Costa Rica

When someone has a passion for something, there is no hiding it, and during this tour it is evident that passions are running high.

The focus of this holiday adventure (for that is what it has become) is ecology and part of this includes food. Some people might have heard that Costa Rican food has an emphasis on rice, beans and tortillas. While meals, and even breakfast, may include this, there is far more to be enjoyed if one is inquisitive.

The start of this trip included a group get-together at Al Mercat restaurant in San Jose, where owner-chef and Le Cordon Bleu-trained José kick-started the evening by enthusiastically telling us how he buys his produce daily from local farmers, and then showed us various gourds, fruit and vegetables that would become part of our meal. Starter dips included thinly sliced yucca and malanga (a root vegetable), which were rather like large crisps, but baked without any trace of fat. We had never seen such attractive, colourful and tasty crisps. These were consumed with a fresh herb dip; a cheese described as their equivalent of Parmesan; and turmeric mayonnaise.

Cerviche followed incorporating finely chopped squashes – varieties of which are not seen in the UK. Also included was chayote fruit that looks rather like a large green pear, but tastes of cucumber. We were treated to restaurant-made chorizo sausages, served on a sauce with freshly grated cabbage, carrots, and sliced beetroot. The chef’s enthusiasm for food had not gone unnoticed for he had been flown to the UK recently by a customer, just to prepare food for a birthday party.

John has mentioned in earlier blogs Mr Rudolpho, the pineapple grower, and Jean-Pierre the chocolate producer. Both of these gentlemen are using food to give a point of difference to their businesses. Small-scale pineapple farmers cannot compete with the big players based here and whose names we see on UK retail shelves. Likewise, chocolate producers find it difficult to break into international markets. But people, such as these, will not be defeated. Both the above have turned to tourism, offering small, intimate, lodges, coupled with insightful food tours. In Mr Rudolpho’s case he is producing the most succulent and juicy organic pineapple we have ever tasted. We drooled as we bit into the warm, freshly-cut fruit harvested for us as we stood in the plantation.

For Jean-Pierre yet another chocolate was not his preference. Instead, he had carried out extensive research into when cacao beans were considered first used as a drink (at least 4,000 years ago), how they were prepared and how recipes changed after Columbus came to Costa Rica in the 1500s. Contemporary Spanish diaries have recorded this. Jean-Pierre is now producing chocolate bars labelled to meet international standards. Some have interesting additions, such as rice, and chilli, which visitors can purchase.

Our guide too has made adaptions using food. As we are aware, businesses were hit hard during the financial crisis of 2008, and tourism was one of the first to feel the effects. Instead of drowning in sorrow he and his wife started making cakes for local people, under the tuition of his mother, in order to make ends meet and they continue to do so to this today.

All of these individuals have clearly shown their passion when it comes to food, but there is another element that is a driver. Employment offers many benefits including insurance, pensions and health care. For the unemployed, support is extremely limited. In Costa Rica there is more than 10% unemployment, and an even higher level of poverty. Costa Ricans have to be resourceful. A passion for good quality food has enabled some to blossom, and for those tourists lucky enough to experience it, it is offering something special.

Copyright text and photos: Sue Barnard 2018.