Cuban cuisine: a melting pot of culinary influences

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Cuba's culinary heritage is alive and well, thanks to award-winning Cuban chef Jorge Luis Mendez and others like him.

"We have succeeded in preserving authentic, traditional Cuban cuisine," said Mendez, who believes national dishes "allow peoples to express who they are."

Mendez said Cuban food combines the culinary influences of the various cultures that have landed on the Caribbean island through centuries, from Spanish conquerors to Africans.

Cuban cuisine has been enriched over the years by the arrivals of immigrants from all over the world, said Mendez, who is also part of the tourism faculty at the University of Havana.

Scrumptious rice and seafood. /Photo via National Turk

"The Africans, the Chinese, even (immigrants from) eastern Europe have contributed to enriching our food," he added.

Imported flavors, combined with Cuba's own native ingredients and culinary staples, have generated much-loved dishes as "ajiaco a la criolla" (a hearty meat stew), "Moors and Christians" (black beans and rice), Cuban tamales (stuffed corn dough wrapped and steamed in corn husk), corn or taro root fritters, "congri oriental" (red beans and rice), and yuca in garlic sauce.

Cuban chef Ernesto Bello is another proponent of Cuban cuisine.

"At home I primarily make Cuban culinary dishes," said Bello, who has worked at some of Havana's best known restaurants, including El Tocororo, La Finca and La Moraleja.

Cuba's cuisine has great potential "because it is the result of a blend of cultures, which is definitely what we are as a nation," said Bello.

Rice, beans & plantains. /Photo via El Meson de Pepe

That heritage is reflected in the list of the top 25 popular dishes in Cuba, compiled by Cuba's Federation of Culinary Associations (FAC) based on what locals and foreigners alike order most frequently.

Cooking instructor Pedro Manuel Serrano, who has been working at a restaurant at Cuba's renowned beach resort of Varadero for 27 years, said visitors truly enjoy Cuban food.

"Tourists like Cuban cuisine due to the creativity involved in the preparation and the variety of dishes," said Serrano.

(Source: Xinhua)

Top image via El Meson de Pepe.