Culinary Adventures with Chef Luiz
(Chef Silverio Luiz Tecedor is a chef consultant for IDF, who has spent the past 40+
years cooking and traveling around the world. Through the years, he typically flew
more than 100,000 miles annually, while cooking, teaching and learning about food
for CPC/Best Foods/Unilever. Here at IDF, we’re delighted that Chef Luiz has agreed
to share some of his global food-lore.)

Note from Colombia: A trip down memory lane

(Bogota, COLOMBIA, June 2010) I returned here to Bogota after eight years, and it was very easy to see the changes, the city looks more vibrant—new taxis, cars, buildings, restaurants—the country has really moved forward since my previous trip.

It’s always a treat for me to travel to Colombia because it has a special place in my life and career. In 1981, I was sent here by CPC (now Unilever) with Mr. Flueckiger, the Swiss chef that was training me for my new job as a research chef. And this was the last time we were going to work together. After this trip, I was going to be working on my own.

CPC was just entering the Colombian market at the time and our mission was to develop a line of foodservice soups and sauces. As it turned out, Colombia was also my last trip working for Unilever, so my career with the Knorr brand started and finished in Colombia.

Back to the future
This time in Colombia, IDF VP Sales & Marketing, Bob Hoopingarner and I came to work with the local IDF agent, Camilo Rozo visiting IDF customers. This region is very important for IDF. All the major companies that market soups and bouillons are here and so are our customers. Colombia is a very interesting market. In my opinion, it’s the most creative in Latin America. New products are launched in an otherwise “mature market” with good results. This reminds many of us that innovation and consumer insights work very well together.

It was a very short, yet productive visit. We had the opportunity to have dinner at the Club Colombia restaurant. The menu features traditional regional dishes, and we had Ajiaco Bogotano, which was very well prepared and served. This dish shows a “fusion” of European cuisine with the local cuisine and ingredients. Potatoes, originally from the region, are cooked with chicken in a soupy like stew garnished with white rice, fresh avocado, capers, cream and, of course, with white corn grilled arepas—the local equivalent of a flat bread.

You can enjoy Ajiaco as soup, (THAT IS HOW I LIKE IT!) or adding the garniture to it, as a stew. At home, this dish is usually prepared for a Sunday brunch or special occasions. Bogota, with its high altitude is usually cold, making this a perfect dish for the weather. It’s a best-seller in restaurants catering to foreigners. It goes well with red wine. In Colombia, it is usually served with highly sought after Chilean wine.

It was a short but profitable visit for us. I hope to come back here soon, because I really enjoy Bogota.

Next trip…Chicago for the IFT.

TCHAU…until then!

Chef Luiz