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[title]At just 26 years old, Daniela Espinoza finds herself in a moment of awe and inspiration. The young Venezuelan—part of the team at Azafrán Restó in Mendoza—won the Acqua Panna award for "Connection in Gastronomy" from the San Pellegrino Young Chef Academy in September of this year. This recognition celebrates and highlights the new generation of chefs worldwide.
After multiple stages open to those under 30, Daniela won the Latin America and Caribbean regional final with her dish "Broken Customs," inspired by her grandmother and Venezuelan Christmas traditions. “I feel proud. I feel that my story achieved its purpose, which was to reach people’s hearts. My grandmother, like my whole family, must be happy,” she said during the award ceremony in Lima, Peru, to the event organizers.
"I feel that my story achieved its purpose, which was to reach people's hearts"
Her proposal was evaluated based on "three golden rules": technical skill, creativity, and personal beliefs. In a contemporary take on her roots, Daniela fused Venezuelan cuisine with touches of Mendocino flavors and the Asian influences she finds along her journey of culinary exploration.
The preparation of "Broken Customs" included hallaca—a traditional Venezuelan dish similar to a tamale—ham bread, asado negro, and chicken salad. Using ingredients like wild boar, goat, grapes, and black olives, Daniela’s dish was highlighted as a great representative of regional heritage for 2024 in the Acqua Panna competition.
Who is Chef Daniela Espinoza?
The young chef came to Argentina eight years ago, initially trying her luck in Buenos Aires, before eventually moving to Mendoza. “Originally, the idea was to finish my Fine Arts degree with a focus on Painting, but due to technical issues with apostilles and equivalencies, I decided to pursue gastronomy as a career,” she shares.
When asked to choose her signature dish, she points to gyozas—Japanese dumplings that can be fried or steamed, usually accompanied by a well-seasoned soy sauce. “I’m passionate about Asian cuisine and am constantly testing and creating different recipes. Additionally, Venezuelan cuisine is part of my identity,” she emphasizes. As part of the team at the award-winning Azafrán restaurant in Mendoza, Daniela is responsible for the hot appetizers and the Research and Development department.
“Since winning the award, I feel more inspired, diving deep into recipes and fermentation processes. The recognition surprised me, and since then, I’ve been captivated by a search for local ingredients and products to transform into new creations,” she says.
"Since winning the award, I feel more inspired, diving deep into recipes and fermentation processes"
“What I enjoy most about my work at Azafrán is creating new things, paying attention to incoming products, and discovering them. Working alongside my colleagues to see how we can create effective daily dynamics is something I enjoy tackling. I believe this distinction has changed my attitude; I feel more confident in what I do,” Daniela says about her current experience. She also reveals that what she loves about Mendoza is the quality of life, the tranquility, and the climate, which reminds her a lot of her hometown.
"What I love about Mendoza is the quality of life, the tranquility, and the climate, which reminds me a lot of my hometown"
Among her favorite ingredients, sesame oil stands out, although it depends on where she's cooking. In her world of pots and flames, chicken broth is essential, as well as some Japanese ingredients: Sichuan pepper, miso, or koji. Oyster sauce, seaweed, mushrooms, cilantro, and lime—"more than lemon"—are the current palette with which Daniela approaches cooking in her most liberated form.
She worked at the Japanese restaurant Orei in Belgrano and later joined the team at Quimera Bistró in Mendoza. For this young Venezuelan, who had chef Maira Bittar of Azafrán as her mentor in the competition, the journey ahead holds many opportunities, including a trip to Milan in 2025 to represent Argentina in the Grand Finale of the San Pellegrino competition.