Categories Pastry Chef Articles
Pía Salazar: “My desserts are daring because they are not conceived with the classic bases”
‘My desserts are daring because they are not conceived with the classic bases of a dessert.’ This is how Pía Salazar refers to the sweet cuisine she offers at her restaurant Nuema (Quito, Ecuador), which has led her to be chosen as Best Pastry Chef in Latin America 2022 and Best Pastry Chef in the World, according to The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Her own desserts, as she herself notes, are assemblages of her memory and her territory.
Below we share a fragment of the interview she gave us for so good.. magazine 31. Don’t miss the full version, where she talks about the importance of aesthetics in desserts, among other themes.
In some of your desserts, the boundaries between sweet and savory are blurred. What is the limit? What savory ingredients would you never use in a dessert?
The limit is the imagination and logic of the chef. I wouldn’t limit myself to not using something at some point in a creative development because I believe that until you experience it, you can’t know whether it will work or not.
What stage of your professional career are you at? What is a normal day in your professional life like?
I consider that I am in a professional moment of great responsibility for all that has been achieved. For Ecuador, it is extremely important to understand that what has been achieved is only the beginning of many things. Now I am in full development of new projects, Nuema is my creative base, but I think it is also time to open new spaces where more people can understand the possibilities of biodiversity and its products. The goal is to open my restaurant and my pastry shop. My day-to-day life, like that of any cook, is governed by the relentless pursuit of balance between running Nuema, making sure that the operational side is always up to everyone’s expectations, and the family.
What do you think of the current trends of a less pastry, with less fat, less sugar?
It is part of the evolution of our trade. I think we always seek to simplify the message we want to give in our preparations, that they are always easier to understand and taste. That what we consume is healthy should also be a responsibility of all pastry chefs.
Discover the complete interview and all the details of these three desserts by Pía Salazar so good.. #31
