With her dreadlocks and tattoos, at first glance Carolina Bazán could be an eco-warrioress. But appearances are deceptive.

The Chilean chef’s impressive culinary curriculum – which includes honing skills in Lima, Milan and Paris – meant she was recently anointed the ‘One to Watch’ at Latin America’s 50 Best awards for her restaurant Ambrosía in Santiago.

A diplomat’s daughter, Carolina lived in various corners of the Americas until she was 13, giving her a taste for diversity. Her mother, the ambassador’s wife, would take cookery classes before trying out new creations on visitors. Carolina says: “The house was always full of people and we kids would be the waitstaff. Although it’s hard to adapt to change when you’re young – I was born in Buenos Aires and lived in New York, Peru and Washington – I look back now and I’m grateful for having lived through other realities as it means I can be flexible with my menus now. When we definitively returned to Chile, my mum set up a small eatery called Ambrosía and I’d help cut mushrooms after school.”

With gastronomy in her DNA, Carolina signed on for cookery school when she was 18.

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Ph: Leclic Estudio