What is Sabor?

Sabor - taste, flavour.

The Latin American kitchen is the meeting place of Incas, Mayans and Aztecs; Hispanic conquistadors, African slaves and European immigrants. From the contact between these cultures blossomed an outstanding mix of flavours and textures; where fruit, chocolate and hot pepper go with meat and poultry, fish are cold-cooked in citrus juices, and the flesh of a potato can be gold or purple.

Many of the staple foods of western cuisine originated long ago in Latin America, including turkeys, tomatoes, beans, corn, squash, pumpkin, avocado, pineapple and vanilla. Sixty to one hundred varieties of sweet and hot peppers were grown as far back as 7000 B.C. Potatoes and sweet potatoes were cultivated in Peru before the time of the Incas, 4500 years ago. The Mayans mixed cacao, chili peppers and corn into a spicy, frothy drink; and the Aztecs had their own version called Xocolatl (chocolate).

Soon after the Spanish and Portuguese arrived in the Americas the cuisines of the old and new worlds began to blend (Latin American speciality ropa vieja is a 16th century Spanish recipe); a fusion which was further influenced by African slaves whose culinary culture added yams, millet and okra. 19th and 20th century German settlers brought sausages, cheeses and beer to the South American menu, widening it further.

In the 1990s U.S.-based Latino chefs, inspired by global cuisine and a fresher style of cooking, began to blend European and Asian elements into their dishes, in adventurous combinations of flavours and ingredients. This lighter, healthier style became known as Nuevo Latino, and was immediately popular. It's what we serve at Sabor, and we hope you will enjoy it too.

Today, Latin American cuisine is a delicious marriage of the history and flavours of exploration. Come to Sabor and do some exploring of your own!