CUERNAVACA, Mor.- The Embassy of Ecuador in Mexico and the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries, Pro Ecuador carried out the Exquisito Ecuador gastronomic experience in Mexico, where the Ecuadorian Chef Juan José Morán he shared dishes that emphasized the gastronomic offer of his country.
The setting for the experiment was Hotel Boutique II Piccolo Peccato which is located in Cuernavaca in the state of Morelos and which belonged to the famous cartoonist Abel Quezada. In interview with Bistronomya brand of The Economist, Juan José Morán (special guest of the program masterchef Ecuador in the year 2022) told us that his goal is to publicize and promote the cuisine of his country.
Chef’s Inspirations
“My grandmother studied what in her time was gastronomy, domestic economy and he taught me to cook, from a very young age I was a taster of different foods, entrails, seafood and products that children usually do not try,” he said Juan Jose Moran.
He recounted that his mother also inherited his taste for cooking and she was the one who gave him his first gastronomic experience at the age of 7, when he played with the dough for empanadas and inspired him to create his piece.
Such was his passion for gastronomy that Juan José studied at the Instituto Superior de Arte Culinario and at the Universidad de Las Américas. (UDLA), the first global university in Ecuador. “While at University I felt the need to do something for the gastronomy of Ecuadorwhich was undervalued”.
At the age of 20, Morán got his first job via the University at the Scientific Station in Antarctica, the Pedro Vicente Maldonado Base, a research center operated by Ecuador during the southern summer, which is located on Greenwich Island in the Shetland Islands. from the south. This experience was fundamental, “I lived how Ecuadorians miss their home, when it is in a place as hostile as Antarctica with extreme cold, and for me it was the perfect opportunity to show that a menu could reduce nostalgia.”
Started the search
Juan José Morán collaborated in different local restaurants to reinforce that knowledge after graduating, “I worked with Chef Rodrigo Pacheco (chef from Quito who participated in the world-class gastronomic competition, “The Final Table”) and with Chef Francis Puig, one of the great mentors of the most outstanding chefs in Ecuador, owner of Don Francis Gourmet, a restaurant located in Guayaquil”.
Juan José Morán won the National Gastronomy Award in 2014 as Young Talent at the Cero Latitud Festival. His talent led him to work for the President of the Republic of Ecuador (Rafael Correa) as its chef, in the Carondelet Palace located in Quito, “it was a unique experience to cook for kings, presidents, celebrities, and it was a time to experiment with many Ecuadorian products and try to show them at the highest level,” he said.
I have a passion for cooking and art. My life goal is to put Ecuadorian food on the map for foodies around the world.”
putting the footprint
After a gastronomic trip to Europe to get to know and learn different styles, from there the idea of his first restaurant was born, which was called The blackboard in Guayaquil with an Ecuadorian tapas approach and who lived for seven years. That space created seven-course experiences, “some from the Amazon, others from the Ecuadorian Sierra and some from the Ecuadorian Coast, it was very successful and was a sample of Contemporary Ecuadorian Cuisine, I unfortunately closed it due to the pandemic, but we have plans of reopening”.
In The blackboardhad a menu where they tasted: Tapas de Madurillo, Llapingachín, Muchín Meloso, Chanchocones, Duck Entourages, Cream of sweet corn with prawns, Meloso de Cangrejo, among others.
Currently, the delights of Morán are in the Breeze restaurantwhich is located in the Olon BeachSanta Elena on the coast, a unique space to enjoy an innovative proposal within Ecuadorian cuisine, where artisanal fishing is enhanced by combining the sea and nature in the open air, on January 21 of this year the restaurant turned 1 year of existence
“In Breeze We are dedicated to making grills with rare seafood that are usually considered discarded and we give it an enhancement, an Ecuadorian gastronomy from the coast, but based on being sustainable and trying to reuse many products that are forgotten,” he said. .
Some examples of the gastronomy found in Breeze: Trumpet skewer, Pangora roll sandwich, Prawn ceviche with buttermilk, Grilled prawns on chifle puree, Choripan with fish chorizoMote tamale with trumpet, Pumpkin thousand leaves, Roasted beets, Chocolate sorbet with lavender and Raw tuna with white coconut garlic.
favorite products
Juan Jose Moran He said that he has favorite seasonal dishes, “I am a lover of green plantains, because of the ability it has to transform into thousands of shapes, into tamales, stews, desserts, stews, among others.
“We use the coconut and we burn it because we try to give a touch of embers to all the products, we prepare a black coconut milk with which we create a black coconut ice creamwhich we serve with sesame seeds, achieving a very complex dessert with bitter touches, but at the same time sweet and delicious”.
Mexican dishes
The Chef likes Mexican gastronomy, among his favorites: the Chile de Nogadathe barbecue, the carnitas, among others.
favorite words
favorite words of Juan Jose Moran They are: passion, respect and gratitude and it is that he went through a complex health situation where he learned the solidarity of the people and the restaurateurs’ union in his country, who supported him through crowdfunding to carry out an operation in the United States and with this, he returned to enjoy his cooking.
Menu in Mexico
Menu Exquisite Ecuador offered by the Embassy of Ecuador in Mexico and the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries, Pro Ecuador:
- Cassava bread stuffed with encocado prawns accompanied with grilled labne and naranjilla jelly
- Plantain pork rinds with tuna tartar, cocoa nibs and preserved lemon
- Grilled tomato ceviche with chochos, quinoa, avocado and chillangua oil
- Mini bun with catch of the day acevichada jipijapa style
- Matured duck with neapia sauce on cassava and grilled hearts of palm
- Pork with Andean tubers
- Corn macaron with white chocolate ganache with toasted corn
- Buttermilk ice cream with ishpingo on black orito purée, banana chips and crispy amaranth
- Ecuadorian specialty coffee
