Dec

Can Art Change the World? Artivist JR Has the Answer

by Meredith Mullins on December 1, 2020

Portrait of artivist JR Artist, showing cultural diversity, social awareness, and answering the question can art change the world. (Image © JR.)

French artivist JR (artist/activist)
© JR

JR’s Monumental Portraits Spark Social Awareness

There are hundreds of motivational quotes about how one person can make a difference . . . or shake the world. One person can be a revolution.

We know it’s true. There are people throughout past and recent history who changed the world—sometimes for worse . . . but mostly for better.

French artivist (artist/activist) JR is one of those people with an instinct for the positive side of change—a street revolutionary, a shaker of the world—with a simple goal of better understanding what makes us human.

His photographic projects and documentaries spark connections in a diverse world and heighten social awareness—all with his driving force of respecting differences, seeking the best of humanness, and valuing unity.

Can art change the world? JR is living proof.

Wrinkles of the City in Shanghai by Artivist JR Artist, showing social awareness and answering the question can art save the world. (Image © JR.)

JR’s Wrinkles of the City project honored senior citizens in Shanghai, Cartegena,
Havana, Berlin, Istanbul, and Los Angeles.
© JR

For People To “See” and “To Be Seen”

Although JR prefers to remain relatively anonymous (JR stands for Jean-René . . . no last name), his work has been recognizable from the start.

He is unique—from the tag he used as a defiant teenage graffiti artist (Face 3) in the early 2000’s to his first “exhibitions” pasted on the public walls of Paris and the banlieue with spray painted frames, to the now famous world-sized “pastings” of black-and-white photos on buildings, rooftops, bridges, cargo containers, trucks, and trains.

A train in Kenya with the work of Artivist JR Artist, showing cultural diversity, social awareness, and answering the question can art change the world. (Image © JR.)

A train travels through the Kenya countryside, with the all-seeing eyes of local women—
a vision toward the future.
© JR

The work is not about him. It is about giving people their moment to be seen . . . to be better understood, especially when they have often been overlooked or marginalized. Women. Prisoners. Elders. War Victims. Immigrants. And just ordinary people who feel invisible.

JR started as a graffiti artist, making his presence known on illegal concrete and metal canvases (walls, buildings, and metro cars) throughout the city. His life changed one day when he found a camera left behind on the metro.

He then became what he called a photograffeur (photographer and graffiti artist), traveling with his street artist friends and capturing their fleeting adventures in the Paris area underground, alleys, and rooftops. He showed us what it was like to surreptitiously paint and run.

Artivist JR's Graffiti artist painting on a metro car, showing cultural diversity, social awareness, and answering the question can art change the world. (Image © JR.)

The acrobatic adventures of a street artist
© JR

His first “exhibitions” of this work included photocopies of the images, with spray painted frames on walls and buildings so that people would be confronted by the images in this outdoor (albeit illegal) gallery—free for everyone.

A gallery on a wall in Paris by artivist JR artist, showing social awareness and answering the question can art change the world. (Image © JR.)

Mon expo à moi (My own exhibit)
JR’s outdoor gallery, free for everyone
© JR

His initial documentary work came with the 2005 riots in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois. He photographed the participants who were protesting what they believed to be police harassment/brutality in the poorer housing estates and made huge photos to be pasted around Paris and the suburb cities—so that passers-by would be forced to look into the faces of these disenfranchised youth.

If video does not display, watch it here.

Face 2 Face (Israel to Palestine)

JR’s next illegal project (2007) was an international one in collaboration with Marco Berrebi, where he photographed Israeli and Palestinian people in the same professions with a 28 mm lens.

This close-up approach meant that the taxi drivers, hairdressers, students, sportspeople, actors, musicians, sculptors, and police looked comically distorted. It also meant they were engaged with the photographer. They talked . . . and listened. They connected.

JR then pasted the huge black-and-white photographs in unavoidable places in eight cities in both Israel and Palestine (including on the dividing wall).

