It all started with a dream, but with hard work and pure intentions, restaurateur Claus Meyer and his team has help put Bolivia on the international fine dining map
The success of Danish food entrepreneur Claus Meyer with Noma restaurant in Denmark transformed the country’s dining philosophy. It helped people out of poverty, social discrimination, and kept bad food at bay, as Meyer used the restaurant to promote slow food in the country. By teaching ex-convicts how to be efficient in the culinary industry, Noma grew to a big philanthropic mission of Meyer. With René Redzepi, Noma’s head chef, he promoted the “New Nordic Kitchen Manifesto” and implemented pure, fresh, simple, and ethical food. By highlighting sustainable dining, Noma greatly helped Denmark in breaking through the international fine dining scene as well as a marginalised sector in the population by giving them another chance in life.
A few years later, Meyer did the same thing in another impoverished country and uplifted more lives through gastronomy. Bolivia is considered as one of the poorest countries in Latin America. With many of its towns situated in incredibly high altitudes, it makes it very difficult for most businesses to thrive. Moreover, Bolivians were back then, unaware of their own cuisine’s DNA and the variety of sumptuous ingredients endemic to their environment. However, Meyer’s intention never waned. He began building a “fine dining temple” with an avant-garde tasting menu, composed entirely from indigenous ingredients that were yet to be highlighted in South America. By creating a culinary school for disadvantaged youths, Meyer trained a generation of young cooks who would eventually educate their communities and redefine their perception on traditional ingredients.
With Danish chef Kamila Seidler at the helm of its kitchen and Italian-Venezuelan chef Michaelangelo Cestari as CEO, Gustu opened in an affluent area in La Paz city. “We work on local ingredients and develop the idea of working on traditional cuisine highlighting the ingredients available locally,” Seidler said during the Madrid Fusión Manila 2017. By implementing the strategies they did in Denmark, the team introduced to Bolivians the importance of food, thus rekindling the people to their rich gastronomic culture.
