From the Mouth to the Heart: Cookbook Pavilion full of Flavorful Words

From the Mouth to the Heart: Cookbook Pavilion full of Flavorful Words
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, 17/05/2011

The Cookbook Pavilion is a space that brings food together with literature, art and culture while offering a delectable blend of flavors and smells to the
public who visit the XIV International Book Fair. 

The Cookbook Pavilion is promoting this event with a large number of literary and knowledgeable people from the world of gastronomy who are sharing their experiences while explaining various techniques in the art of cooking.

This year, the Book Fair is dedicating its cooking pavilion to the well-known culinary expert, Esperanza Lithgow de Ceara, who received recognition from the Ministry of Culture for her contributions in furthering the knowledge and promotion of Dominican culinary culture.

The Cookbook Pavilion is promoting this event with a large number of literary and knowledgeable people from the world of gastronomy who are sharing their experiences while explaining various techniques in the art of cooking.

Everyday visitors can have lunch in the Cookbook Pavilion with the writers being honored here at the Street Dedication in the fairgrounds. Those writers who have come to the pavilion to share their stories, verses, anecdotes and their taste in food include Federico Henríquez Gratereaux, Dió-genes Abreu, Carlos Mieses Burgos, Miguel Franjul, Monsignor Ramón Benito de la Rosa y Carpio, Lucía Amelia Cabral, Monsignor Rafael Bello Peguero, Fernando Cabrera, Irenes Pérez Guerra, Manuel Núñez and Manuel García Cartagena.

At 3:00 each day, there is an after-lunch cultural encounter in which poets such as Rossalina Benjamín, Augusto Bueno, Isis Aquino and  Lusitania Martínez talk about their work and plans. One day, Benilda Llenas de Herrera gave a talk on the benefits of plantains and the various ways to prepare them. Juan Manuel Méndez García, Director of the Emergency Operation Center (COE), spoke on another occasion about disaster prevention and the first responder work the COE is doing.

Since the beginning of the Book Fair, the Cookbook Pavilion has had visits from famous chefs and educators in its Sublime Deleite space at 5:00 every afternoon. The visiting chefs who have shared this space are Kargl Franks, Marisela de Mañón, Sergio Marchelletti, Carlos Estrella and Master Chef Esperanza Lithgow.

At 7:00 pm in Sazonando Metáforas, musicians come by to share what they do best. There has already been a musical performance by Niní Cáffaro, who spoke about her artistic career. Other artists who have stopped by are  photographer Faustino Pérez, writer and publicist Ramón Saba, the poet and writer Tomás Castro Burdiez and Rafael Chaljub Mejía, promoter and distributor of Dominican folk and traditional music. Mejía shared his experiences and fondness for traditional customs.

We cannot leave out the area in the pavilion with the books on Creole food and cooking. There we find the “Easy Kitchen” by Esperanza Lithgow; “Woman: Kitchen Recipes” by Silvia H. De Pou; “The Art of Cooking” by Brenda E. Gil; “Cooking is Easy” by Claudia López; “The Origin of Dominican Cooking, Dominican Cocktales, Dominican Sweets and Gastronomic Forklore of the South,” by Juan B. Nina.

There are also lots of book raffles and drawings going on at the Cookbook Pavilion with the participation of the visiting public. The topic usually consists of questions and answers about Creole food. There is music, songs and merengues that allude to the daily task of cooking Dominican food, such as Sancocho Prieto, Patacón Pisao, Baja y tapa la olla, Plátano maduro no vuelve a verde, among other songs playing here in the Cookbook Pavilion.

Front façade of the Cookbook Pavilion.