The intent and the result was that most people could not tell if the subjects were Israeli or Palestinian. The viewers no doubt smiled at the fun expressions, recognized certain similarities, and engaged in conversation about the project. More importantly, they perhaps focused on the possibility of living together as humans in peace.

Face 2 Face, the work of artivist JR artist, in the West Bank of Palestine, showing social awareness and answering the question can art change the world. (Image © JR.)

Israelis and Palestinians pasted on the separation wall in Bethlehem, Palestinian side.
© JR

Woman Are Heroes

The “Women Are Heroes” project began in 2007 and stretched from Kenya to Brazil, Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Sudan, Cambodia, India, Paris, and Le Havre.

JR met and photographed women who live in the midst of conflict or in challenging climate or economic conditions and who are often targets during war and victims of violence. And yet, they play a pivotal role in family and society.

As in all his projects, he then pasted the large photographs in highly visible places in the cities and villages, so that the women were “seen” and shown with dignity.

One of the most dramatic pastings was in the Morro da Providência favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In this dangerous slum, the faces of the women inside the homes were shown on the outside walls, filling the hillside with haunting eyes and poignant faces. And for one brief moment, the favela was known for something other than drugs and violence.

Women are Heroes photos by artivist JR pasted on houses in the Favela Morro da Providência, Brazil, showing social awareness and answering the question can art change the world. (Image © JR.)

Women Are Heroes in the Favela Morro da Providência, Brazil.
© JR

For the Kenya project, the photos that were placed on the women’s roofs were made of water resistant vinyl so that they would last longer and could protect the fragile houses during the rainy season.

Because many of the women photographed for this project asked that their stories be shared with the world, the photos were pasted on trains and trucks that traveled throughout the countries.

The ultimate journey was when JR pasted a Kenyan women’s eyes on cargo containers that were on a ship leaving Le Havre, France, bound for Malaysia. These eyes went off to see the world . . . and to be seen by the world.

Women Are Heroes photo by artivist JR in Sierra Leone, showing social awareness and answering the question can art change the world. (Image © JR.)

Making the strong women of Sierra Leone visible to all
© JR

This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land

Immigration and “the wall” between the U.S. and Mexico were in the news in 2017 when JR created a project highlighting the border fence near Tecate, Mexico.

He created a giant billboard-like installation of a Mexican child innocently peeking over the fence into the United States. What does this promised land hold . . . or bar? What do we see from this Mexican border town where most everyone passing through tries to be invisible?

Artivist JR's pasting of a child looking over the USA Mexico border near Tecate Mexico, showing cultural diversity and social awareness and answering the question can art change the world. (Image © JR.)

What is Kikito thinking as he peeks over the border fence into the USA?
© JR

To celebrate the day when the installation had to be removed, JR organized a picnic on both sides of the fence, with a table that was half in the U.S. and half in Mexico and a “tablecloth” that presented the eyes of a DACA dreamer.

Everyone brought food to share. Music wafted through the fence, with half the band in the U.S. and half in Mexico.

JR thought the border patrol would stop the celebration, but the party was allowed to continue. Everyone was reveling in a rare moment of unity.

Artivist JR organizes a picnic on both sides of the border fence near Tecate Mexico, showing cultural diversity and social awareness and answering the question can art change the world. (Image © JR.)

An impromptu celebration of unity at the border fence between Mexico and the USA
© JR

Giving Voice to Prisoners

From the disenfranchised youth of JR’s home in the suburbs of Paris to the California Tehachapi maximum-security prison, JR focuses on making us see those we have made invisible.

For his 2019 project at the prison, he photographed prisoners, guards, and former prisoners—one by one— from above, so that when they were combined into one mural on the concrete floor of the yard, they would appear to be looking outward. Each man was also videotaped telling his story. There was no judgement. JR just wanted to listen . . . and for others to listen.

