2023-09-15 06:06:00
It’s true.
The Bariloche chefs who created “Ánima” won the latest edition of the prestigious “Prix Baron B Édition Cuisine 2023” because they have their own authentic identity, unlimited creativity and an unsurpassed technical level, which together results in a unique experience for the diner who comes to try their dishes at Circuito Chico in this city.
That is very true.
But it is also truer and more relevant the strong trend that Emanuel Yáñez García and Florencia Lavalla mark for the gastronomic world beyond our Patagonian or Argentine borders and that a top-level jury highlighted by choosing them as the best, after competing in the final with Agustín Kuran, from “Amasijo” from Santiago del Estero and Enrique Sobral, from “Bajo Llave 929” from Entre Ríos.
The key to your entrepreneurship? Respect for the temporality of the products, supply through small local producers committed to the natural environment and its preservation over time.
But that is not all; There is much more. We’ll see.
Emanuel Yáñez García (38 years old), originally from Jachal in the province of San Juan, and Florencia Lafalla (41 years old) from San Rafael in Mendoza, founded “Ánima”, a project they dreamed of when they met in 2007 in Mendoza and It ended up materializing 5 years ago, in 2018, when they returned to the country after living for several years in Barcelona and decided to open their own restaurant. His name means Soul and reflects his way of feeling, thinking, doing and living gastronomy. It is a small restaurant that receives 20 diners that opens its doors from Monday to Friday nights, and is attended and commanded by themselves. It is located 18 km from the center of Bariloche, a cabin immersed in the forest in the El Trébol Natural Reserve, in the Circuito Chico area.
Having experienced gastronomy outside of Argentina allowed them to not limit their cuisine to Patagonia alone. Its gastronomic offer has a menu with more fixed dishes and other more itinerant ones, where timing and availability rule. The first is made up of local products, such as trout, lamb, sprouts and regional products from Patagonia such as pork and Ventimiglia cheeses.
They have a seasonal offer, totally itinerant and limited in terms of the availability of local products. They take their cycle into account comprehensively, without forcing it and showing respect when treating it. Being in Patagonia, the seasons are more marked, so they take advantage of seasonal products, locally offered.
Their cuisine is linked to fire and embers, giving it value as it is part of their identity. In addition, they use self-made salted, cured and preserved foods. There is a local look, but also towards other regions with quality production.
“Our premise was and is to offer a restaurant that is for the local people of Bariloche, not just for tourists. With a cuisine closely linked to our way of living gastronomy with a lot of freedom to create the offer. It is a small place where there is no rush, so that people can enjoy themselves during that dinner. We achieved harmony and sustainability of our passion for cooking and life with our two children,” commented Emanuel Yañez Garcia.
It is precisely this last point mentioned by the chef that the president of the Prix Baron B jury, Mauro Colagreco, highlighted when evaluating them with an outstanding score. “The Ánima de Bariloche project achieved a balance in every sense between the place where they are, family and profession. Furthermore, its level of gastronomy is very high. Those things were what tipped the balance at the time of the election,” said the chef, winner of six Michelin stars, three for his multi-award-winning restaurant Mirazur.
The jury was also made up of the Brazilian Manoella Buffara, best female chef in Latin America 2022, and Pablo Rivero, gastronomic entrepreneur and sommelier, creator of “Don Julio” and “El Preferred.”
The balance between professional and family life is “the” great value of the moment. Colagreco shared with “Río Negro”, after the award ceremony at the Alvear Palace Hotel: “in a union where the chefs’ routines affect their families and bring them closer to addictive behaviors and consumption, what Emanuel and Florencia achieve is what is desirable and what we should all aspire to, whatever the job we have.”
How do the owners of “Ánima” achieve it? Their restaurant is closed Saturday and Sunday. Just the weekend when Bariloche has the most tourists or visitors? Yes, just in that period. “Children first,” highlights the couple.
“I live with what I need. That’s what’s sustainable. With this decision, the cycle of your kitchen closes perfectly,” says Colagreco. “Innovating today also means finding that balance,” he says.
What was said by gastronomic critic Jorge Guitián well encompasses this philosophy: “A chef should have the responsibility of cooking well. And cooking well involves not only technique and taste; It involves cooking in relation to his environment, with what is produced in him, but above all with whoever lives around him. It implies decent conditions and a healthy and fair work environment.”
“This should be a message for both the owner and the gastronomic entrepreneur. That’s why, for me, Emanuel and Florencia are something to reward again and again: they take a risk for a noble reason. With them, with the new young generations in the kitchens, we can think that there is a future. Human sustainability is much more than a slogan, it is a philosophy that aims for a better society,” Colagreco comments to this medium. And he concludes: “today, cooking is more than ever a political act. What positive impact do I want to leave with my job? The answer will give us more strength to continue betting on our country.”
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