For any traveler or Colombian tired of arepas and “menus of the day,” the Buddha Hostel in the hills of the La Estrella neighborhood in Medellin offers a unique dining experience called the “Gastronomic Circus.”
“The idea is to give travelers positive input on local gastronomy,” said the Spanish chef Joseph Romero Baseyevski of his ten-course “Paisa-Colombian-Fusion” dinner.
Baseyevski, along with his son Mihail have brought their “Gastronomic Circus” to Medellin, so-called because, like a circus, they have travelled the world for the past four years bringing their traveling culinary experience from town to town.
With prestigious cooking titles under his belt, such as being the former sub chef of the famous El Bulli restuarant in Barcelona, and the executive chef of InterContinental Hotels of the Asia Pacific, he now delights in cooking up a creative menu that is constantly changing for Medellin travelers.
The ingredients change based on seasonal availability, as Baseyevski tries to use only fresh and local products that come from 15 miles around.
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“It is a menu improvised by us for backpackers to learn that you can have Colombian ingredients in a healthy way,” said co-owner of the Buddha Hostel Mariano Capdevila.
The ten-course dinner has been served to a maximum of 18 people several times a week, depending on demand, since the hostel started hosting them two months ago.
The setting is sumptuous but unassuming. Dinner is served on the patio in the lush gardens of the Buddha Hostel on two long tables set with mix-matched cutlery, tropical flowers and wines from around the world.
Before the first course was served Baseyevski described the details of the night’s menu to the salivating international diners in Spanish and English.
“I hope you have many food-gasms,” Capdevila exclaimed and at about 8:00 pm dinner was served.
Each expertly crafted course made the most of the simple selection of local ingredients, with cilantro, the kiwi-like lulo fruit, and passion fruit taking starring roles.
The meal began with a cold chicken salad topped with a sweet and crunchy coconut cracker typical of Santa Marta drizzled with a tangy vinaigrette made from a relative of passion fruit, the local curuba.
Baseyevski deftly crafted unique and taste-bud-pleasing concoctions such as a caramelized Honey Gold pineapple paired with a heavenly soft goat cheese and a traditional cuajada cheese, garnished with a green pepper sauce.
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The hit of the whole night had to be a completely original ceviche, which is the chef’s specialty; he said he knows 365 recipes for the seafood dish. This version utilized passion fruit seeds as the special ingredient, an inspiration from the chef’s son that came to him as he was going to bed the previous night.
Sea bass and shrimp were combined with mango, onion, green peppers, cilantro, spicy aji peppers, lime juice and passion fruit seeds to create this flavor explosion. The serving was topped with a white froth made from the lulo fruit and the dish was met with delight from the entire group.
“I just feel so lucky,” said Australian traveler Sam Collins as she tasted the creation.
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The nine dinner dishes, including avocado carpaccio, beet and broccoli soup, coconut rice, tender beef falling of the bone, a Colombian take on a Spanish omelet, and a vegetable and bacon ratatouille, were brought out slowly over the the course of three hours to give ample time to enjoy each dish and make room for more.
Luckily the desert was light, with delicate flavors, to allow a gentle ending to a marathon meal. For a new take on the traditional Colombian dessert dulce de (insert fruit here), Baseyevski lightly steamed papaya, bananas and strawberries and served it bathed in a lulo cream sauce.
At about $13 a dinner, this gourmet spread is a steal.
The hostel itself offers a unique stay in Medellin, tucked away from the busy city center or the ritzy poblado. The newly renovated house is full of unique touches and creature comforts and is affordable as well with dorm rates at $12 and private rooms from $30 to $50.
“We project our hostel through the culinary art,” said Capdevila. And travelers are eating it up.
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