Hernán Correa, from Riesen

Riesen is Hernán Correa’s mother’s maiden name and also the name of his restaurant. Some may know him as the winner of Top Chef a few years ago, but he actually runs his restaurant, located on the ground floor of his own home. A firm believer in Panamanian ingredients, his cuisine strives for authenticity through constant experimentation.

EN How did Riesen get started?

HCcame to be thanks to the support of my mom and my grandmother, since they literally gave me the space under their house. We opened on January 6, 2013; I started out alone in the kitchen, and the two of them served customers in the dining room.

It was really tough at first; there were some very difficult moments, and you could count on one hand the number of times we had reservations. But little by little, thanks to word of mouth, we’re heading into our fifth year and have more people on the team. Now my girlfriend runs the salon, and since I taught cooking classes for a while, there’s always an apprentice who wants to come learn.

EN Why did your mother and grandmother decide to support you?

HCBack then, I was working in restaurants, often doing double shifts—morning and night—and they were a little worried about me. Plus, they also liked the idea of a restaurant featuring 100% Panamanian ingredients. There are many of them now, but in 2013 it wasn’t common.

EN Without a doubt, the national product is your flag.

HCIt's a bit of a pipe dream, but I'm looking for the perfect ingredient to make the experience perfect.

I shop at the markets, although most of my produce is shipped to me from the interior. Buying locally encourages you to use seasonal produce, which offers several advantages because it’s at its peak in terms of flavor and nutrients. It also helps support farmers and producers.

EN What is the relationship between life and a restaurant?

HCIt's noteasy, but the two go hand in hand. You have to create a lifestyle where you can set aside a little time each day for something. Now we've set aside an extra day each week to share ideas, experiment with the dishes we're serving that week, and host colleagues. We're buying new equipment to experiment with flavors, and I want to set up a lab upstairs.

ES How would you rate the evolution of your cooking? 

HC: At first, I used to put too many elements on the plate; I wanted to show diners all the techniques I knew, and I think it came across as a bit forced. These days—perhaps because of the competitions I’ve been able to attend, as well as my travels—I’ve realized that putting just three elements on the plate is enough.

ES Explain that simplification to me.

HCIn most of my dishes, I feature three ingredients and try to bring out the best in each one. I use the technique that works best for each ingredient, without foams or hydrocolloids—which used to wear me out. The key is to feel comfortable and happy with what you’re doing, to incorporate ideas from other team members, and so on.

EN Beyond a typical education, what is the key to cooking?

HCTravel, talk to people with more experience, compare different perspectives. I studied in Panama and Toronto, where I worked at Chef’s House, and I’ve been able to compete in Canada, Miami, Puerto Rico, and other places. In fact, I’d like to do an internship in Scandinavia.

EN What has been a disruptive moment for you?

HC My tripto Toronto made me appreciate local products and identity much more. People there asked me about Panama, and to be honest, I didn’t know what to tell them because I didn’t feel a connection to anything in particular. So, when I returned to Panama, I began traveling through the interior of the country, meeting small-scale producers and home cooks—many of them older women or grandmothers. I saw the conditions they all lived in—modest ones—because even though they were very hardworking, their efforts didn’t lift them out of their financial difficulties. Perhaps this is also the reason behind Riesen: many farmers and producers receive our support. It’s a positive cycle that also brings joy.

EN You've changed the menu several times, but now you only offer a single tasting menu option.

HCI dared to make this decision, which is complicated because many people ask for a letter.

EN You were the winner of Top Chef.

HCIt was really hard and stressful, but I really enjoyed the experience. Maybe when you watch the show on TV, it seems kind of sweet, but man, it was tough!

It went on for several months. I'd wake up at 5 a.m., and I couldn't afford to close the restaurant, so after filming, I'd work at Riesen, and I'd go to bed almost every day at 1 a.m. I had to study for the show, and there came a point where I felt paranoid about the challenge they were going to give me. The folks at Medcom did a great job.

EN Did "Top Chef" help you learn anything?

HCYes, I continued through that phase of simplifying my expression. I learned to work faster—everything was a race against the clock—so you become more efficient and organized. You learn to manage your emotions, and you had to be in the right frame of mind and stay focused because if you went in there with worries, problems, or thinking about debts, it just didn’t work. My family and my girlfriend helped me a lot to cope with all that pressure, but that’s what the program is all about.

