“Costa Rica, a country of flavors to discover” is the name of the reality show that the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) is launching on its social media, featuring four gastronomy students tasked with preparing emblematic dishes of Costa Rican cuisine.
Luis Enrique Herrera, a resident of Hatillo and a student at the National Chef Association (ANCH); Mía Drake, a resident of Coronado and a representative of the Amura culinary school; Melany García, also from Coronado and a student at the Guaitil Academy; and Héctor Vargas, from Guapiles, from the culinary school at Universidad Latina-Heredia, are the competitors in this gastronomic project that seeks to honor the valuable work of chefs and the richness of the national gastronomy.
Ireth Rodríguez, head of the ICT’s Vacation Segment Promotion and Development Department, states:
This reality show brings together four talented young people who love gastronomy, inheriting a passion for cooking influenced by their grandparents or parents, who are capable of conveying the emotions that food evokes and telling stories with their preparations. This material is a gastronomic journey to showcase the country’s future chefs and connect with a young, food-loving audience.
This audiovisual material is part of the communication strategy of the same name, “Costa Rica, a country of flavors to discover,” launched by the ICT three years ago to showcase recipes, flavors, products, stories, connections, and personalities linked to gastronomy, thereby motivating Costa Ricans to explore the country.
The ICT seeks to promote Costa Rican gastronomy
In the first episode of the reality show, each student selects, through a raffle, a Costa Rican dish to prepare: Caribbean pati, Costa Rican ceviche with avocado and patacones, picadillo de novios (wedding cakes) with a palm-shaped tortilla, and bitter orange cajetas (sweet orange cajetas).
In the second episode, the four contestants present their recipes to the judges, who then select the two finalists.
Chapters three and four show the finalists fighting to win the competition, while one prepares Guanacastecan arroz guacho (rice with chicken) and the other Guanacastecan corn rice.
The ICT is advised by Santiago Fernández, Essential Chef and owner of Silvestre restaurant, for the selection and curation of the dishes. The judges are pastry chef Mónica Phillips, owner of Creme Caramel in Escazú; chef Kenneth Ruiz, of Amana restaurant in Barrio Escalante; gastronomic manager Francisco “Paco” Cervilla; Paulo Valerios, chef of Huacas restaurant in Nosara, Guanacaste; and María Elena Murillo, of The Raw restaurant in Escazú.
Mariela Abarca, from Gastronomía Clandestina, is the host of the reality show filmed over the course of a week at the Universidad Latina culinary school in Heredia.
