Misiones native Mauricio Alvez began cooking at his grandmother’s elbow. Growing up in Fracran, a small farming town three hours south of Awasi Iguazu, the rich, fertile, orange-coloured soil of the province provided raw ingredients in abundance to fuel his growing passion.
Return to Misiones
After three years of culinary school, Alvez began working in professional kitchens, but never forgot the food and cooking style of Misiones he had grown up with.
His humble beginnings he pinpoints as one of the keys to his success; a knowledge of fresh, locally grown produce, combined with building his career from the ground up. Starting with a job washing dishes, Alvez is well aware that it is the entire kitchen battalion that gets the job done, not just one high profile head chef.
After a stint working in Mendoza, Chef Alvez found it a great relief to return to the lush greenery of his home province to join the team at Awasi Iguazu, a 14-villa Relais & Chateaux lodge built in to the forested hillside overlooking the Iguazu River where Argentina and Brazil meet.
“It was much easier to be working in Misiones again, using the local produce that I am so familiar with” he reminisces with a wistful smile as he thinks of his physical and culinary homecoming.
Misiones’ Unique Identity
On a recent visit to Peru, a country famous for its culinary scene, Alvez was particularly impressed by the pride chefs took in their local produce.
The Peruvians’ attitude made him realise that Misiones also had a unique culinary identity that deserved to be celebrated. The abundant soils and climate of his home province combined with the influences of its inhabitants and its neighbours had created a unique cuisine.
Misiones is frontier-land, where the Paraná River divides Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. The region’s name references the Jesuit missionaries who entered the area to convert the indigenous Guarani people.
“Argentina does not have a clear gastronomic identity, apart from our meat and asados. But Misiones is surrounded by Brazil and Paraguay; that mixture of different cultures spills over the borders giving Misiones its distinct culture” explains Alvez.
The area is probably best known for its production of Yerba Mate, Argentina’s iconic national drink. Misiones produces the finest varieties, often on an organic artisan scale.
Small scale food production
The subtropical rainforest which covers so much of the area has a big influence on the local cuisine.
“Misiones has its forests, its smallholdings and its farms; our cuisine is renowned because of these elements.”
Awasi Iguazu’s zero-kilometre philosophy works not only because it is ethical, but because the area has always had a hyper-local food-system; the menu at Awasi Iguazu uses 90% local produce.
“I believe that today in Misiones we are one of the few, if not only restaurants, delivering haute cuisine using local tastes and products” declares Alvez proudly.
The Chacras
Much of the produce used by Awasi Iguazu comes from chacras: small local farms, often family-run. This creates a more intimate relationship between the hotel and its suppliers than is usually the case.
“We have learnt to value the work the producer puts in to growing their product, and the work of the land. We think about the impact we are having on the land. Using seasonal fruits and vegetables and plenty of herbs means we are thinking about how the next season’s harvest will be” Alvez notes. The art of cooking goes beyond what can be done in a kitchen.
One town is well known for growing Paraná pines, the seeds of which are similar to pine nuts. They are extremely nutritious and can be found in several of the restaurant’s dishes.
Familiar fruits
Alvez embraced the opportunity at Awasi Iguazu to showcase the fruits he grew up eating, like guavas, pitangas, acerolas and jabuticabas.
Pitangas are a berry-like forest fruit with a distinctive taste. Acerolas, often regarded as a superfood given its nutritional value, can be compared in flavour to a sour cherry. Jabuticabas, unusually, grow directly off the trunk of the tree. Descriptions of exotic fruits, however, will only get you so far; typically unfamiliar to Western visitors, these fruits need to be tasted, seen and smelt in person to really appreciate their character.
Trying local fruits and foods provides an opportunity for visitors to make a direct connection with the landscape.
As Alvez explains: “When someone comes from another country and really enjoys our local foods, there’s nothing better than that. It’s priceless.”
Alvez and the team work with what is seasonally available, setting off to investigate if they hear that a local fruit is having a good crop, sometimes picking the fruit from the tree themselves.
Misiones is particularly known for its citruses.
“We use a particular passionfruit variety, grown right here. It has a very sweet taste and is less acidic than the passionfruit most people are used to. It’s smaller and the seeds have a oval shape: it has nice feel in the mouth.”
Cheese and change
Making the move from more typical high-end restaurant fare to one that celebrates Misiones has not been without its challenges.
“When they first began working like this it was considered weird, but now that approach has become much more popular” Alvez states.
There can be a degree of informality when working with smallholdings. However, the logic behind the change is solid.
“Why use parmesan” he goes on, “which is very expensive to import, when our local cheeses are so good? We are currently using an organic goat’s cheese sourced from near the hotel. It’s super natural. Local doesn’t just mean fresh fish from the river and forest fruit. We also have buffalo products such as a delicious mozzarella.”
Small restaurant, big impact
Awasi Iguazu can provide 30 covers a night, the small scale allowing for high attention to detail through the entire process from farm to plate; typical of Awasi’ style – personalised, tailor made and with an acute attention to detail.
The hyper-locality of its produce creates a meal that allows diners to experience the local, enjoy incredibly fresh and flavoursome ingredients, whilst supporting neighbouring smallholders and reducing the environmental impact of shipping produce in from further afield.
“Afterall”, Alvez continues, “if there is one thing I have learnt on my journey to Awasi Iguazu – it’s important to be part of something bigger.”
