Chilaquileando
A Chilango man in Colombia Behind the mix of colors and flavors found on a plate, is Octavio Ortega, Mexican Chef who puts a Colombian touch to his food Valentina Otavo and Mariana Bello
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ctavio Ortega, is a chef who has brought a part of Mexico to Colombia through his cooking and his representative dishes from his natal country. He talked with Padrísimo about his beginnings in gastronomy, although, initially it was not his objective, how he finally was captivated by this craft when he was 16 years old and working at his father’s restaurant in Mexico City.
instructor for participants. As a result of that show, he had the opportunity to travel to Colombia and received a proposal to improve the restaurants located in Monserrate Sanctuary. In the three years working there, he had the opportunity to meet many people with similar experiences. Gradually, he realized that Mexican food had great success in Co-
My family has a lot to do with who I am today Eventually, he got involved slowly by all the processes that people must complete inside of a restaurant and behind a dish, to the point of finding the man he wanted to be. That is why he started his studies in ASPIC Gastronomic Institute, where he excelled thanks to the knowledge he gained in his job. Furthermore, new opportunities appeared that prompted him to take a change in his lifestyle and job. One of those was working on the Mexican program called MasterChef as an
Fotografías cortesía: Chilango taquería
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Fotografías cortesía: @cheffortega
lombia. That’s the reason why he decided to start his own project in alliance with a travel agency. This process and assembly took about a year and a half, researching which would be the most appropriate area, and so his restaurant opened in Usaquén, a pleasant and potential loca-
tion for restaurants and tourism. Due to his success, he decided to create another informal restaurant model, as it would be Chilango Taquería. However, due to political discontent in the country after 2019 social protests, his restaurants started to be affected. At the beginning of 2020, with Covid-19 pandemic, he had to close several of its branches; however, he decided to continue with the taquerias model, hoping the situation would improve. Today, Chilango Taquería offers different options to get closer to the Mexican cuisine, with products of excellent quality, imported directly from Mexico. In addition to this, it has fused Colombian ingredients as Hormiga culona, papa criolla and queso costeño and those from other countries. These alternatives increasingly attract Colombians and tourists who are looking for a different experience when tasting a new dish. Finally, Chilango Taquería offers to customers the possibility of enjoying unique and typical flavors, such as a good regional dish of Cochinita pibil taco, accompanied by a refreshing Horchata drink and ending with a dessert of Churros with cajeta. It is an affordable place with a very pleasant atmosphere, perfect to enjoy the afternoon. P
