Boragó in Santiago, Chile, may be a familiar name in 2025, but was practically unheard of in 2006 when it opened and during subsequent years.
It took nearly closing and being listed on Latin America's 50 Best restaurants to turn Boragó and its chef-patron Rodolfo Guzmán into an industry name.
"I like to talk about forces moving you forward. In my case, it is three things: understanding who you are, where you're come from and where you got to run. For many years, Chileans thought we had no culture and that we had no food. If anything, Chile is one of the biggest endemic countries in the world. Our natives have been around for the last 4,000 years and 80% of Chileans are mestizo [a person of mixed heritage]. The original ingredients we have make a lot of sense.
"Where I go, it's about the momentum of our land. Boragó is very pragmatic in that sense and we cook with what Mother Earth gives us," says the chef.
Rather ironically, the restaurant's name Boragó is derived from a small genus of perennial herbs that are native to the Mediterranean region.
Boragó. Boragó
"When I was young, I got so lost in life and this project was going to be the only serious thing that I would do. I wasn't sure if I was ready or not. So I wanted to read the name every single day, just to make sure I was not going to get lost. The accent on the 'o' changes the meaning of the words in Spanish. As humans we have the ability to change reality within time," explains the chef.
He wanted to read the name daily and remind him of the path he chose, which was 18 years ago in January.
"One ingredient at that time meant one possibility. We were happy. Nowadays, one ingredient means at least 300 possibilities. I have the feeling that painters in the Renaissance had. We built something very unique and authentic and I'm proud of it. This fact has shaped the way we cook.
"Boragó is not about technique. We want to be more attached to the cooking methods of our natives."
Twenty years ago, people were not going to Chile for the food like Mexico and Peru, says the chef. "But nowadays, we have the most unique seafood on Earth and we feel that it is different, even for us at the restaurant. We feel that we have amazing tools to cook and it is changing because Chile has something to say -- very loud, very, very loud."
While Boragó may be unique and authentic, people have always called it "the South American Noma". "Noma is an amazing restaurant in all senses. But Boragó is different. We understand life from different perspectives. We can be similar, not only with Noma, but with so many other restaurants around the world who are serious and passionate. Once you eat at these restaurants, you'll learn that we are different. We have different ingredients, approaches, perspectives, seasons and even opposite seasons.
An immersion into the native Araucania forest. Boragó
"I'm not going to use the word 'creativity'. I lean more towards originality and imagination. Boragó is very serious about these two things," explains the chef.
As with most chefs with restaurants like Boragó, chef Guzmán wrote a book in 2017 titled Boragó: Coming From The South. In the book, he combines his narratives about Chilean geography and ingredients, never-before-published sketches of dishes and photographs that introduce readers to the pleasures of Chilean culture and cuisine. There are recipes, of course, which come from the menu at Boragó.
Chef Guzmán is currently writing another book, which may be out this year or early next year.
"This is a process that started when we first opened doors. We didn't want to be conceptual. We knew nothing about being Chilean. Can you believe this? So, we started learning. Knowledge, for us, is very relevant and we started learning to build things that we never dreamt of. It was probably not the purpose but it happened organically because of the need.
"It was to understand who we are, where we come from and what we have around. We ended up categorising and classifying the entire land through the eyes of food, something that has never happened before. Yes, we have a dictionary. We have to publish it at some point. But at the moment, for the restaurant, it's not a 'write-it-down'. We have it in mind and it is applied every season. It's the application of the scenario in the day-to-day.
The pink tomato from El Maule. Boragó
"At the beginning, we thought Chilean cooking was plain. Now we think it's multi-directional. It's like a tree, which is not the same in different seasons. We know how it grows, who is eating it, like the Mapuches, and for how long. We are the continuation and now we feel truly Chilean. Now, we feel complete," chef Guzmán explains.
In 2019, the maverick chef secretly moved Boragó to the foot of Santiago's highest mountain, named Cerro Manquehue, or The Place Of Condors, in Mapudungun, Mankewe. It is where traces of the ancient Mapuche culture can be found, which is closely followed at the restaurant. This move, he says, happened because "life happened". Boragó also owns a biodynamic farm, which supplies the restaurant and a research centre called CIB.
