Murmullos in Esquel, or planting an avenue of slender trees
at le Diagonal, Estancia El Rincon, Mar del Plata, Thays
respects, above all, what nature has placed before him.
A nature buff of a different ilk and vocation is Argentina's
most famous chef, Francis Mallmann, who likes to grill
Argentina's world famous
meats and potatoes over
fires in the open air. The sight
of Mallmann stoking one of
his outdoor wood fire pits
reminds me of a glassmaker
tending his furnace, so
intense is the heat Mallmann
employs for his gaucho grills.
Mallmann
characterizes
Argentine cuisine as a
fusion of the gaucho and
Indian communities with
European
influences.
Indeed, Mallmann began
his career preparing French
haute cuisine, then, in 1995,
in an epiphany, did a volte
face and returned to his
Patagonian roots.
One of Mallmann's favorite cooking tools is the simple,
ancient plancha or chapa, a cast-iron griddle, which heats up
Above: Garden by Carlos Thays
HYLAND