Artivist JR's pasting at the Tehachapi Prison, showing social awareness and answering the question can art change the world. (Image © JR.)

Prisoners, former prisoners, and guards at the Tehachapi Prison come together
in JR’s mural pasting and look out toward . . .
© JR

The prisoners were part of the team that pasted the photos to the yard—one team building something together. The mural was ephemeral, like many of JR’s works. The pasting disappeared in three days with the normal activity of the prisoners in the yard.

If video does not display, watch it here.

As an epilogue to this project, JR returned in 2020 and pasted photographs of the Tehachapi mountains on the prison wall, making the wall disappear and morph into a mirage of freedom.

Artivist JR pastes a mural at the Tehachapi prison yard and wall, showing social awareness and answering the question can art change the world. (Image © JR.)

A mirage of freedom—making the prison wall merge with the mountains
© JR

Oh, I See: Turning the World Inside Out

JR, the artivist, is prolific. His projects are too numerous to mention in one story. He has turned the Louvre pyramid into 3D time travel (2019) and has honored the elderly of the world in a project called “Wrinkles of the City” (2008-2015).

Artivist JR's installation at the Louvre in Paris in 2019, showing social awareness and answering the question can art change the world. (Image © JR.)

JRs 2019 3D optical illusion at the Louvre pyramid in Paris
© JR

He continues to expand our social awareness and invent creative ways to shine a light on those who need to be more visible in the name of fairness and equality.

Can art change the world? JR’s foundation of that name hopes so.

One thing is certain. JR believes that art can change the way we see the world and the amazing humans that inhabit this planet. He will continue to open our eyes so that we can see and be seen. Onward . . .

See also JR’s 2017 film with Agnes Varda entitled Visages/Villages (Faces/Places) and his organization Can Art Change The World.

Thank you to JR and Agence VU.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Meredith Mullins 4 Comments

Cultural Diversity/The World's Photography/USA/Worldwide Sites

Nov

In the Kitchen with OIC: “Pan” Cultural Cuisine!

by Joyce McGreevy on November 23, 2020

In lockdown? Don’t flip out—flip a pancake instead!
Gilaxia/ iStock

Easy Pancakes from Around the World

Rembrandt sketched them. Shakespeare wrote them into his plays. Sweden established an academy in their honor. They’ve starred in ancient tales and modern movies, inspired mad dashes and dashes of spice and color.

They are pancakes. For many of us, that means a common breakfast food that takes minutes to cook, seconds to eat, and hours to walk off. In fact, that little circle on your plate connects to a multitude of ingredients, shapes, languages, and traditions. Oh, I see: Known by hundreds of names and varieties around the world, this food encompasses a rich “pan” cultural cuisine.

Let’s explore this sisterhood of the traveling pancakes. Along the way, we’ll see how different kinds of pancakes stack up. On your return, peruse our menu of online classes to cook easy pancakes from around the world.

Palatschinke are among the most popular of easy pancakes from around the world. (Image by MariaPolna and Pxhere)

Popular in Slavic culture, palatschinke are Greco-Roman in origin.
MariaPolna/ Pxhere

Breakfast of Ancient Champions

For many culinary historians, all foods lead to ancient Rome. The Romans spiced their pancakes and dubbed them Alita Dolcia. Lyrical but lazy, it simply means “another sweet.” In the second century, Greek physician Galen saw fit to provide a detailed recipe for them in his medical tome. Still popular today, traditional teganitai are sizzled in olive oil and topped with honey.

But did the Greeks invent pancakes as is often claimed? It’s true that many forms of pancake developed throughout Europe, became popular in the Middle Ages, and later crossed the Atlantic. However, archaeological evidence shows that indigenous peoples of the Americas had been making cachapas, arepas, and other corn-based pancakes since early pre-Columbian times.

