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🇻🇪 Venezuela /Culture & Society

Venezuelan chef Ricardo Chaneton returns home, brings Michelin-starred team for pivotal dinner

From El Nacional · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Context piece
  • Venezuelan chef Ricardo Chaneton returned to his home country to prepare for a high-stakes dinner, bringing his Michelin-starred team from Hong Kong.
  • Chaneton, who received Venezuela's first Michelin star in 2022, emphasized resilience and moving forward, drawing parallels to his own life and career.
  • His return and the preparation for the

Ricardo Chaneton, Venezuela's first Michelin-starred chef, returned to his homeland after four years to prepare for a pivotal dinner. He brought his sous chefs from Hong Kong, who have worked with him for years at his restaurant, Mono. This return was not just personal; it was an opportunity for his team to see where the ingredients and culinary influences that shape their work originate.

It doesn't matter how you fall, but how you get up. Next. Life goes on. Let's never look back.

— Ricardo ChanetonChaneton described his life philosophy, drawing a parallel to a jazz musician who recovers from a wrong note.

Chaneton, who earned Venezuela's first Michelin star in 2022, spoke about resilience, likening his philosophy to a jazz musician who turns a wrong note into a masterpiece. "It doesn't matter how you fall, but how you get up," he stated, emphasizing a forward-looking approach. His return was marked by simple pleasures, like sharing a cachapa and arepa with his team upon arrival, a moment he described as deeply satisfying: "Venezuela tasted good to all of us."

We were enormously hungry. We ate a cachapa and an arepa. Then, mondongo. Imagine, it tasted great to us.

— Ricardo ChanetonChaneton described his first meal upon returning to Venezuela after a four-year absence.

The team visited El Bosque, a well-known Caracas neighborhood famous for its Chinese cuisine. There, Chaneton's collaborators tasted Venezuelan Chinese food, finding surprising similarities to Hong Kong flavors. Many Chinese chefs in Venezuela decades ago came from Canton or Hong Kong, leading to a shared culinary heritage. The young chefs, who spend long hours in a Michelin-starred kitchen, had been using Duolingo to learn Spanish, showing a genuine interest in Latin culture.

Venezuela tasted good to all of us.

— Ricardo ChanetonChaneton reflected on the taste of Venezuela for himself and his team.

The upcoming dinner, titled "Sabores del Alma" (Flavors of the Soul), is conceptualized as a "coral menu," where producers are integral to the authorship. This collaborative approach highlights Chaneton's respect for the origin of his ingredients and the people who cultivate them, reflecting a deep connection to Venezuela's culinary landscape.

Hong Kong in Caracas

— Sous chefsChaneton's sous chefs remarked on the similarity of Venezuelan Chinese food to Hong Kong cuisine after tasting it in Caracas.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Nacional in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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