The Consultant

Historia Puerto Bories

By Bill Taunton, FCSI

Pioneers from Europe arrived in Patagonia around 1890. In Puerto Natales, in the province of Ultima Esperanza, Chile, they gave birth to a flourishing sheep industry which spread to both Chilean and Argentinian Patagonia.

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German citizen, Rodolfo Stubenrauch, represented the interests of both Britain and Germany in this region. He was a visionary entrepreneur who began construction in this area, building a fat-rendering establishment in 1905. In 1893, the Sociedad Explotadora de Tierra del Fuego was founded and became the largest food and cattle production company in Patagonia. They built a large factory that included a slaughter house and refrigeration in Puerto Bories, a few miles outside Puerto Natales, and start slaughtering and processing thousands of sheep. The industry continued for nearly seven decades.

Today, many of these buildings have

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been refurbished and turned into a modern hotelmuseum – The Singular Patagonia Hotel, Puerto Bories, located at the gateway to the Torres del Paine National Park. The original buildings were constructed in the English style, and in 1999, this post-Victorian industrial architecture was declared a National Historical Monument of Chile.

Thanks to the interest of a local entrepreneur, John MacLean, the area has found a new lease of life. Its many attractions are being promoted and 12 years ago, he began planning a hotel in the old refrigeration plant in Puerto Bories. With the help of architect, Pedro Kovacic, MacLean was able

The inset is a snapshot of the past. But today, the mountain backdrop makes for a breathtaking setting for a hotel celebrating that past and the pioneers who first created an industry in this area.

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Historia Puerto Bories

to recover and repair important parts of the building.

About three years ago, this project finally took shape with the inclusion of a new partner, the hotelier Felipe Sahli, and finally ended construction in November 2011 when it opened to the public for the start of the 2011/2012 summer season.

Indeed, restored and resurrected by fourth generation family members of the original pioneers who settled the area and built the sheep farming industry more than 100 years ago, The Singular pays homage

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to the building’s rich historical importance in the development of the local culture, economy and heritage. Inside the building, the electric power plant, the driving force of the original industrial establishment, can still be seen today. The whole refrigeration cooling system, dating back to 1914, is fully visible and may eventually be operational. It is a magnificent example of industrial machinery of the period, and can be admired in all its detail. In addition, the hotel’s restored wooden dock hovers over the Fjord of Ultima Esperanza leading theconsultant

out to the Pacific; from here, ships took wool, meat, leather and grease to markets all over the world.

In 2004, during a trip through the area, I was lucky enough to visit the facilities of this amazing building, then a local history museum. Upon entering, my first thought was how to transform this incredible building into a hotel museum. Who might have imagined that six years after my visit, our company would be retained by the owners to develop, in the same place, the incredible kitchen and dining facilities of this hotel?

The Singular Patagonia hotel has 57 luxurious rooms, a spa, a large bar, a breakfast room, a dining room for lunch and dinner and another for the personnel. All these are interspersed within the original building.

The hotel’s facilities are divided into several areas and enclosures, taking advantage of existing spaces. All are linked by corridors and service tunnels under the original building, because, as a historic monument, the original architectural installations could not be altered in any way.

This meant a great challenge for our office, and we had to unify all areas torn apart not to affect the food facilities operation.

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storage areas, pre-processing, washing, production and service in different premises, buildings and levels of the original building. The challenge was to link these areas with the kitchen and dining rooms without too many complications.

The hotel kitchen is open and visible to the public and is located in the main dining room. It has an industrial-type design, although it incorporates all the advances of modern culinary technology.

More importantly, it is a LEED certified project which aims to be the best hotel

The rustic dining room still has the original beams. And chef Laurent Pasqualetto is determined to ensure that the menu also has its roots in the area.

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The bar area is a tasteful blend of history and modern appointments to create a comfortable lounging area.

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alternative in Patagonia with an unmatched gastronomic menu.

The challenge of doing a new installation in an historic building is that you cannot modify the structure or perforate walls, windows or passages; everything has to be done thru the openings that existed when the building was declared a national monument. The engineering projects were difficult since all the plumbing (gas, water or sewage), electric installations and venting were done thru false walls and underneath the floors. The only exceptions were those areas where new construction took place.

But the biggest challenge was the amount of time we found we had to dedicate to the project modifications, due to the building constraints. Due to these restrictions, we made many proposals that proved impossible to accomplish, so during the project development, we had 11 major modifications to the layout (passages, flow problems, inability to install certain finishes or equipment, etc.). Once we finished the project, it only took us one food inspector’s visit to get the approval to operate without any modifications.

Most of the elements used in the kitchen are natural, including the strict use of only non-caged/bred animals. The French

chef, Laurent Pasqualetto, has re-imagined traditional, local recipes, fully respecting the region’s cultural heritage and the rich variety of ingredients to be accessed locally. Thus, the menu focuses on local products, both grown in the hotel’s garden and sourced locally, including tooth fish, golden eel, Patagonian hare, lamb, white strawberries, rhubarb, algae, seaweed and Patagonian honey. Accompanying the delectable dishes coming out of the kitchen is a wine list based on the local terroir, presenting the best selections (roughly 16) from each grape-growing valley of Chile.

Technical inspections were pretty hard due to the difficulty of getting to the site.

There was a great deal of time expended on travelling. To get to Puerto Natales during spring and summer is easy – a 3.5-hour flight and then 2.5–3-hour drive. In winter and autumn, things were a bit different.

The flight from Santiago was the same but it could take as much as six hours on snowy and icy roads with freezing temperatures and high winds day and night.

After three months in business, the hotel has been a great surprise for everybody, clients and owners. It has already had a 90% average occupancy since the opening.

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