Well-seasoned
There has never been a better time to savor simplicity. Menu International is proud to showcase a duet of seasoned veterans who embrace the poetry of old-school cooking composed with fresh ingredients and time-honored recipes. One hails from Italy, the other from Columbia, but Aruba is where they chose to open their kitchens and hearts to the world.
Like many islands in the Caribbean, Aruba has realized that developing its own food resources is the best way to not only control costs and guarantee consistency, but also to put native flavors and dishes on restaurant menus. Both of our chefs grew up cooking under the watchful eyes of family matriarchs and shopping daily at markets in their hometowns. Their respective menus reflect that proud dedication to roots. Our chefs come naturally to shortening the distance from farm to table. Your table.
— Photography Kenneth Theysen
Domenica Baroncini (known to friends and restaurant guests as Mimma) has travelled the world as a tour guide for over 15 years.
In her role, she was constantly around food. “One of my main concerns was getting in touch with restaurant managers or whomever was in charge to get the best meals for my customers,” Baroncini says. Through years of experience, she began to learn what separates a good restaurant from an excellent restaurant in the eyes of guests dining in a foreign country for the first time. After living in Africa, the United States, Thailand, among others, Baroncini settled in Aruba where she and her business partner opened Pizza and More Pizzeria Trattoria Italiana in Oranjestad. Baroncini got to know the Aruban community and shared her Italian cuisine roots with guests. Now, the legacy of her delicious, authentic Italian cuisine has followed her to the newest venture—Terrazza Italiana.
Birth place: Imola, Bologna.
Birth country: Italy.
Favorite Aruban dish: Fried funchi (polenta fritta).
Favorite drink: Aperol spritz.
Favorite food trend: Urban farm produce.
Favorite beach: Eagle Beach, because it is wide and long and quiet (not that much nowadays!). You can walk, swim or just relax.
Favorite song to cook to: Hotel California, by the Eagles.
Best meal of your life: Iranian caviar I ate in Tehran almost 25 years ago… I can still taste the flavor!
Favorite local ingredient: Pica di papaya (spicy sauce locally-made).
A recipe your mother still makes for you today: Tortellini.
On a deserted island, which 3 ingredients would you bring?: Spaghetti, tomato, basil.
What is your comfort food?: Bollito (Italian stew made with a mix of simmered meats) with salsa verde (an Italian chimichurri).
What would your last meal be: Cannelloni: fresh pasta filled with bolognese, rolled up and baked in the oven with lots of béchamel and Parmesan.
Harold Castro started his career in the kitchen at the Tequendama Hotel in Colombia.
Castro studied to be a chef but attributes his time at the hotel as “the best school in Colombia for me.” He says he learned different styles of cooking in that kitchen: English, American, French, Italian, Colombian. His experience in restaurants throughout Colombia brought him to the executive chef level and his reputation attracted attention. Restaurant owners from Aruba approached Castro to help them open a fine dining restaurant. They told him, “We have a restaurant, we have partners, and we need a chef like you,” Castro recalls. When he finally decided to make the move to Aruba, he thought he’d stay for two years. Now, with 28 years of being in Aruba under his belt, he’s worked in many of the island’s top resorts, and was a key member of the team responsible for opening Water’s Edge Restaurant & Bar at the Costa Linda Beach Resort.
Birth place: Bogota.
Birth country: Colombia.
Favorite Aruban dish: Slow-cooked goat stew with cucumber and banana.
Favorite drink: Colombian coffee because of its unique flavor and because it reminds me of home.
Favorite food trend: Creole food (stewed red snapper).
Favorite beach: All the beaches in Aruba are beautiful, but I would have to say Eagle Beach, because it is one of the largest beaches in Aruba and it sits right in front of my restaurant.
Favorite song to cook to: Salsa music by El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico.
Best meal of your life: Arroz con habichuela (rice and beans) with Colombian tamales prepared by my mother. This dish reminds me of my childhood.
Favorite local ingredient: Fresh herbs that are grown here in my garden and used in my restaurant kitchen.
A recipe your mother still makes for you today: Red beans and pork.
On a deserted island, which 3 ingredients would you bring?: Sugar, garlic and Colombian coffee.
What is your comfort food?: I like traditional foods from different countries that are prepared at home and shared with the family, usually home-made soups, stewed dishes.
What would your last meal be: Ajiaco bogotano (Colombian chicken and potato soup), one of the best soups in the world, made with 3 different kinds of potatoes, chicken and corn.
