A culinary experience in Sucre

Thanks to its soil and climate diversity, Bolivia is a country with an unbelievable variety of food ingredients. While past generations have left a rich gastronomic heritage, nowadays, the new generation of local chefs is implementing modern techniques and their own ideas to create extraordinary culinary experiences, without leaving aside their Bolivian roots. In this context, let me introduce you to two excellent gastronomic options in the city of Sucre, each one with its particular style, but both owned and developed by young local entrepreneurs.

The objective of Proyecto Nativa is to incorporate traditional Bolivian ingredients into a creative cuisine. The chefs of the restaurant included international culinary techniques, fusion, and a lot of creativity to their cuisine, always adding a touch of ingredients with a Bolivian identity. Such ingredients are "llullucha" (an algae that grows in lakes, at more than 3000 meters above the sea level), "tarwi" (a highly nutritious legume that grows in the nearby region) or, one of the restaurant's favorite ingredients, "ají pepper," which is giving a spicy touch to the preparations.

The culinary experience in Proyecto Nativa consists of a tasting menu (with six courses, paired with a drink) that is renewed every two weeks- to use seasonal ingredients. It should also be highlighted that the restaurant has an abiding focus on using only fresh ingredients, leaving aside canned, packed, or any other kind of industrialized products.

The culinary excellence of Proyecto Nativa has led them to currently work together with Kachi Lodge, the most exclusive accommodation experience in the Uyuni Salt Flats.

As part of your experience in the restaurant, you will be served a perfectly crafted fusion food. The dishes might have names that will sound familiar to you, though, as soon as you try them, you will enjoy a whole new spectrum of flavors coming from the incorporation of the most traditional ingredients of all Bolivian regions. At the same time, you will be able to enjoy dishes that are a completely new creation of the chefs.

​​Qhawana by Samary rescues and re-inserts recipes from the traditional Bolivian cuisine, using the wide variety of ingredients of the country, while implementing vanguardist ideas in the kitchen. Andean tubercles as "isaño", "mashua" and "papita pinta boca", together with Amazonian products as tropical fruits and "paiche fish" are used in the dishes, in order to preserve the Bolivian gastronomic heritage.

The restaurant is also starting to harvest their own organic products, in a region called Jatun Yampara. The aim is to have not only agriculture but also livestock products, to make the restaurant 100% self-sustainable. Approaching the Jatun Yampara indigenous community is possible during group meals that are organized by the restaurant in this location, 25 kilometers away from Sucre.

Qhawana is part of a hotel boutique called Mi Pueblo Samary, that recreates the beauty of an old town of the Chuquisaca region, with great attention to details. For example, its first floor has a small traditional bar called La Chichería, where "chicha" (a traditional alcoholic drink made of corn) is offered. The terrace has a clay oven, where fresh bread is made every morning, to be served with a traditional hot drink (made of purple corn) called "api."

It is easy to perceive that the young locals involved in these projects truly love what they do, and, above all, they have a strong connection with their culture. Enjoy this beautiful fusion of the Bolivian food heritage with the creative cuisine, through these alternatives that definitely must be part of your culinary experience in Sucre!