We love to travel, we love to visit markets, we love to cook, we love to eat. So what could be better than a cooking class in Chile that starts with a market trip accompanied by our chef-teacher?
We made our connection through our hosts at the Yellow House B&B, where we stayed. It’s near the top of Cerro Artilleria, one of Valpo’s hills, and so was the chef, Boris Basso Benelli. Just around the corner in fact, though it took a couple of days to make the arrangements.
On the appointed day Boris met us at the Yellow House. This time, we walked down the hill instead of taking the ascensor, or funicular. At the bottom we caught one of the city’s bustling mini-buses, which ply bewildering routes with varying prices. Good to be going with someone who knew!
The main market in Valparaiso (for now) is at the far end of town. The old main market, near the port, is just a shell of a beautiful building now being rebuilt as something else. At the market, the action spills out onto the sidewalks around the building.
With Boris in the lead, we plunged into the building. He led us from stall to stall, chatting with vendors, getting a hug here and there, and planning and replanning the menu based on what we found. He stopped frequently to show us produce we weren’t familiar with, and to explain how it could be used.
After the produce, we headed outside to buy fish for the ceviche we were planning. Most of the fish stands were selling whole fish, cleaning and trimming on demand. That’s our fish being cut for the ceviche we made later.
After a quick stop to see shellfish, bread and meat, we headed back.
Heading back across the city with our shopping, and up to the top of our hill, Boris decided we’d be better off skipping the bus in favor of a ‘colectivo.’ These are 4-passenger taxis that run along semi-fixed routes, picking up and dropping passengers off along the way. He quickly found one going our way, and willing to take the road up to the top.
And we set to work in the kitchen located behind the Cafe Postal. Boris has since taken over space above the cafe as a bed and breakfast, which might well be our choice if we get back to Valpo.
Joan at work, scraping the fish from the skin for the ceviche, a dish ‘cooked’ only by the acid action of citrus juice.
When we ate, Boris served it in a cocktail glass, as an appetizer. And it was!
And speaking of cocktails, we also made the local specialty of Chile and Peru, a Pisco sour. Pisco is a brandy-like spirit distilled from local fruit; its history goes back to early Spanish colonizers who developed it when they couldn’t count on a supply of European brandy. Chile outproduces Peru 3-to-1, but you can always get an argument going on which country’s is better.
And it’s definitely shake, not stir!
Pastel de choclo is another Chilean specialty. We’d had it in Santiago and enjoyed it, but it was a large casserole. With Boris, we made individual servings. It’s based on a topping made from sweetcorn called ‘choclo’—we saw many kinds of corn in Chile!—made into a cooked paste.
The choclo covers a filling called ‘pino,’ made of minced beef, onions, other spices, olives and sometimes chicken and sliced egg, and it goes into the oven.
Pino is also a filling for traditional empanadas in Chile. And we made them, too! Each one got a sprinkle of a different spice on top to identify the differences.
Vegetables, of course: both as a salad, and in the cooking…
Our final dish was leche asada, the Chilean version of flan, with a really great caramel with a touch of cinammon…but by the time we got to it, I forgot to take pictures! You’ll have to imagine it, or make your own.
If you’d like to do that, you can find all the recipes in Boris’s gorgeous book; we got our copy from Amazon on our return. It’s Food & Cooking of Chile: 60 Delicious Recipes from a Unique and Vibrant Cuisine; you can find it HERE.
We really enjoyed our day with Boris. He’s clearly passionate about the food of Chile, but he’s also continuing to study other cuisines, and was interested in our food experiences. If you find yourself in Valpo, shopping and cooking with Boris is a great way to spend a day.
Since our visit, Boris and his partner Jennifer have opened La Petite Maison, a small B&B above the Cafe Postal. If you’re interested in staying there, or a class, they are at lapetitemaison.cl
We brought recipes and skills! Come to NY and we’ll show you…
I enjoyed your adventure day and all the colourful sights you discovered .
A lot of effort gone into this blog and for me it was a wonderful read.
Thanks for sharing Paul and Joan.
Great experience! Too bad you didn’t bring any samples with you….