"El Rincón de Pancho", located on the second floor of the El Cardonal market, is a family restaurant specializing in coastal local food, with 27 years of experience in the field. It is run by Francisco Reyes, chef of the restaurant, who is already preparing, together with his team, to welcome the locals and tourists who come to visit the place during the next few weeks.
What does it mean to have your restaurant in Valparaíso and in such an important place as the Cardonal Market?
"I have a great admiration for Valparaíso, I am grateful for its porteño public, that is why in each of my preparations I deliver quality, where I demand the most from myself and abide by good gastronomic practices, in addition to constantly train the staff, however, the Cardonal market is full of many prejudices, but we must know the true meaning of this building to recognize its richness".
-We have noticed that your dishes come out of the kitchen with a particular decoration, why is that, could you explain it to us?
"It is due to an old Porteño tradition, since the Porteños who had no money to eat, used to fry a piece of bread in lard and drink tea and with that they made it through the day, so this cannot be forgotten, our past, we are heritage, but it cost the sacrifice and effort of many and that is why all our dishes are decorated with a piece of fried bread."
-Your business, along with others, has a quality seal, how did you acquire that seal?
"Together with 36 stores in Valparaíso, we launched the quality seal "Mosaico de sabores" (Mosaic of Flavors), where the technological entity is DUOC. They trained us for two years in good manufacturing practices. Each of these courses cost more than one million pesos per person and at that time UNESCO gave us a lot of support and this quality seal is positioned and safeguarded by the Municipality of Valparaíso. It is important to emphasize this, since we can associate and patent our products under a quality seal due to the devastated state of the industry".
-Finally, what are the measures to receive visitors?
"We prepare ourselves by complying with all the Covid protocols. This year is not like previous years, we invite people to come and enjoy responsibly, to visit established places and come to controlled places, Seremi de Salud (Health authority) is very strict with us, so we comply with the rules to the fullest, "he adds.If you wish to taste a traditional porteño dish, a hake with salad potato or a casserole roast, "Rincón de Pancho" awaits you during the national holidays.
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