A cachapa, a Venezuelan pancake, is among the easy pancakes around the world made with corn. (Image by nehopelon and iStock)

Starchier than tortillas, Venezuelan cachapas are filled with creamy cheese
and eaten hot off the griddle.
nehopelon/ iStock

Early on, almost every culture improvised griddles from hot stones. At food festivals in Lucca, Italy, a few chefs still rock this method. To make necci, they pour batter onto hot, flat stones, cover them with chestnut leaves, and stack them on top of each other. The choice of leaves is apt, because necci are made with chestnut flour, milled from the harvest of local forests.

Flour Power

Chestnuts, corn—these are just two items on a long list of pancake possibilities, as well as reminders that “gluten-free” pancakes are nothing new. The flours that power a culture’s popular pancakes include:

rice: India’s dosa and malpua, Korea’s jeon
chickpeas: Southern France’s socca
beans: Nigeria’s akara, Japan’s dorayaki
potatoes: Ireland’s boxty, Ecuador’s llapingachos
buckwheat (which isn’t a wheat at all): New Brunswick’s ploye, Nepal’s phapar ko roti)

Add wheat, and suddenly the globe is paved in pancakes from Samoa (panikeke) to Morocco (beghrir) to New Zealand (pikelets).

A dish of malpua pancakes from India shows why some easy pancakes from around the world have been popular for thousands of years. (Image by Kailash Kumar and iStock)

India’s malpua has sweetened palates for 3,000 years.
Kailash Kumar/ iStock

**What’s in Your Pancake?**

The variety of flours is matched by what different cultures put on, and in, their pancakes. The world beyond maple syrup extends to condensed milk (Thailand), sour cream (Russia), shredded coconut (Brazil), pork fat with lingonberries (Sweden), bonito fish flakes (Japan), and edible flowers (Korea).

The look varies widely, too. Italy’s borlenghi are so big they’re also known as cartwheel pancakes. By contrast, Dutch poffertjes are teensy—they originated in a church as an improved form of communion host. Amen!

Scrambled pancakes, or Kaiserschmarrn, suggest the variety of easy pancakes from around the world. (Image by Pxhere)

Purposely scrambled, Austria’s Kaiserschmarrn means “Emperor’s mess.”
Pxhere

As for color, Indonesia’s kue ape pancakes come by their vibrant green naturally, thanks to pandan. The leaves of this tropical plant are used to make an extract that’s been compared to vanilla. The batter is cooked in woks to create a spongy center and a crispy edge. Home cooks— which is all of us these days—can find pandan flavoring extract for sale online and at our local Asian markets.

Kue ape pancakes from Indonesia are bright green, showing the variety of easy pancakes from around the world. (Image by MielPhotos2008 and iStock)

Kue ape are made with wheat flour, coconut milk, and palm sugar.
MielPhotos2008/ iStock

Not all pancake ingredients catch on, of course. In Miss Parloa’s New Cookbook (Boston, 1881) the pancake mix called for “a bowl of snow.” Seems it met the melts-in-your-mouth test, but was a little too back-to-the-land.

Pancake Planet

The world’s pancakes come with a generous side of fascinating stories.

According to traditional storytellers, it wasn’t the gingerbread man, but the pancake who ran away. Well, rolled. The runaway pancake features in several “fleeing food” tales, including in Norway, Germany, and Russia.
In Japanese legend, a samurai accidentally left his gong at a farmer’s house where he had been hiding. The farmer used it to cook “gong cakes,” the literal meaning of dorayaki. Dorayaki pancakes are also the favorite food of a time-traveling robot cat. Doraemon is the title character of a smash-hit series of manga books and movies.
In Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” the Bard flips pancakes into wordplay. Coincidentally, “as you like it” is the literal meaning of okonomiyaki, another Japanese pancake.
Several countries have religious traditions of eating pancakes the night before Lent. In France during La Chandeleur, the pancake of choice is a crêpe. An old tradition was to place one crêpe into a drawer to attract prosperity. It would certainly have attracted something.