"This is what we needed -- a reception area for food and to take it forward. So we created research incentives divided into different areas. Considering that our country remains very pristine, there are many possibilities for the next generation."
Boragó follows Mapuche culture, who are indigenous hunter-gatherers of southern Chile and Argentina. The restaurant works with more than 200 foraging communities and small producers all over the country. The ingredients come from coastlines, mountain tops and the restaurant's farm.
"The challenges are very obvious. The centre was created to let Chileans know the importance of food through taste and through cooking. If it tastes good, you want it again and again. That's the power of culture and cooking," chef Guzmán explains.
"Though southern Chile's Patagonia was mostly frozen and remains one of the last areas of the ice age, the area called Valdivian wasn't frozen. So, you have marsupials that fit in your hand and snails that are huge [the black land snail is Chile's largest species of snail]. Things that you get to see are amazing. Our natives have been eating these for the last 4,000 years," adds the chef excitedly.
Loco tartar seasoned with three marine vegetable extracts. Boragó
The region is also where the chef met a man called Don Pasquale who taught him about the flora and fauna.
Though it hasn't always been smooth. After six years of business, Boragó was put up for sale and chef Guzmán lost hope. Well, that was the case until he attended the 2013 Latin American 50 Best restaurant awards where the restaurant entered the list at No.18.
"I came back to Chile and the restaurant was fully booked. We went from not a single booking to being fully booked within a month for at least six months. A reality change from one extreme to the next," he says.
That was the turning point for Boragó when the game had changed forever. "I feel very blessed with that.
"I immediately called Don Pasquale and told him that I have a fully booked restaurant and I needed 100kg of tiny wild apples from Patagonia. I thought he was gonna say, 'Forget about it'. But instead, he responded with 'I know a bunch of natives who will forage them'.
"That's how we started creating with Don Pasquale and 50 people. We paid lots of money because we wanted them to be super proud. We see value in the world where we live. This is why I keep stressing on the fact that Boragó is not a concept, but we are the continuation."
Loyo, one of the most spectacular wild ingredients in Boragó's native pantry. Boragó
This was why CIB was set up. The goal was to explore and to push the boundaries of Chilean ingredients. "Ingredients that grow in Chile don't grow anywhere else, not even in Latin America. The goal was also to learn about the taste. But we expected one goal and we got 10 back. In 2016, we opened a test kitchen and we started seeing everything up close. So we grew and now our goal is to donate to the wealth of the world in terms of knowledge."
Chile is the world's largest producer of seaweed due to its 6,400km coastline. Though most of it is exported to industrial and pharmaceutical industries, chef Guzmán is now on a mission to change the way Chileans see seaweed, having found its gastronomical potential is largely untapped.
"We have more than 700 kinds of seaweed. Even the Loyo mushroom that no one pays attention to is a seaweed. It's a huge amount of protein. It's like top level. It has so much to offer to the world. So Chile will have a voice in terms of gastronomy and in terms of unique taste."
During the pandemic, Boragó created MuuMami, an online order service selling burgers and ice cream. However, this wasn't an ordinary burger. MuuMami's burgers were created with native produce, still retaining the essence of Boragó.
Jibia (a kind of giant squid). Boragó
"Inside our research centre, we have something called 'other processes' and this includes natural processes. We learn from very smart people with vast knowledge in their areas of expertise. It's fascinating in the sense that when it comes to food, we humans know nothing. I like to think I know nothing. I'm ready to learn. A long time ago, I became a professional learner and I like to be wrong and learn something else, to move forward, to discuss what I know best and what I like most."
"This is very important -- Boragó is not about fermentation," stresses the chef. "It's much more complex than fermentation. If I take you to the native forest, make you drag your fingers through leaves of trees that have been around for 100,000 years, you'll discover that it's the most delicious thing you've tasted in your life. It makes sense. That's why our natives cook with that leaf. Now you understand nature better. That's the future of our food.
"Boragó is an experimental restaurant, not a fancy or casual restaurant. To describe it best would be to say it is an experimental Chilean restaurant."
After 18 years of discovery, the chef is still discovering new ingredients but not just that. "We are discovering possibilities. The restaurant may be a business but knowledge doesn't have to have a roof."
Cold Pulmay of rhubarb and copihue salad with wild fruits candies. Boragó
