A new chapter added the novel of discussions between the renowned Colombian chef Leonor Espinosa and the vice president of Colombia, Francia Márquez, for the recipes of the Colombian Pacific.
This, after the crossing between the two last June by the management of the official. Earlier that month, Espinosa criticized Márquez’s speech on racism and the Afro vote.
“The issue of France is another distant from racism, the grotesque speech that they want to sell forgetting that their triumph was not only due to the Afro vote. Now his lack of acceptance is the fault of ‘white oligarchs’, while from the Pacific community leaders affirm that they do not feel supported by their representative and criticize his silence,” Espinosa wrote on Twitter.
That was answered by Márquez, who accused Espinosa of stealing the flavors and knowledge of that region.
“So strange, that was not what I was saying a few years ago, when I was just a social leader, and you went to our community to find out about the flavors and ancestral knowledge of our territory,” Francia Márquez replied, sharing a photo on the that the chef is seen on a visit she had years ago in a place where the now vice president previously resided.
Of course, Espinosa did not remain silent and invited those who criticized her for what Márquez said.
“Those who assure or believe that my restaurant is of ancestral or traditional cuisine recipes from the Pacific or other regions are cordially invited for free to the tasting menu with pairing. Of course, if they were not, they would pay the bill. Invitation extended to the Vice Presidency”, replied the chef.
Now, Espinosa gave statements to the program La Ventana de Marco de Red+, where he lashed out at the official.
In them, the chef affirmed that Márquez has not yet gone to his restaurant to confirm if he stole the recipes from the kitchen in Suárez (Cauca) where the vice president is from.
“I don’t count who comes to my restaurant, but I don’t think she comes to Leo,” she pointed out, making it clear that she does not belong to any political party and that for making a criticism based on objectivity they immediately jumped to attack her and the biggest accusation they made against her is that she stole the recipes of the Pacific.
However, he said that Márquez knows that to obtain these recipes he had to present a project to the community council of the area.
“The vice president, when I was in Suárez (Cauca), knows that in order to implement the project we had to present it to the community council, which is the one who endorses the foundations that come to work for the community. At that time she endorsed it and then she now says that I went, basically, to steal the knowledge of the community, ”Espinosa emphasized.
According to the chef, what Márquez said is like saying that other chefs in the world, who show the kitchens of their countries, steal them.
“What can one do in the face of ignorance. That’s bold and people attack me for it. Not even Francia Márquez has come to my restaurant to say that I stole the recipes from her territory, so foolish words, deaf ears, ”said Espinosa.
Other attacks on Leonor Espinosa
Leonor Espinosa was one of the personalities who reacted to the recommendation made by the United States Department of State to its citizens not to travel to Colombia for security reasons, which would be a blow to tourism and gastronomy in the country.
On social networks, he drew the attention of Gustavo Petro for what happened.
“President Gustavo Petro, what are you waiting for to deny this statement and, furthermore, to start working hard for our image abroad? There are thousands of Colombians economically dependent on the sector. Where are your promises for a leading tourism in the supposed economic transition and as one of the greatest generators of socioeconomic well-being?” Espinosa questioned the President of the Republic.
At her words, the chef received hundreds of comments: “Mrs. Leonor ask the Petro government to also wash the slab”; “In all Colombian governments, the United States has issued the same warning. Leave the poison”; “It’s true that before we were like Switzerland and nobody complained”; among other messages.
For this reason, the chef responded to the different attacks she received from the users of this social network, sharing that she is clear about her convictions and clarified that she has the ability to objectively reflect on any topic or situation.
“The need to stigmatize for the inability to differentiate between a position induced to improve or rebuild, from another plagued with aversion, became customary,” Espinosa wrote on Twitter. with Infobae