Teresita has been cooking since she could pick up a knife. She runs a cooking school in Buenos Aires and she shared her thoughts on local food and culinary tourism.
What regional dishes best represent the area you are in?
Empanadas, Asado (BBQ), Milanesas (breaded cutlets), Ensalda criolla (creole salad)
There is a growing trend in food tourism. What are your clients looking for when they come visit you?
Among being interested in learning a typical dish from one of the recipes we offer from the six different south American countries we cover, they come to peak into a house of an Argentinian. They are curious about our way of life and questions range from how long have I been living in the same home, where can they purchase the spices we use at the class, what I do on my spare time, what restaurants I would recommend for typical Argentine food in Buenos Aires and much more.
Someone one time asked me if I love Argentina or if I would have preferred to leave at some point due to problems at the political level back in days when the economy was not good. I answered that besides the known problems of Latin countries, there is something in the air I do not feel when I travel to other parts of the world. I am from Argentina, my mother was born a block away from my house, my daughter is just around the corner, my students when they see me walking around town have always stories to tell me.
It takes time to know people and you can only achieve this by staying at one place for a long time. People and friends is what makes my life in Argentina one that I would not trade for any other place in the world and our food costumes is what I treasure the most.
