The Foreign Service Journal, March 2019

36 MARCH 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Mun was my greatest mentor, and at the end of challenging days in the office I sometimes let my mind wander to what my life might have been like had I taken his offer to cook full time. The author plates her dish, “Malene’s Special Chicken,” at iLatina in Buenos Aires in 2013. Shown, left to right: iLatina Chef Santiago Macias Acuña, Line Cook Miguel Valenzuela, Pastry Chef Vanessa Zorzoli and the author. Inset: Menu card from the Food Diplomacy event. ALL IMAGESCOURTESYOFMALENECARR became a sauna with steel-plated personal protective equipment (PPE) on. I tore off my helmet immediately. I wore the bulletproof vest for a third of the class, but eventually took that off, too. Form- ing perfect gnocchi in front of 20 students is impossible when you are dressed like a metal ninja turtle. (FYI, the security detail granted me permission to remove PPE while at the venue.) We discussed American cuisine and jokingly threw flour at each other. They were curious about life away from the chaos, T-walls and daily explosions. For two tasty hours, I forgot I was in a war zone. My students promised to try the recipes at home, and pleaded for me to teach again. By the time we got back to the embassy gates, happy tears soaked my flour-cov- ered PPE. Rolling gnocchi always brings me back to that magical day. Fast forward to post number four: Buenos Aires. By then I had happily slaved away in a few kitchens and stepped up my “chef de partie” game. I met Mun, a Korean-American chef, at an Asian American event, and subsequently dined at his “puertas cerradas,” a restaurant for guests with reservations only. I wanted to learn from this Wall Street executive-turned-executive chef, so I convinced him to take me under his wing. Mun does not cook—he creates edible stories. Each of Mun’s recipes is significant; a spice from his childhood, or a dish only served to the Korean royal court. He shared fusion dishes celebrating local ingredients, enhanced my knife skills and introduced me to Japanese steel. I made mis- takes and messes, but he was patient. I cooked meals for the restaurant staff (called a family meal in the “biz”), and gradually moved up to dinner service. Mun was my greatest mentor, and at the end of challenging days in the office, I sometimes let my mind wander to what my life might have been like had I taken his offer to cook full-time. (He just opened MUN, his third restaurant. If I ever go missing, check Mun’s kitchen first!) Next, I partnered with iLa- tina’s owner, Chef Santiago Macias Acuña (and siblings Laura and Camilo), who brought Colombian flavors to Buenos Aires with a unique and sophisticated twist. The handful of times I cooked alongside Chef Santiago were what foodie dreams are made of. I leapt at the chance to learn his recipes: smoked salt atop dark chocolate mousse drizzled with fruity olive oil, and patacones , fried plaintain slices topped with duck confit and home- made pickles for just enough acid to cut the fat. Chef Santiago and I offered a tasting menu for the diplomatic corps. Four chiefs of mission RSVP’ed, along with diplomats frommore than 15 foreign missions. Chef Santiago asked me to put one of my dishes on the menu, and I exploded with pride serving a modern version of my mother’s recipes to my diplomatic friends. For the first time ever, my American flag pin was on full display in the kitchen, and it has been there ever since. Sassy British writer and food blogger Sorrel Mosely-Williams