 EN Did you feel the impact of the program? 

HCIn the weeks following *Top Chef*, the restaurant was packed every week. Everyone wanted to come eat there; people asked me for photos, which didn't used to happen before. Even at the markets, it's often difficult for me because so many people recognize me.

EN Who are your international role models? What do you like to cook?

HCI’ve alwaysgreatly admired Thomas Keller (French Laundry, Per Se, Ad Hoc) for his organization and finesse, and now that he’s opened a two-million-dollar kitchen, I think this is going to be a resurgence because he’s very motivated. He has a giant barbecue for live cooking. Americans call it “Heart,” and now every cutting-edge kitchen has a space for cooking with charcoal or firewood.

I also like Matt Orlando. He worked with Keller and at several restaurants, such as The Fat Duck and Noma, where he was impressed by the quality of Danish produce—which is why he opened his restaurant, Amass, there. Orlando uses whole animals and wastes absolutely nothing; he uses every part. He uses the leftover coffee grounds to make a crunchy topping, turns the oil into soap—and so on.

Gastón Acurio is a global icon because of what he has achieved in Peru. Yes, and in addition to Peru, there are interesting developments in Chile and Mexico. They share a common thread: valuing, trusting, and maintaining good relationships with producers. If what I serve is good and has been cared for from the moment it’s in the ground, the final product will be much better.

EN Which chefs on the local scene have influenced your cooking?

HCBerta Peláez, Cuquita, Charlie Collins, and Jorge Jurado laid the groundwork. They gave it that Panamanian touch, which was exactly what I liked. I also like what my younger colleagues are doing. I’m glad to be living in this generation where there’s camaraderie and good relationships—after all, they’re the ones I have beers with.

EN That sense of community is real and recent.

HCI think it stems from the common goal we share: to make the country a better place. We’re interested in traditional products and Panamanian cuisine, and many of us are dedicated to this cause. For me, it still feels surreal because I’m 24 years old, and being surrounded by colleagues who tell me they like what I do or admire me—I just can’t believe it.

EN Where do you usually go to eat?

HCI enjoy the countryside. The smell of firewood, sampling local products, Cerro Punta, Volcán, and the simplicity of the people. I like remote, simple, low-key restaurants that are full of flavor and tradition. Along the highway, you’ll find places serving smoked meat, or—specifically—in Los Santos and Las Tablas, you’ll come across traditional restaurants where they make torreja and sancocho. The locals will take you to a house where a woman will introduce you to new flavors. 

I also like Cecilia Pescado, in El Chorrillo, and Donde Iván, in La Vereda Afroantillana—I have great chemistry and a close friendship with them. They both share all their secrets, teach you things, and get you products.

When it comes to Asian food, I like La Especial in El Dorado, and breakfast at Lung Fung before 10:00 a.m., where you can find local specialties.

EN Food in Panama is getting more expensive every day; I'm going to have to go to Zurich to buy a mango.

HCYes, it's very expensive, and the money doesn't even go to the people who grow the potatoes. It gets lost along the way to the middlemen, and there are monopolies. Overall, Panama is very complicated; it has many shortcomings in health care, education, and food security.

Basic things that society needs, such as teaching our farmers cutting-edge techniques to help improve their quality of life.

EN You have a food bank project.

HC WhenI go to the markets, I see food being thrown away—even food that’s still in good condition. Panama has one advantage: the soil is still very fertile—you can plant anything, and it grows. There shouldn’t be any hunger or malnutrition. So, after winning Top Chef, I set aside part of the prize money as seed capital to create a food rescue program. The idea is to work with fruits and vegetables that are going to waste at the market.

EN How does it work?

HC: These are trucks that pick up the goods at the market, take them to a processing facility, turn them into sauces, soups, etc., and then we deliver them to banks, institutions, or soup kitchens. But this isn’t just my project—I don’t want to take all the credit myself; it belongs to many colleagues. The idea is to build a team; at first, it’ll just be me and a few others, but as more people join and get involved, more donors will come forward, and we’ll build a larger organization.

ES How would you describe your restaurant?

HCA place where I’d like to go for a meal—unpretentious, yet committed not just to cooking but to creating experiences. It’s a restaurant that wants to send a message of sustainability and be an agent of change.