Cartagena, a city with multicultural cuisine

“Beautiful and picturesque.” This is how Mexican chef Jonatan Gómez Luna defines Cartagena. His first impulse, when he arrived at the city, was to go up to the terrace to appreciate the gorgeous views of the Historical Center, the modern city and the beautiful and romantic bay of Cartagena.

Gómez Luna was the creative mind behind the Red Knife restaurant in Cartagena, number 65 of Gourmet Inclusive®, the international chain of hotels and resorts. He has been twice in the city and from his first visit he fell in love with this place he considers beautiful and cultural.

Cartagena is a privileged city, especially because the other ones cannot offer as much as La Heroica does. “There is a multicultural cuisine going on, an amazing Historical Center full of mystique, nice beaches, imposing monuments, islands, a great hotel offer, and, the most important, a great cultural scene among other attractions. As the great chef he is, what he has done the most in Cartagena is to go out to visit restaurants, from the classic ones, to the most diverse street food vendors. “From drinking a fresh coco nut water, or eating an “arepita dulce”, or perhaps a brochette, I can learn what locals eat every day and then, from this cultural knowledge, I can adapt the traditional flavors with the ones that come from a conceptual kitchen”, says Gómez.

Walking around the streets of the old city for more than 4 hours; stopping to admire the balconies and the big colonial houses turned into luxury boutique hotels; having a drink above the old walls. All of these and more while you get to discover the joy and the spark of Cartagena’s people, the which is a real privilege for Jonatan Gómez, who highlights the great mixture of colors orange, yellow, blue and green, as well as the kindness and happy attitude of its people.