Tipping in South America is not as common as in the United States. In South America, people can begrudge that percentage, and tend to take service for granted. In order for waiters to get their wages, in some countries restaurants will add a 10% tip to the bill, automatically, without your being able to do anything about it. Good or bad service, the waiter will get his share. What does all this mean for you when you have a meal out in Colombia?
We always seem to have the desire to celebrate those in our community whose creative impulses make them look beyond themselves and their immediate benefit and see the big picture of the community they belong to. These are people who manage to reach deep within and find what matters most, and then publicly present that for others to share. For women working within the male-dominated restaurant industry, that’s not easy to do. But Chef Luz Beatriz Vélez has been doing that for years. As chef and co-founder of the restaurant Abasto, she has been focusing on local ingredients and working with farmers and artisan producers.
I've lived in Latin America for about 22 years. I've traveled and lived all over the map, and I’ve seen my fair share of dingy buses, overcrowded subways, and lonely stretches of highway reaching into the jungle. And along the way, I've learned a thing or two about getting robbed. And avoiding it.
Around the world, people love chocolate. Proof of that is seen in countries such as England, Switzerland, and Germany, where the average resident consumes an average of 11 kilos of this sweet tropical treat every year. And although Africa produces the largest amounts of cocoa in the world, Colombia is known for producing the type of cocoa recognized as having the highest quality.
100% Colombian coffee – that expression is known around the world. Coffee has been one of Colombia’s most steady exports for decades. But what is it like to drink a cup of coffee in Colombia?