During my trip to Ecuador in late June, I dined at Somos Restaurant, in Quito, Ecuador. The theme of Somos restaurant is “Ecuadorian Born, Globally Inspired.” Somos restaurant specializes in preparing locally-available, indigenous foods and advocates for sustainable gastronomy.
Here are some photos of the impressive restaurant, including the delicious dishes we sampled from the menu including the Pan de Yuca (warm cassava bread topped with aged cheese, served with guava chutney) as an appetizer. As a main course, I had the Cloiflor Andina (Cauliflower with Amazonian turmeric, lentil-miso puree, and tamarind chutney). We shared the Berenjena Asada (Eggplant on a smoky tomato sauce, macrambo tahini and crispy sourdough crumbs). Luckily our hotel room had a small refrigerator where we could store the leftovers from this delicious meal, until the next day.
Learn more about Sustainable Gastronomy from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at:
Sustainable Gastronomy Day: June 18, 2025
https://www.fao.org/sustainable-gastronomy-day/en
What is Sustainable Gastronomy?
Gastronomy is sometimes called the art of food.
“It can also refer to a style of cooking from a particular region. In other words, gastronomy often refers to local food and cuisine. Sustainability is the idea that something (e.g. agriculture, fishing or even preparation of food) is done in a way that is not wasteful of our natural resources and can be continued into the future without being detrimental to our environment or health.
Sustainable gastronomy, therefore, means cuisine that takes into account where the ingredients are from, how the food is grown and how it gets to our markets and eventually to our plates.” (UN FAO, 2025)
Learn more about Somos Restaurant and the work of Founder and Chef Alejandra Espinoza, at:
References
Sustainable Gastronomy Day – June 18. United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). June 18, 2025. Available at: https://www.fao.org/sustainable-gastronomy-day/en
Sustainable RDN 