Part Eight: Santiago, Chile

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Day Thirty-six 

The sun appeared finally on this, my second last day in Chile. About 7.00 am our enthusiastic team drove to the town of Penaflor where we set up in the restaurant/convention centre as planned. The owners of the venue were a late middle-aged Chilean couple who had migrated to Melbourne, Australia many years before and established a thriving mobile food company featuring the famous fried sweets known as churros. I remember seeing their vans parked at the Queen Victoria Markets for years. Now they had retired and returned to Chile.

The press arrived as well as some local residents and I gave a short (20 minute!) class - a sort of cooking appetiser. We had made a delicious vegetable dish laden with big juicy chunks of panir cheese, and in the demonstration I fried cauliflower florets in spicy chickpea flour batter, pakoras, and a hot and sweet tomato chutney. All this was served with a rice pulao. One hour before the guests arrived someone had suggested that we make a sweet, and indeed we did - the famous Simply Wonderfuls.The gentlemen on the left is enjoying his fourth!

Gosh, I hadn't made these for many years! They are an irresistible combination of creamy unsalted butter, sugar and milk powder, laced with orange zest and currants. They were very popular. After the class and dinner I was interviewed (in the sun!) by Nicole and Daniella from Paula Cocina a famous Chilean womens' Magazine, for an article to be published later in the year entitled Healthy & Natural Cuisine. When the guests had left we returned to the Centre for a quiet night.

Day Thirty-seven

My week in Santiago de Chile had passed very quickly. Once again I had developed an affection for the young boys and girls who had enthusiastically absorbed themselves in the week-long classes. But all good things must eventually come to an end, so now it was time to pack my bags and continue my South American culinary tour. After lunch I gathered together whomever I could find for a quick group photo outside the Cultural Centre. I bade farewell to all, with a special big hug for Adikesava, then left for the airport to board Lan Chile flight 539, an evening flight  bound for Lima, Peru. On with the show!

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