Coffee served in Colombian hotels tastes like “dirty water,” French chef Bertrand Resnault boldly declared at a gastronomic conference in Popayan, Cauca.
World-reknowned chef and director of culinary schools, fellow Frenchman Paul Bocuse scrambled to clarify that Resnault’s declaration regards only the coffee that he has tried in his lodging and is not a generalization of the way that coffee is prepared in the whole country.
Daily El Tiempo was infuriated by Resnault’s claim and fired back: “Resnault does not explain how in his house in France, with Colombian coffee, he can produce a high-quality cup of coffee, while in Colombia where that coffee is planted and produced, the coffee is so deficient.”
Resnault (“who learned his few culinary skills from his mother,” sniped El Tiempo), said it was clear that training is required on how to adequately prepare coffee, and that producers should be responsible for such training, especially for the hospitality sector. For Resnault, “coffee is a noble product” that [deserves] respect, that merges science and mysticism.
Bocuse’s school has a ‘coffee-ology’ center where apprentices learn how to prepare and savor a good cup. In countries such as Italy, there are schools that specialize in training baristas and making coffee. According to Resnault, the same should be established in Colombia.
“Since Resnault has only tried Colombian coffee in hotels,” sneers El Tiempo, “there is still time before his flight back to France for some Colombian to invite him to his home and offer him a coffee, the best in the world, and, yes, prepared well.”