Chef Patron Rodolfo Guzmán is on a mission. He has become the prophet of the very best of Chilean produce and strives to get Chile on a prominent place on the gastronomical world map. His complete dedication and persistent pursuit of 100 percent Chilean ingredients has resulted not only in the awareness for Chilean products and gastronomy, it has also resulted in a restaurant that excels in the use of this local produce, extraordinary flavours and an overall memorable dining experience.
You will not find anything like Boragó anywhere else in the world and this restaurant sets an example for many other restaurants using local produce, as Rodolfo and his team take ‘local cooking’ to another level. Boragó is something completely different. Just as much as the restaurant sets new trends and has become an inspiration for restaurants around the world, the restaurant is looking back in time – how was it made by the native people? Rodolfo Guzmán hails his inspiration from recipes and techniques from the Mapuches and Pehuenches and Chilean cooking over the centuries. These insights are translated into extraordinary dishes and the chef’s culinary vision spans from ancient traditions to as far as his own imagination can take him – and no one has seen the end of that.
Chef Patron Rodolfo Guzmán was born in Santiago and opened his restaurant in 2006. In 2008 he moved the restaurant to a new location. The restaurant’s interior is, just like nature, pure and rough, complementing the philosophy of his cuisine. The concrete floor and wooden tables direct the guests’ attention to the food, and the open kitchen creates a dynamic atmosphere. The chefs themselves are passionately presenting the dishes at the table, which makes the services very personal & informal. Two tasting menus are available, and a team of 30 staff members serves 40-50 guests in the restaurant.
Before starting his own restaurant, Guzmán worked at the amazing Mugaritz in the Basque region of Spain. However, the cuisine at Boragó is unique and anything but copied from any other restaurant. Most chefs around the world agree about the tremendous importance of the ingredients, but few chefs have gone further when it comes to forage and use local produce. Rodolfo Guzmán and his team are on endless trips all over Chile to find the most amazing ingredients. The narrow country of Chile offers a wide diversity from the Atacama Desert in the north to the Patagonia in the south. In between there is the Andean Mountain Range, lush valleys and the almost endless rough and beautiful Pacific coastline. Rodolfo and his team go foraging every week and return with exceptional ingredients that are used to create equally exceptional dishes. As the chefs pick and harvest the ingredients themselves, they are very close connected to these products and really think about the ways to transform these ingredients into innovative dishes.
Guzmán gets endless inspiration from his environment and diversified ecosystems, and the dishes at his restaurant incorporate many ingredients that you have never had before. Dishes like the Crudo from deer from Patagonia; the salad from wild plants from the Andes; the Camanchaca and rica rica from the Atacama desert; fruits that only grow at 3,000 meters altitude; wild plants that only exist two weeks per year in the flourished desert; Cremoso of herbs from the rocks with creamy spinach, asparagus, sea crackers from squid and finished by Carmosa leaves (harvested at the coast that morning);… the list of unique and extraordinary ingredients you will have at Boragó is endless – and all of it can only be found in Chile. The uniqueness of this produce, and the preparation techniques used, guarantee an experience you have never had before.
As the flavours of the ingredients that are used are totally different from most common flavours, some of the dishes can be experienced as rather special in terms of taste. However, besides taste – provocation, experience, and education are equally important at Boragó restaurant, and the Chilean ingredients are something that one needs to learn to appreciate. You are in for something different at Boragó, but we can guarantee you that it is a must reservation when visiting South-America. Boragó keeps on spreading the word about its sustainable and ingredient-driven influence across the world. Chef Patron Rodolfo and his team will continue to do this, until his master piece of a restaurant get the gastronomical recognitions they truly deserve.
Written by Andy, Sven & Frank
