Cacao Talk: Culinary Identity – Challenges of Discovering and Maintaining It
At República del Cacao, we believe that conversation is one of the most powerful ingredients for sharing knowledge and experiences with our community. That's why we created Cacao Talks, a space where diverse voices intersect, dialogue, and inspire.
In this first 2025 edition, we address a topic essential for every chef, gastronomy lover, or professional seeking their own path: culinary identity.
Our boutique in La Floresta became the ideal setting for this exchange of ideas and experiences, bringing our community together with outstanding exponents of the gastronomic industry, allied chefs, academic representatives, and other key players in the sector. To explore this theme, we invited three Ecuadorian chefs who, from different backgrounds, share the same pursuit: honest, technical, and deeply personal cuisine.
- Camila Medina: A young, passionate pastry chef who transforms continuous learning into a personal and contemporary offering. In 2023, she opened bite lab, a venture that stands out for its technique, authenticity, and non-traditional approach.
- Pachi Larrea: Ecuadorian pastry chef and chocolatier. His technique, sensitivity, and vision have led him to teach and create on five continents. In 2024, his Torta Amazonia, made with Ecuadorian chocolate from República del Cacao, was awarded the best in the world.
- Quique Sempere: He has taken his cuisine and charisma throughout Latin America. With a global vision and a deep respect for ingredients, he connects cultures through flavors, stories, and lived experiences.
To open the dialogue, we proposed looking back, not just to the origin, but to that decisive moment where something changed: an intuition, an unexpected action, a break with the established. That first step that marked a before and an after in their culinary journey.
Their stories showed how culinary identity begins to form long before professional certainty. Whether through early intuition, a life decision without a defined plan, or a constant search to express something personal, the three chefs agreed that this first step arises from an honest and personal impulse, rather than a clear strategy.
As the conversation progressed, we delved deeper into the challenges of building an authentic culinary identity. They discussed the risks, mistakes, and doubts that marked their professional evolution. They agreed that intuition, courage, and the pursuit of meaning have been fundamental tools for making difficult, yet transformative, decisions.
From economic losses to entering demanding work environments, they trusted in an idea, sometimes still vague, but deeply felt. Their journeys demonstrate that action often precedes clarity, and that identity is revealed along the way, not before.
One of the most powerful points of the conversation was the challenge of sustaining that identity while the world and an industry are constantly changing. They spoke to us about their non-negotiables: values, principles, approaches that they are unwilling to compromise on, even when faced with new cultures, markets, or proposals.
For them, the key lies in evolving without diluting their essence, in preserving an authentic vision that endures over time, beyond the demand for adaptability to the environment. Being true to themselves, without sacrificing excellence.
This dialogue revealed that culinary identity is a journey full of learning, decisions, and passion, a living process reflected in every dish and every personal story.
The day concluded with a networking and conversation session, where attendees shared impressions, exchanged ideas, and delved deeper into the stories the chefs had shared. An intimate and enriching closing to a morning of collective inspiration.