My back itches. I can hear water running in the kitchen. The lights went out a few minutes ago, and a candle casts oversized shadows of Lencan pottery on the wall. Richly spiced hot chocolate pours delicious steam into my face from a spherical hard squash gourd.
I´m at the Rinconcito Graciano which, as I have just learned, is the only restaurant in Honduras listed on National Geographic´s list of resaurants http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/extras/geotourism/honduras.html. This praise is well deserved, and not just for the quality of the food. The passionate chef and owner, Lizeth Perdomo, explains the value she places on culture, environment, and people. She cooks only with Lenca pottery, serves only local organic food, and builds relationships with local families to provide a place to sell their products.
The food comes out from the dark kitchen and even though either of us can barely see, I can tell that its extravagant arrangement on the plate is only trumped by the river of savoury, salty, and spicy flavor that each tiny bite has to offer. As I eat my food, Lizeth explains her philosophy that the best food is made with love and a real committment of time. The food that I´m eating has gotten an extra dose of time because the power outage slowed her down to one hand, the other being used to hold a candle, she tells me.
Lizeth keeps the wisdom coming by telling me that for her, she is content in her business. For her, money is a means, not an end. This couldn´t be more apparent as I am the only person in her restaurant, she has been talking to me for at least an hour, and the tab is only coming to $3, cheap even by Honduran standards. Among other things, she has told me stories of the people who bring food and goods to her to sell, the old woman who makes wine but can´t make much because she is tired and has many responsibilies and the woman who makes fresh corn tortillas and walks with them a half hour every day to sell on the streets of Gracias. She has told me of her hatred of chemical fertilizers. And she has told me of her dreams. To show her people, the villagers, how to live and farm sustainably. To attach a hotel with a few rooms onto her restaurant, so that her family can build relationships with the families who come to visit her. To show the world the wonders of the work of her people by expanding the trade of local art and products.
This woman has a genuine passion that is hard to miss. This woman has found life in its purest, rawest, truest sense.
I´m at the Rinconcito Graciano which, as I have just learned, is the only restaurant in Honduras listed on National Geographic´s list of resaurants http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/extras/geotourism/honduras.html. This praise is well deserved, and not just for the quality of the food. The passionate chef and owner, Lizeth Perdomo, explains the value she places on culture, environment, and people. She cooks only with Lenca pottery, serves only local organic food, and builds relationships with local families to provide a place to sell their products.
The food comes out from the dark kitchen and even though either of us can barely see, I can tell that its extravagant arrangement on the plate is only trumped by the river of savoury, salty, and spicy flavor that each tiny bite has to offer. As I eat my food, Lizeth explains her philosophy that the best food is made with love and a real committment of time. The food that I´m eating has gotten an extra dose of time because the power outage slowed her down to one hand, the other being used to hold a candle, she tells me.
Lizeth keeps the wisdom coming by telling me that for her, she is content in her business. For her, money is a means, not an end. This couldn´t be more apparent as I am the only person in her restaurant, she has been talking to me for at least an hour, and the tab is only coming to $3, cheap even by Honduran standards. Among other things, she has told me stories of the people who bring food and goods to her to sell, the old woman who makes wine but can´t make much because she is tired and has many responsibilies and the woman who makes fresh corn tortillas and walks with them a half hour every day to sell on the streets of Gracias. She has told me of her hatred of chemical fertilizers. And she has told me of her dreams. To show her people, the villagers, how to live and farm sustainably. To attach a hotel with a few rooms onto her restaurant, so that her family can build relationships with the families who come to visit her. To show the world the wonders of the work of her people by expanding the trade of local art and products.
This woman has a genuine passion that is hard to miss. This woman has found life in its purest, rawest, truest sense.
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