Women running with frying pans in the Pancake Race in Olney, England evoke the fun and history of easy pancakes around the world, (Image by RobinMeyesrcough, licensed by Wikemedia Commons CC BY 2.0)

On hold for now, the Pancake Race in Olney, England was first run in 1445.
Robin Meyerscough/ CC BY 2.0

Coming full circle, the most astonishing thing about pancakes remains their sheer variety, even when considered (or better yet, eaten) within a single country. Italian pancakes alone include crespelle al bitto, ciaffignone, chisciöl, scrippelle ‘mbusse, and several others. In short, we’ve only just scratched the surface of the pancake’s many layers.

That’s all the more reason to get your hands on recipes for easy pancakes from around the world. Check out the menu below this post. We’ve stuffed it like a savory Breton galette with links to virtual cooking classes and entertaining demos. After all, what goes better with pancakes than a side of links?

A chef making dozens of tiny pancakes suggests the popularity and variety of easy pancakes from around the world. (Image by mel_88 and Pxhere)

Have yourself a merry little pancake!
mel_88/ Pixabay

Get cooking! Click on a pancake name to sign up for a live online cooking class: potato pancakes, crêpes, Japanese soufflé pancakes, Bavarian apple pancakes, Osaka style okonomiyaki, and Chinese scallion pancakes.

Can’t wait? Click on a place name for quick how-to videos: Venezuela (cachapas), Nepal (phapar ko roti), Austria (kaiserschmarrn, in German with English captions), Ireland (boxty).

Comment on the post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Joyce McGreevy 4 Comments

Cultural Diversity/Cultural Heritage & Traditions/The World's Chefs/Worldwide Sites

Oct

In the Kitchen with OIC: Peruvian Cuisine

by Joyce McGreevy on October 20, 2020

Chef Rodrigo Fernandini of Chiclayo, Peru, shares his passion for Peruvian cuisine and culture, as featured on “In the Kitchen with OIC.” Image © Rodrigo Fernandini)

Chef Rodrigo Fernandini grew up in Chiclayo, capital of Peruvian gastronomy.
© Rodrigo Fernandini

What’s on Chef Fernandini’s Menu? Peruvian Culture!

In California, the cooking class was starting on Zoom. In Oregon, I hesitated. On the one hand, I was eager to explore Peruvian cuisine for “In the Kitchen with OIC,” our newest recurring feature. On the other hand, I missed travel, open-air markets, rolling up my sleeves in foreign kitchens. I missed food tours, following local experts along unfamiliar streets.

I wanted real.

Peru was on my 2020 itinerary. Instead, I was exploring the culture of my studio apartment. OK, fine. I’d try Chef Fernandini’s online cooking class. As I logged on, I sighed. Would it be just another Zoom meeting?

It . . . was . . . exhilarating! A kinesthetic thrill that had us up and moving, prepping, stirring, tasting, listening, and laughing with fellow classmates. All while the smoky, sweet heat and fragrance of aji panca and rocoto peppers, plantains, avocado oil, and cumin transformed our scattered kitchens into a shared experience of Peru. That was real.

Screen, what screen? It felt like we were in Fernandini’s kitchen. Oh, I see: When you can’t travel to Peru, invite Peruvian food and culture home to you.

Rocoto chile peppers are a staple of Peruvian cuisine and culture, as featured on “In the Kitchen with OIC.” (Image © McKay Savage)

Tree-grown Andean rocoto is gaining popularity with U.S. chile pepper fans.
© McKay Savage, CC BY 2.0 Commons

Home Cooking, Chiclayo Style

His culinary journey began when Fernandini was four years old. This was in Pimentel, the beach district of Chiclayo, northern Peru. He recalls running into the kitchen, drawn by the aromas of garlic, peppers, and onions.

“I would put my whole face beside the pot, take a deep breath, and ask, ‘Oh, Mamá what is that smell? It’s so good!’ ” He also loved home-cooked seafood. Mamá got to the market as the morning’s catch came in.

