The Flavor of COP16

Agrobiodiversity is the variety of flavors, colors, and life that enrich our diets, cultures, and ecosystems. In this new campaign - aligned with the upcoming COP16 on biodiversity in Cali, Colombia from Oct 21-Nov 1 2024 - the Alliance aims to promote the conscious consumption of local products and highlight the close link between biodiversity and our food.

To achieve this, we took a culinary journey through Cali - the home of our largest research campus - and its surroundings. Alongside chefs and food lovers, we learned to prepare delicious recipes inspired by our local agrobiodiversity, demonstrating that these foods not only increase health and livelihoods but also contribute to a more resilient environment.

And you... what does COP16 taste like to you? Share your photo or video on social media with the hashtag #TheFlavorOfCOP16 and join us on this culinary journey!

We've launched "Show us your Dish: What's the Flavor of COP16?”: A delicious Instagram contest where 12 lucky participants will win a culinary experience in Cali, Colombia, at one of the restaurants from our 'A qué sabe la COP16' recipe series! Curious? 👇

🙌 How to participate:  

  • Follow these Instagram accounts: @bioversityciat, @donde_leon, @lasazondelanegramonik, @historiasenbicicleta, @yonosoychef, @criollan_lovers @labasculacocinayespecias, @rringlete and @ dulcinea_cafe_vintage
  • Go to the pinned post on our Instagram profile and leave a comment with an ingredient or dish that symbolizes COP16 for you.
  • Upload an Instagram story with a photo of a biodiverse dish, tagging @bioversityciat and using the hashtag #aquesabelaCOP16!

🎯 Deadline: November 1st : the last day of the COP16 conference on #biodiversity!

📱 Important: If your profile is private, send us a screenshot of your story via DM!

⚠️ Participants must be residents of Cali, over the age of 18.

✨ We look forward to seeing your dishes!

Terms and conditions (Spanish)

COP16 tastes like...

To Marisol, #COP16Colombia tastes like Colombian ‘achiote’ seeds! We visited La Báscula (‘the Scale’) - a shop in Cali with spices, tea, nuts, honey, and plenty more. 🍽️ Marisol showed us her iconic Creole seasoning, which combines achiote seeds—a traditional spice used in Colombia’s Pacific and Caribbean regions—with garlic, coriander seeds, onion, thyme, and achiote, bringing joy to many simple dishes.

La Báscula sources its ingredients from small businesses, do we also found pepper from #Putumayo, vanilla from #Chocó, and plenty more. And you... what does COP16 taste like? Upload your photo or video with the hashtag #TheFlavorOfCOP16!

Find these and many other products that showcase our agrobiodiversity in your nearest marketplace

Discover all the products in our campaign

To José and Edwin, #COP16 tastes like cacao: Not a chocolate bar or a hot drink, but as a sweet and spicy traditional sauce. 🚴 They invited us to their restaurant ‘Historias en Bicicleta’ (‘Bicycle Stories’) to taste a delicious dish with valluna cutlet bathed in ‘mole’ #cacao sauce. And... what does COP16 taste like to you? Upload your photo or video with the hashtag #TheFlavorOfCOP16!
 

To Ricardo, #COP16 tastes like plantain! Even better: ripe plantain tortillas! Ricardo - from the restaurant 'Yo no soy Chef' ("I'm not a chef") - prepared this delicious #plantbased dish of tacos filled with orellana mushrooms avocado almond spread and pickled onions in plantain tortillas! These #glutenfree tortillas are so versatile that they go with everything, and can be an excellent choice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And you... what does COP16 taste like to you? Upload your photo or video with the hashtag #TheFlavorOfCOP16!

In our first recipe, we prepared a delicious pumpkin soup with Martha and Dominga, talented cooks from Ringlete restaurant in Cali. They taught us the art of waste-free cooking, showing us how to use every part of the squash, from the seeds to the peel.

After tasting the soup, we realized that the care and intention put into cooking are a reflection of the heart, reminding us that the everyday can be truly wonderful.

For our second recipe, we traveled to the village of La Leonera, a beautiful area in the Farallones de Cali, rich in life, ecosystems, and biodiversity.

Together with the Quesada sisters — who do wonderful work with the community and make delicious artisanal preserves, jams, pickles, and traditional sweets — we prepared chachafruit hummus. Inspired by Middle Eastern cuisine but interested in taking advantage of this fruit that grows in the surrounding forests, we tasted this innovative recipe.
 

After enjoying wonderful food from #Colombi’s Pacific, today we continue integrating this rich culture into our cooking with a special recipe: cassava ‘repingachos’ stuffed with cheese. The talented chef Lida Venté - with her lovely voice and timbiquireño delicacies - delighted us with songs from her homeland and opened her doors to share this exquisite dish. This recipe is very easy! Do you dare to bring the Pacific to your table? 

For Andrés Felipe, #COP16 tastes like granadilla and 'mamoncillo' fruit! It is said that the best food is the one from home, and that's why we invited one of the chefs from our Palmira campus's restaurant to spoil us with a fruity 'mamoncillo' caramel dessert. 

The smoothness and mix of tropical flavors made us feel like children, licking our fingers to finish it all! And... what does COP16 taste like to you? Try this recipe and show off your #creativity!  

Any self-respecting resident of #Cali, #Colombia has eaten chontaduro with salt and honey, but there are many ways to eat it! We visited the traditional neighborhood of San Antonio: full of history and great food. Together with Dilimar - the chef of Valle Pacifico restaurant - we discovered a new addiction: chontaduro rolls! Try this recipe alongside a simple açaí lemonade! 🥤  

In the neighborhood of San Antonio (Cali, Colombia), visiting Domingo is an unforgettable experience. More than a restaurant, it is an educational project that boosts biodiversity and Colombia’s gastronomic heritage. Catalina Vélez showed us how to make the best of native products, delighting us with delicious fish with wild guava sauce on a bed of mashed ‘achin’ potato and coconut milk. 

In the Colombian Pacific, garden herbs are traditionally grown in people’s backyards, on wooden structures or canoes to protect them from potential flooding. Among the most common are ‘chillangua’ (a local cilantro variety) and ‘chirarán’ (purple basil).

With these herbs, Leonardo Carrara - owner of Dulcinea (a vegan café-restaurant in Cali), prepared us a delicious fishy tofu called ‘from sea to sea’. His herby tofu marinade and exquisite Pacific Creole sauce were the stars. What do you think of this special menu?

And you… what does #COP16 taste like to you? 

To Ruby, #COP16 tastes like Cali's native 'cider potato'! This ancestral fruit is as versatile as it is delicious: it can be prepared in soups, stews, salads, drinks, and even in desserts, as Ruby showed us in her restaurant 'Donde León'. 🍬 Through her sweet and creative cuisine, Ruby explores the best uses of #Colombia's native products.
And... what does COP16 taste like to you? 

Join this gastronomic adventure!

What are your thoughts on COP16? Share your photo or video on social media with the hashtag #TheFlavorOfCOP16.

Download the press release

Contact

Sara Rankin: [email protected]

María Fernanda Mejia: [email protected]