“We felt like he was our friend and he was hosting us as guests in his city. He knew all of the local vendors and gave us the authentic tour we were hoping for. ”
— Holland, 2026
01 Food tours
Original food tours, curated with our local tastemakers to showcase the neighbourhood kitchens, markets and family-run eateries that define Santiago.
02 Meet the tastemakers
The local food experts who help us research, refine and lead every A Chef's Tour.
Pebre salsa on the bread, wood fired asado, curanto pit cooked shellfish, mote con huesillo peach and wheat drink. Chile cleans up its Andean neighbours with restraint.
04 The pantry
- Merken, smoked Mapuche chilli powder
- Choclo, sweet Andean corn for pastel and humitas
- Pebre, fresh tomato-onion-coriander salsa on every table
- Cochayuyo, dried Pacific bull kelp for stews and salads
- Ulmo honey, floral honey from Patagonian forests
05 In the kitchen
- Baking pastel de choclo corn pie under a caramelised top
- Simmering cazuela chunky broth with beef, corn, pumpkin and rice
- Grilling asado over wood in the country tradition
- Cooking curanto in a pit lined with hot stones and nalca leaves
- Layering mote con huesillos peach and wheat drink over ice
06 Eat this first
- Pastel de choclo, sweet-corn pie with beef, chicken, olive and raisin
- Empanadas de pino, beef, onion and olive empanadas baked to order
- Chorrillana, mound of fries topped with steak, egg and onion
- Curanto, pit-cooked shellfish and meats served with milcao potato bread
- Mote con huesillo, sweet cold drink of dried peach and wheat berries
What happens inside a hammam kitchen
A morning with the cooks who feed the neighbourhood before dawn. Charcoal, dough, the smell of a bakery working its second oven.
09 Recipes
A collection of authentic recipes we couldn't leave behind.
Beef slow-braised with onion, garlic and red wine until the gravy turns dark and glossy. The Chilean home-cooking classic, always served with mashed potato.
A layer of blitzed sweet corn with basil baked over a filling of beef, chicken, olive, raisin and boiled egg. Chile's summer national dish, served in a clay paila with sugar caramelised on top.
Razor clams on the half shell, topped with butter, parmesan and a splash of white wine, blistered under a hot grill. Chile's Pacific coast bar snack.
A clay bowl of Pacific shellfish and fish poached in a tomato-and-wine broth, thick with coriander. Chile's classic seafood stew, also the country's most-prescribed hangover cure.
The Chilean hot dog: sausage on a soft bun, buried under mashed avocado, chopped tomato and a mountain of mayo. Green, red and white, the colours of the completo Italiano.
Crab meat baked with milk-soaked bread, white wine, cream and a lot of cheese in individual clay bowls. Chile's Pacific coast comfort food.
10 Field Notes
Quick field notes to help you get accustomed to Santiago.
Weather
Mediterranean. Hot dry summers (December–February, 30°C-plus) and cool wet winters (5–15°C, occasional snow in the surrounding Andes). Spring and autumn are ideal.
Currency
The Chilean peso (CLP). Cards accepted almost everywhere. Cash useful for smaller shops and markets.
Language
Spanish (with distinctive Chilean slang and a very fast pace). English coverage is decent in Providencia and Las Condes, thinner elsewhere.
Etiquette
Reserved by South American standards. More European in feel. Punctuality is appreciated.
Getting around
The metro is fast, cheap, clean, and covers most of the city. Get a Bip! card. Uber, Cabify, and DiDi all work; and taxis are cheap.
Prayer
Predominantly Catholic. Growing Evangelical community too. Sundays fill the cathedral. Chile is one of the more secular Latin American countries in daily practice.