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Table Talk
Your Next Culinary Crush: Costa Rica
Travel to a place where sustainability is at the root of gastronomy
BY Kateryna Topol
While North Americans are only now becoming familiar with the concept of Blue Zone living, Costa Rican chefs innately use the Blue Zone approach as their creative foundation. Drawing inspiration from nature, culture and tradition, one of Costa Rica’s celebrity chefs, Randy Siles Leandro, revered as the country’s first Chef-Ambassador who developed a national plan for sustainable and healthy gastronomy, is leading the charge.
The Notion of Blue Zones
The concept of Blue Zones is quite new. Formulated by a National Geographic Explorer, Dan Buettner, in 2004, Blue Zones are simply communities where people live longer, healthier and happier lives. There are currently five recognized “longevity hotspots” in the world and Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica is one of them.
Chefs That Lead with Sustainability
Culinary director Randy Siles Leandro together with Enjoy Group, a Costa Rican hospitality company, are mentoring rising culinary professionals while embracing locality and tradition. The mission is simple: create synergy between the world of gastronomy and sustainability. A grand goal it might be but in Costa Rica’s northwestern region of Guanacaste, this province houses multiple Blue Zone towns that embrace tradition and local ingredients, making it a very easy sell.
In Nicoya Peninsula and surrounds, people can experience culinary innovations at two luxury member properties: the lush green-soaked Punta Islita steeped in the heart of the peninsula and the other is the eco-friendly El Mangroove, a boutique beachfront property in nearby Gulf of Papagayo. Both luxe resorts are in Marriott’s Autograph Collection.
Top chefs there pour their passion for food and sustainability into a range of gastronomic projects. Executive Chef Federico Lizano, who recently left Punta Islita to run the culinary program at Santarena Hotel in the beach town of Las Catalinas, now shares his eco-conscious expertise there. Executive Chef Isaac Madrigal from El Mangroove Hotel, on the other hand, is a constant mentor and inspiration to many promising chefs across the coast.
Experience the Blue Zone Living First-hand
The influence of the Blue Zone is most visible in Punta Islita where nature meets sustainability through an agro-marine menu. You’ll dine in the candlelight, eat from pink banana leaves and enjoy freshly caught tuna. Back at the El Mangroove Hotel, Executive Chef Isaac Madrigal takes a more precise approach. His recipes are rooted in tradition and are then reconstructed into visually breathtaking dishes, explosive with flavour and presented on locally handcrafted plates. In these organic kitchens, the cooks are artists and tweezers are their go-to tool.
Pro Tip
Order a cocktail from the hotel’s mixology program. Cacique Guaro is a boozy sugar cane spirit used in many cocktails. Much like the food menu, these cocktails embrace locally sourced ingredients with traditional recipes.
Travel Planner
For more information about Costa Rica’s Blue Zone, visit
bluezones.com/explorations/nicoya-costa-rica