Reed boats, linked to Chiclayo’s fishing and culinary traditions, evoke Peruvian cuisine and culture. (image © xeni4ka/ iStock)

Traditional fishing boats, caballitos de totora, “little horses made of tortora reed,”
are icons of coastal Peru.
© xeni4ka/ iStock

Regional ingredients whetted Fernandini’s appetite for cooking and stirred pride in his culture. So where is the starting point for an outsider? How to approach the rich context of Peruvian cuisine?

“Begin with ceviche.” So central is this dish to Peru’s culinary culture that it has its own national holiday on June 28.

Some might ask, What’s to explore? It’s marinated fish, you love it or hate it, end of story. In fact, it’s an early chapter in a rich culinary narrative.

Peruvian Fish Tales

Over 2,000 years ago, the indigenous Moche cured fish in tumbo, banana passionfruit juice. Later, the Incas marinated fish in chicha, fermented corn beverage. In the 1500s, the Spanish brought lime—and conquest.

Recipes for ceviche illuminate Peru’s costa, sierra y selva—its coast, mountains, and jungle—where 80 climates support biodiversity. For example, says Fernandini, in the mountains, ceviche is made with trout and rocoto.

Mountain ceviche by Chef Rodrigo Fernandini innovates on the regional culinary traditions and cuisine in Peruvian culture. (Image © Rodrigo Fernandini)

“Peruvian Andes trout and rocoto are inseparable,” says Fernandini.
His mountain ceviche also features chicharrón (fried pork belly) and ginger garlic oil.
© Rodrigo Fernandini

In the jungle, ceviche is made with paiche, an Amazonian fish, prehistoric in origin and weighing up to 400 pounds.

Jungle ceviche with cumu cumu berries, by Chef Rodrigo Fernandini, showcases Peruvian cuisine and culture. (Image © Rodrigo Fernandini)

The Runway or the Rush?

After high school, a lucrative career in modeling beckoned. Fernandini soon garnered international acclaim, including as runner-up in the Mr. World competition. But what he wanted was to cook. Creating an all-new resume that was long on passion and short on skills, he went to restaurant after restaurant offering to work for free.

Eventually, someone said yes.

“Wow! The rush! The adrenaline! I was supposed to be there four hours, but I stayed for eleven.”

Staff dismissed Fernandini’s enthusiasm as first-day excitement, but three months later and on the verge of going broke, he was still saying “I love this. I want to keep going!”

The Sound of One Herb Snapping

Fernandini attained a coveted spot at Le Cordon Bleu in Lima, then the renowned cooking academy’s only location in South America. For three years, he rode a whirlwind of studying, cooking, and staging—working for free—in Lima’s top restaurants.

Then came tests, like identifying ingredients while blindfolded. Could you tell cinnamon by the sound it makes when snapped? Could you distinguish black and green pepper by texture? Chef Fernandini can.

Students were also expected to write monographs—by hand. Never one to resist a challenge, Fernandini researched the influence of Japan on Peruvian cuisine.

This was no mere fusion, a modern term for the intentional layering of unexpected flavors. For 500 years, people had migrated to Peru, from Spain, Africa, China, Japan, Italy and the Middle East, bringing long-standing traditions and slowly learning each other’s culinary language.

Pastel de acelga, chard tart, exemplifies the Italian influence on Peruvian cuisine and culture. (Image © Luis Felipe Rios/ iStock)

Pastel de acelga (chard tart), a staple of bakeries in Lima, Peru,
originated as erbazzone in Italy.
Luis Felipe Rios/ iStock

Chaufa de mariscos, rice with seafood, is emblematic of widespread Cantonese influence on Peruvian cuisine and culture. (Image © Edgar D. Pons/ iStock)

Chaufa de mariscos, seafood with rice, reflects
Cantonese China’s widespread influence on Peru.
Christian Vinces/iStock

Carapulcra, a hearty stew, combines Spanish, African, and Peruvian cuisine and innovates on Peruvian culture. (Image © Edgar D. Pons/ iStock)

Carapulcra, a hearty stew with dried potatoes and peanuts,
combines indigenous, Spanish, and African traditions.
Edgar D. Pons/iStock

“Land of the Rising Sun” Meets “Land of Abundance”

After Peru won independence from Spain in 1821, Japanese immigrants arrived to work in agriculture, trade, and restaurants. Japanese chefs shared their love of seafood, subtle flavors, and care in handling ingredients.

