Leonor Espinosa
Leonor Espinosa was born in Colombia on January 12th, 1963 and is the Chef. At the age of 61, Leonor Espinosa biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
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Leonor Espinosa De La Ossa, also known by her nickname 'Leo', is a Colombian chef whose Bogotá restaurant, Leo Cocina y Cava, featuring a fusion of traditional and modern Colombian cuisine, first brought her to international attention when it opened in 2007.
Espinosa appears regularly on Colombian television, and also runs the restaurants Leo Cocina y Cava and Misia. Her restaurant Leo Cocina y Cava was ranked in 2007 as one of the top 82 restaurants in the world by Conde Nast Traveller and has been awarded in 2014 and 2015 as one of the best restaurants in Colombia according to S. Pellegrino list of Latin Americas's 50 Best Restaurants.
Being a prominent landmark, known by celebrating the national cuisine through its menu, Leo Cocina y Cava is a must for visitors and travellers. Leo, has managed to refine tradition, memory and creativity.
Her culinary proposal claims Colombian native flavours, combining contemporary art with field research, anthropological insight and immersion in different geographical locations country.
In 2008 her vocation for gastronomic research led her to materialise the Leo Espinosa Foundation which aims to creates development initiatives in rural communities by strengthening culinary traditions, nutrition and food security. Her current culinary proposal BIOMA-CYCLE focuses on the study through research, development and innovation in the diverse ecosystems in the Colombian territory.
In each biome, she and her staff work with biologists, farmers and producers to make way for local products cuisine that recreates Colombia's collective memory.
Personal life and family
Leonor was born on January 12, 1963, in Cartago, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. She is the second of six children of Juan Antonio Espinosa and Josefina De la Ossa de Espinosa, originally from Sincé, a municipality located in the Colombian Caribbean region. These roots have printed the character and personality of Leonor, exerting a huge influence on her culinary proposal.
Leonor grew up and lived most of her youth in Cartagena, Bolívar, where she studied Economics and Fine Arts. Later, she devoted herself to marketing and advertising, achieving significant recognition in various agencies in Bogota during the 90's. Since 1998, Leonor decided to take her passion for arts to the culinary field through research and experiential learning of techniques, preparations and traditional ingredients of her country.
Her only daughter, Laura Hernandez Espinosa, studied International Relations and is a professional sommelier, Corporate Social Responsibility expert and MA in Development Studies with emphasis on food security. Laura is currently a business partner in various business ventures and also heads Espinosa's FUNLEO foundation.
Career and restaurants
Espinosa was born in economics and later, in advertising and fine arts. She began to express creativity by eating food and became a member of Bogotá's Claroscuro before opening Leo Cocina y Cava in 2007.
Her signature style, which was developed in Leo Cocina y Cava, is the use of traditional ingredients (many of which are unknown in popular cuisine) that are part of Colombia's disenfranchised indigenous, afro-descendant, and peasant communities. Espinosa does not restrict herself to any of the country's eight culinary regions, but instead blends them all 'capturing authentic flavors while also adding a modern twist and classy appearance.' Espinosa attributes her upbringing in Cartagena, which, with its blend of Spanish, African, and native Indian cultures, has been identified as the 'birthplace of Colombian cuisine.'
Espinosa's 'culinary experiments are both delectable and strange,' according to the New York Times in 2008. By Condé Nast Traveller magazine, Leo Cocina y Cava was selected as one of the world's top restaurants and then named as one of the top dining experiences by National Geographic Traveler in early 2010.
Espinosa's new casual concept, Misia, opened in June, 2015, just a few steps from the National Museum, which showcases Colombian cuisines.
Espinosa has endorsed government efforts to market Colombia as a "gastronomy tourism destination" at international events in Spain and Washington, D.C. The Colombian Ambassador to the United Kingdom has described her as the cook who'whets the appetite' for Colombian cuisine.
Awards
- Best Culinary Proposal: Leo Cocina y Cava (Revista La Barra, 2005)
- Most Innovative Restaurant: Leo Cocina y Cava (Revista La barra, 2005)
- Breakthrough Award: Leo Cocina y Cava (Revista La Barra, 2005, 2007)
- 82 best restaurants in the world, (Condé Nast Traveller magazine, 2007)
- Breakthrough Chef : Leonor Espinosa (Revista La Barra, 2005, 2007)
- Best Colombian Typical Cuisine Restaurant (Revista La Barra, 2007, 2008, 2009)
- 105 best dining experiences in the world (National Geographic Traveler, 2010)
- Best Colombian Chef (Premios La Barra, 2012)
- "En su mesa, 5 chefs colombianas con recetas para todos los días", Best Book of World Women Chefs (Paris Festival Du Livre De Cuisine, 2011)
- Latin Americas's 50 Best Restaurants, (2014-2015)
- 20 best leaders in Colombia (Revista Semana, 2015)