The dessert course, Postre Nicoyano, offered a delicate smoked aged cashew bagaces, sweet corn namelaka, vanilla corn cake, white chocolate, maple tuile, and toasted corn, delivering a perfect balance of tradition and innovation.
“This wasn’t just a tasting menu,” explains the chef trio. “It was a story told through food; about how simplicity, fermentation, and ancestral ingredients can shape a culture’s health and identity.”
Chefs Shaping the Future of Food
Valerios is on a mission to preserve and elevate Costa Rica’s culinary identity. He draws inspiration from indigenous ingredients like culantro coyote, tacaco, and ají congo chiles, often recreating the wisdom of Costa Rican grandmothers through refined techniques. His book Abuelas de Costa Rica and work at Huacas Restaurant both aim
to protect a rich, disappearing culinary heritage.
“Fresh beans, corn, wild fruits, family meals – these are the true superfoods,” Valerios says. “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We just need to protect and celebrate what we already have.”
Barta, on the other hand, has been immersed in plant-based cuisine for over a decade, starting with intimate home dinners in Budapest and expanding to executive chef roles in Costa Rica and New York City. Her signature style blends science, sustainability, and art, combining fermentation, pastry, and handcrafted vegan cheeses into elevated dining experiences.