This changed the way Peruvians ate, including national dishes like ceviche. Marination times shortened, ingredient options expanded. Nikkei, the melding of Japanese and Peruvian ingredients, traditions, and techniques, was born.

“We started to respect and understand the freshness and texture of just-caught fish.” Fernandini’s inspired take on coastal ceviche features halibut, yellow chili, caviar, sweet potato, and “tiger’s milk,” Peru’s classic citrus marinade.

Coastal ceviche by Chef Rodrigo Fernandini, combines traditional and contemporary aspects of Peruvian cuisine and culture. (Image © Rodrigo Fernandini)

Fernandini gives the impression that visiting Peru without eating at a Japanese-influenced restaurant would be tantamount to bypassing Machu Picchu. He cites Maido in Lima, ranked #10 among world’s best restaurants—“utterly splendid!”—and speaks of opening a Peruvian sushi restaurant someday.

Suddenly, my list of future favorite foods is much longer.

A Cultural Mission

Fernandini has been on a mission to delight American palates ever since moving to the USA. Initially, he faced stereotypes about Peruvian food: “It’s so greasy, so heavy!”

This was all the more surprising since Novoandina, New Andean cuisine, had gone global by the 1980s, making grains like quinoa, herbs like huacatay, and a wealth of recipes available to home cooks everywhere.

“I said, we have to do something about this!”

Chef Rodrigo Fernandini, shown in his pop-up restaurant Ayllu, is on a mission to share the wide range of Peruvian cuisine and culture. (Image © Rodrigo Fernandini)

Rodrigo’s pop-up restaurant, Ayllu. Demand turned the monthly event
into sold-out double seatings, week after week, for years.
© Rodrigo Fernandini

By then, he was working at Michelin-starred restaurants and being mentored by chefs like the Four Seasons’ Jayson Poe. During time off, Rodrigo cooked even more, spending months planning a five-course menu for the launch of a pop-up restaurant.

Two people attended.

When a partner suggested canceling, Rodrigo said, “No way. We have to respect those two people and make it happen.”

The two diners hired Rodrigo to cater dinner for 30. Soon he was juggling full-time work with booming demand for the pop-up. After years of slogging and saving, he opened his own restaurant, Jora.

It was a dream come true. It was also December 2019. As Jora was hitting its stride, Covid was shutting down restaurants.

“Hard times, but I’m a warrior,” says Fernandini. “Recently we reopened for outdoor dining, take-out, delivery. I’m also doing the cooking class with ChefsFeed.com. I really like teaching.”

Chef Rodrigo Fernandini shown on a computer screen as he speaks on Zoom about Peruvian cuisine and culture in his online cooking class. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

“Food brings people to the table to enjoy, and as you’re eating, you’re sharing your culture. Whatever I cook, I want to deliver on the promise of authenticity, originality, and respect for the product, the process, the person, and the moment. Everything I do is based on this. And yeah, I’m having fun in the kitchen. I love it—this is my happy place.”

Thanks to Chef Fernandini’s online class, my apartment kitchen is a happier place, too, a place were Peruvian cuisine and culture will always be welcome.

Until next month, this is “In the Kitchen with OIC” wishing you Buen provecho!

Request news of Chef Fernandini’s classes here. Can’t wait? Start here, then follow Chef Fernandini here.

Comment on the post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Joyce McGreevy 12 Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Peru/The World's Chefs

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