Farm to Table in Monteverde | A Talk with Chef Roberto Cruz, Part 1

Food in Monteverde means the freshest ingredients, and "farm to table" is the day-to-day reality instead of an exceptional feature.

Our restaurant is called Nectandra, named after one of the most important trees in the region of Monteverde, as it is a primary feeder for several species, including our iconic Resplendent Quetzal and the Three Wattled Bellbird.

 

 

It holds a beautiful space next to our garden, and excellent breakfasts, lunches, and dinners are served daily, with each dish aimed at emphasizing the rich ingredients and flavors in Monteverde. 

In this article, our correspondent sat down with Chef Roberto Cruz, the culinary mind who first guided Nectandra, and dug into his story of passion, sensibility, unique flavors, and delicious aromas. This is also a tale of perseverance, creativity, and innovation. A permanent search for taste and what’s behind it.

Getting to Know Chef Roberto Cruz

Roberto is a typical young Costa Rican man: quick to smile, easy-going, witty, and personable. However, as I got into the conversation with him, I also found deep thought and a breathtaking passion for flavors and aromas. A savvy and sophisticated observer of new possibilities and original combinations,

Roberto was born and raised quite close to the region of Monteverde. His roots belong to the cloud forests and the windy afternoons, although his wings go far beyond.

Monteverde has a resident population of around 6000 people, and as we all know, it’s located amid an exuberant natural environment and breathtaking beauty.

The types of guests we receive in Monteverde, in their majority, are sophisticated and worldly. True nature lovers are birdwatchers, scientists, artists, or travelers who look for the easy feeling of resting in silence and not being surrounded by noisy cities.

Monteverde is about respect for Mother Nature. A sustainable, uncomplicated yet comfortable lifestyle is what the people who live here have achieved and are willing to share with the world.

Roberto, as a local, had learned the respect of the Monteverde ways since he was a baby.

He’s also talked to people from all over the world from infancy. And the more interested he was in international cuisine, the more he became interested in talking to chefs from all countries and cooking traditions.

He has this rare combination that the region gives its fortunate inhabitants: an open and curious mind, contact with cultivated people from all over the world, and sensitivity that allows creativity to flow and thrive.

This interview was held on July 1, 2022, on the beautiful rooftop of the Ocotea Boutique Hotel.

A Chat with Chef Roberto Cruz

O. Please tell me your name and a bit about yourself.

R. My name is Roberto Cruz. I was born in Altos de Cebadilla de Abangares. I am 33 years old, and I am a Chef in the process.

I am thrilled to be working with Ocotea Boutique Hotel because they are looking to be different. They want their customers to find that extra spark in everything, which makes all the difference.

 

R. When I was a kid, someone asked me in school what I wanted to be as I grew up. My answer was "chef," mainly because I thought they traveled a lot and I could get a job on a cruise ship.

I have discovered, though, that I did not need to go abroad to get the world at the point of my fingers. I do a lot of research and constantly talk with chefs from different countries about the need to try different possibilities with autochthonous flavors and foreign concepts.

 

 

 

My grandmother was a great cook. She was not a "chef" because she didn’t study in any school, but she had a magnificent "sazon" *** in all she cooked, a different way to do things that achieved great flavors and aromas.

And she treated each ingredient with the utmost respect. And I learned that from her.

Because you can take a "guayaba" (guava) and make a jam or a sauce for some sort of steak, but not for all. We have to recognize flavors and take into consideration all their possibilities. How do they convert and change when combined?

Getting off the beaten track in cuisine has to be thought out and measured, as flavors and aromas may not combine spontaneously. It is an art, but it is also a science.

***Sazon in Costa Rica means the added flavor a person puts in their dishes just by cooking them. It is not a physical ingredient but personal magic that brings good flavors to the cooking.

"Ella tiene muy buen sazon" (She has a very good "sazon"), meaning her cooking will always be good.

 

O. I liked this answer very much, as it shows depth in your vision and the inspiration behind your creations. It goes beyond people-pleasing, even though it will satisfy visitors who try whatever you cook.

When we talk about creative endeavors, there is an inspiration that the artist gets. The muse is the part that cannot be faked.

However, in your art, it has to do with something so temporary (yet the recipe is to be long-lasting) and directed personally to someone’s palate, I have to wonder: what’s your creative process regarding cooking as an art?

R. That is a good question, and the answer can be complex.

I think the magic comes with you. Many chefs can be great managers, fantastic team leaders, charismatic, and wonderful marketers, but their "sazon" is not the best. Sometimes they even depend on other people to get the perfect flavor in a recipe.

I don’t know what it is, maybe the body heat, the hands' size or shape, the way we move, but some people have good "sazon" and some don’t.

I am a perfectionist. Sometimes everyone tries a dish and says that it tastes wonderful, but I don’t see "it." I need more than what others find with the same ingredients. A continuous search for the perfect taste: It is quite hard to understand that "perfection is the enemy of the best."

We create experiences based on food. It is not only about the flavors; it is also about the aromas, the way things look, and a harmonious balance of colors and space on the plate.

We create instantaneous memories in our senses. We all have fond memories of food; the perfect steak, the fantastic lobster, the wonderful tacos. It was not only about the recipe, which is a big part of it, but the "sazon," the way it was presented, where you were sitting (or standing), the colors, and the aromas.

O. Interesting. The cuisine is an art that stays in the memory. However, if I think about it, so is all art: an encounter with someone else's creation that moves our senses to wake us up to the instant we are living. And in this case, a call to be "here and now" to enjoy the glorious experience of a perfect dish.

 

 

Continue Reading Our Next Article!

The conversation, longer than I expected, became an exciting interchange of philosophy and stories. I didn’t want to cut chunks of it and leave out any of Chef Roberto’s beautiful philosophy on cooking as well as how that’s taken shape in Ocotea. That’s why we broke this article into two parts! 

In the next one, we’ll review Chef Roberto’s work with Ocotea Boutique Hotel and how that vision comes to life in his menus!