What do a hamburger and an artichoke have in common? The city of La Plata. Platense artichokes grow in its horticultural cordon, those wonderful edible flowers with identification of origin, which at this time celebrate their harvest with a party, on October 1 and 2. The celebrations extend until October 15 in a series of restaurants that will use these unique artichokes in their preparations, including Carne, the hamburger restaurant of Mauro Colagreco, a national pride chef installed in France with his Mirazur restaurant, with three Michelin stars.
Meat’s commitment to producers in the area is one of the engines of the proposal. They select them for their level of excellence but also collaborate with them to contribute to it. “Gastronomy has a beastly level of impact”
– Carolina Colagreco tells us, the sister of
Mauro in charge of Meat- “It is necessary to think as a community to protect the soil, the seeds, the biodiversity. Bringing this product closer also empowers the consumer, it creates awareness that every time you eat, you choose the world you want to live in.”
The Colagreco work with pasture animals, and promote responsible consumption: 150 grams per hamburger, the recommended amount per person per week. They promote organic agricultural projects in the area (they donated 65 types of tomato seeds and with them they make their ketchup, which can be bought to take away). The bread is handmade, rolled by hand, because they believe in the cultural value of the transmission of trades, and that of the baker is disappearing. In their limited editions of hamburgers they show good practices, such as that of the Entre Ríos water buffalo, which they plan to replace in October. As one of its slogans says: “It’s not a hamburger, it’s an opinion in your mouth.”
For the artichoke party, they added artichoke hearts to their salad (very nutritious and tasty), and an artichoke dressing to their burger. A good combo to shop around La Plata (for more information @alcachofasplatenses).