Driven by the belief that research and development are the foundation for creating unforgettable culinary experiences, Camila Fiol is on a mission to craft confections that fuse imagination with identity.
As the acclaimed pastry chef behind Dulcería Fiol in Santiago, she brings local ingredients to life through unique flavor combinations that celebrate Chilean heritage. Named Latin America’s Best Pastry Chef 2024 by 50 Best, Camila continues to push the boundaries of traditional pastry, transforming each dessert into a journey through taste and creativity.
How does the integration of local ingredients into confectionery contribute to preserving and promoting a country’s cultural identity through food?
I think it plays a significant role in several ways, like preserving the culinary heritage and traditions, also supports local economy and promotes culinary tourism.
I work a lot with local Ingredients specially when I have to cook overseas, and I have the chance to showcase the biodiversity that we have (Chile it’s the longest country in the world) using fruits, nuts, spices, and other products that are unique to a certain area. This can lead to distinctive flavors and textures not found elsewhere. For example, using indigenous berries in pâte de fruit or local honey in nougat directly connects the confection to the land.
In what ways can research and development in gastronomy open new sensory pathways that transcend traditional flavor boundaries?
I don’t believe that pastry has to be only sweet. It can have all of the basic tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami). And it’s my job (and of all the pastry chefs) to encourage the clients to be more open minded, and also Investigate and incorporate techniques (more used in the savory world) like fermentation, pickles, frying, and innovative ingredient combinations, like combine unexpected flavors or textures to create new sensory experiences and challenge traditional flavor boundaries.
How does combining traditional ingredients like fried corn and merkén with chocolate in confections reflect the evolution of local culinary heritage while appealing to modern taste preferences?
I make a research of traditional Chilean confections (that’s the technical part) and then we mix it with native/endemic flavors, which some of them are not well known. And that’s how we show our work at Fiol Dulcería. I think it’s a beautiful way to show our native ingredients in a different way, to Chilean and foreigners.
How does the incorporation of savory elements like blue cheese into traditionally sweet products challenge conventional flavor pairings and expand the boundaries of dessert innovation?
Before I was a pastry chef, I was a savory chef. So that’s my savory part. Including cheeses, bacon, vegetables, kimchi, miso, tucupí from the Amazonas etc… at first was very difficult, we had some rights and some wrongs. But people love to experience new and different things.
In what ways can blue cheese ice cream serve as a sensory bridge between gastronomy and artisanal craftsmanship, redefining consumer expectations of flavor harmony?
We always have a cheese ice cream (they change every week) and every time, we mix it with some fruit. Like pear, blackberry, raspberry, figs etc… sweet and savory, so you can’t find it “that strange”.
The most crazy thing that we had, was a kimchi ice cream sandwich, with cherry jam and black sesame cookie. In Chile we have a large Korean community, so almost everybody knows what kimchi is.
