10 things I love about venezuela
Born in Caracas, Vitelio Reyes trained in Venezuela and has worked in North and South America, Europe and Asia. He has worked with Peruvian chef Virgilio Martínez Véliz at Lima Floral in Covent Garden and is now executive chef of Amazónico in Mayfair’s Berkeley Square, a restaurant that takes its inspiration from the cultural diversity and gastronomic heritage of the Amazon region. On the new menu dishes include salteados (sautéed), a nod to Chifa, the combination of Chinese and Peruvian flavours such as ginger, coriander and lemongrass, tiradito, meat grilled on a parilla and empanadas. amazonicorestaurant.com/london
1 Corn
As with many other diets in South America, our main ingredient for several national dishes is corn. With corn we make Venezuelan arepas (arepa comes from the aborigine language and translates as “bread made with hands”), which can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and filled with anything you can imagine. From seafood salad to carne mechada – which is the Latin American version
