Entering Debora Fadul’s restaurant in Guatemala City is entering a kind of temple where food occupies the altars, and corn is the main deity. There, in addition to tasting a menu of between six and eight courses in which nothing is what it seems —for a cost of between 54 and 64 dollars—, the diner is invited to reflect on what he eats, where it comes from and what impact it has on its environment. Located on the roof of an old industrial building in zone 4 of the capital, an emerging area with bars and businesses hipster, the cult begins from the name: Diacá. “From here —Guatemala— and from here”, explain the chef or the members of her kitchen, putting a hand to her heart, when asked about her meaning.
At the head of the business is a 36-year-old woman with more than 15 years of experience in gastronomy who firmly believes in the restorative power of cooking in one of the countries with the highest rates of malnutrition in Latin America. “The kitchen, as well as repairs, can ruin a lot if you don’t use it consciously,” says the Diacá chef. The restaurant seeks to connect diners with producers and put on the table the gastronomic richness of Guatemala and the value of the countryside. For this reason, his clients do not receive a letter, but a farmer: a list of seasonal products with which he renews the menu every two months, where he informs himself of which part of the country they come from and who produces them.
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