar de una forma diferente. He visto que casi todas se rellenaban de carne, de guisos... Y yo he querido hacer un postre con la empanada. Diego me dio unas brevas de su campo. Estas brevas, junto con el arequipe. (Música) Un poquito de canela. Y un chorretón de vinagre. (Música) Y rellenamos con una breva. Estas moras espectaculares que también Diego me ofreció de su campo. Están de morirse. Este queso fresco de aquí, de la tierra, de Antioquía. Seguro que Marta me decía que apretara como a la novia. Hay dos opciones. Una, que se me desarme directamente en la freidora. U otra, que salga perfecta. Se me ve que estoy sudando, ¿no? Y la sacamos a un papel secante. Ponemos la empanada. Y unas moritas. (Música) Ahora me pondrán nota. -¡Chef! -Bravo! Very well! Guau, qué bien huele. Muchísimas gracias a los tres por haber venido. Thanks. Santiago. Guapa. -Guapo. Me he metido una paliza cocinando seria. (RÍEN) He intentado hacer algo muy de aquí y muy de mi tierra. No os voy a contar mucho más. La idea es que lo mezclemos todo. Hum! Un poquito como la bandeja paisa. -Vamos a adoptarlo. -Y el huevo pochado. -¿Esto te trae recuerdos de Andrea? Sí. Tu Pecho Sobre Mi Espalda. Correcto. (RÍE) Estaba pensando en ella. ¿Qué pasó en la noche después de comer todo eso? Lo que pasa en Colombia, se queda en Colombia. ¿Os gusta? Lo que tiene es chorizo. Exacto, el chorizo. -Pero lo ha hecho muy bien. El mismo chorizo no tapa, no opaca, no es tan fuerte como suele ser. ¿Vino hay? No hay nada de vino. Any? Amazing. Lo que hay es pimentón. -Ah, pimentón. Por eso tiene se color. Aquí acostumbramos a comer el fríjol verde que no necesita remojar. Ese que te dieron está bien especial. En su punto. Muy rico, en su punto. Y tiene ese sabor criollito de la salsa. Hay muchos jóvenes que no comen bandeja paisa. Esto es llevarlo a un nivel donde muchos sí pueden probarlo. Eso sí, prepárate, más de un purista va a decir: "¿Cómo se le ha ocurrido?". Si la cocina no avanza, se muere. Tiene que avanzar al ritmo de las personas. Muéstrame una sola receta de fríjoles de una abuelita. -¿Cuántas recetas hay? -¿Cuántas bandejas paisas? Como casas y abuelitas hay en todo Medellín. -¿Cuál es el original? -Cada uno dirá que la suya es mejor. Muy inspirador, me dejas muchas tareas después de ver esta interpretación tuya. Fíjate que yo estaba temblando. Felicitaciones. ¡Chinchín! ¿Aprobamos este primer plato? Superaprobado. ¿Santiago? -Delicious. Sabe a abuelita. ¿Sabe a abuelita? A cocina de abuelita. Tiemblo con lo que traigo ahora, ahí sí me la he jugado. Ahora vengo. -Muchas gracias. ¿Qué vendrá ahora? Dice que es el más complicado y que fue el más difícil. What do you think? -Yo sigo pensando en el plátano maduro. -¡Ay, qué lindo! -¡Hizo una empanada! ¡No me lo puedo creer! ¡Hizo una empanada! -¡Me encanta! ¡Con moras! Una empanada dulce, sí. ¡Arequipe! ¿El relleno es de frutas? Vamos a ver lo que hay. OK. (Música) ¿Y la masa es de maíz? No te puedo creer. -Esto sí rompe todas las reglas. No había visto una empanada de maíz amarillo rellena de dulce. ¡Pero está buenísima! Please. Seriously? ¿Te ha gustado? Me quito el sombrero. -Buenísima. Tiene algo más, un poco de queso. Del queso... Quesito, ¿no? Pues, la verdad, gracias. Muy orgullosos de que te hayan gustado nuestros sabores, de que los interpretes a tu aire, y de que te lleves esta cocina en tu corazón. Rico de verdad. Thank you. Encantado de que os haya gustado. -Uf, acuérdate: ¡bacanísima! -¿Hay repetición? (RÍE) (Música) ¡Uf! Bueno, creo que la prueba está superada. He sufrido... Creedme, hacía mucho tiempo que no sufría tanto en una cocina. Reinventar o hacer algo tradicional al toque que tiene uno es muy complicado. Creo que ha gustado, se han ido con buen sabor de boca. Era de lo que se trataba. (Música) Qué lindo que es estar en la tierra después de haber vivido el infierno. Qué lindo que es poder amarte y mirarte otra vez. Mi aventura en Colombia llegó a su fin. Qué lindo corazón, que estés acá y acá latiendo. Y no me puedo ir con mejor sabor de boca. Solo tengo palabras de gratitud para todas las personas que me han acompañado en esta aventura. Nunca pensé encontrar tanta alegría, generosidad y sentido del humor. Me llevo en mi libreta un montón de trucos culinarios. Y en mi memoria, las sonrisas y el cariño de todos mis anfitriones. Ya soy parte de Medellín. De su comida callejera. De la gastronomía amazónica. Y de la Comuna 13. Siempre recordaré las historias de Gabriela y Diego. Las de Julián el Güey. Y las del gran Tulio. Mi siguiente destino ya me está esperando. Pero Colombia se ha ganado para siempre un lugar privilegiado en mi corazón.
