IT’S A WONDERFUL thing to visit another country to sample her cuisine.

Unfortunately, the opportunity to do this doesn’t always present itself, but if you are lucky enough, sometimes the cuisine comes home to you.

That’s what happened a few days ago, when the Venezuelan Institute of Culture and Cooperation hosted ‘Una Tarde Venezolana (A Venezuelan Afternoon)’ at its New Garden Street premises here in the city.

The event was only one in a number of activities the institute hosted to celebrate Venezuela’s 199^th Independence Anniversary.

Never a fan of formal dinners, with their precise table settings and elegant table manners, it was easy to feel at home in the informal, outdoor-style settings of the event.

You should know that due to its cultural diversity and geographic location, Venezuelan cuisine can vary from one region to another, but both traditiona
l and modern cuisine have strong ties to its European ancestry as well as African and indigenous peoples.

I learned that the dishes we were about to sample were actually only a small sampling of what Venezuela had to offer.

Having a mutual interest in Spanish language and culture, my editor and I scanned the labels on the items on the buffet table, which included such mouthwatering dishes as ‘Arepas’, ‘Higaditos de Pollo’ , ‘Empanadas de Carne’, ‘Tortillas de Arroz’, ‘Quesillo’, ‘Torte de Pan’ and ‘Carne’.

Lecturer at the Institute, Mr. Kawal Persaud insisted that we go first as we were guests of honour, but we, of course, hung back, not wanting to be the first at the table, especially in front of Venezuelan Ambassador to Guyana Mr. Dario Morandy. But he too urged us towards the table.

Overcoming the temptation to start with dessert first, I went directly into the main course, selecting an arepa. Similar to the bakes we make in Guyana and use for breakfast or dinner, the arepa is a flat, unleavened patty made of corn flour, which can be grilled, baked or fried.

The ones we had appeared to be baked with a little butter. The arepa is a favourite of Venezuelans, and may be consumed for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Simple to make, since it consists of only three or four ingredients really, the arepa can be eaten with anything — fish, meat, cheese, peanut butter, eggs, jam or whatever you fancy.

In fact, there were a number of dishes that were there already paired with the arepa. For example, ‘arepas rellenas de higaditos de pollo (arepas filled with chicken)’, and ‘arepas rellenos de carne’ (arepas filled with beef).

Another interesting dish on the menu was the ‘empanada’, a stuffed pastry whose popularity is worldwide, as the dish is popular in countries in South America, Europe, Africa and throughout the Caribbean.

Looking it up Online, I learned that the name comes from the Spanish verb, empanar, which means to wrap in bread. The dish is made by folding dough around stuffing, which can consist of meat or vegetables. And I learned that empanadas can vary in shape, as in Spain, they are large and circular in shape, while in South America, they are small and semi-circular. True to this observation, the empanadas presented that evening were of the small, semi-circular variety.

Venezuelan empanadas are made of corn flour dough, and are fried in oil or lard, but can be baked too. There are some regional variations, but the stuffings that are commonly used are shredded chicken, beef or cheese. Other fillings include fish, black beans, red bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, olives, fried ripe plantains and so on.

The ones we had were made of the aforementioned more common fillings. Like the arepas, empanadas are eaten anytime of the day, and can be had with pepper-sauce.

One factor worth noting is that the food, though delicious, did not feature pepper, or at least not obviously, in its ingredients. This was an eye-opener for me, as before attending ‘Una Tarde Venezolana’, I was under the impression that all Spanish foods were spicy.

This idea was further fuelled by a Mexican food festival that I attended some months earlier, which featured a whopping 20 varieties of pepper, a mind- boggling amount to me at the time.

So, I and the editor heaped our disposable plates, grabbed plastic spoons (Yippee! No silverware!) and headed back to our table. Realizing that I hadn’t picked up anything to drink, I headed back to the table, where there was an assortment of non-alcoholic beverages on display.

Moving away from the familiar juices like cherry (cereza), pineapple (piña) and passion fruit (granadilla), I decided to be a little more adventurous, and go for mango juice (jugo de mango).

Taking a sip of the thick, syrupy liquid, I decided that there would be no second helpings on this one for me. So when I was offered a refill, I simply decided to go for the familiar passion fruit juice. My editor, on the other hand, was delighted with her choice, a concoction of cane juice and lime. I tried some and it was good.

One cannot talk about Venezuelan beverages and not talk about ‘Chicha de arroz’. Chicha de arroz, which is prepared from cooked rice and milk, is a favourite with Venezuelans, and a jug of it can be found in refrigerators throughout Venezuela.

There is some regional variation. In some cities, it is made with almond extract, or the rice cooked with a stick of cinnamon spice. Sometimes it is made with cinnamon powder, or is accompanied by a lemon. It is then served with a bit of condensed milk.

Not forgetting the desserts, there were the delicious ‘quesillo’,’ torte de pan’ and ‘churros’. Quesillo is Venezuelan custard cut into little squares and served, along with the ‘torte de pan’, which is the Venezuelan equivalent of bread-and-butter pudding.

A special treat which the editor had been looking forward to was the ‘churros’. A whole container of them was sitting in front of us, and we helped ourselves. Churros are essentially fried dough sticks, and are eaten with chocolate syrup or condensed milk. I tried mine with chocolate syrup, and they were delicious.

The event was not devoid of music either, as our appetites were further whetted by the soft Venezuelan instrumental music, which was at time drowned out by laughter and bilingual chatter.

Hope your appetite is whetted. These dishes are, fortunately, very easy to prepare, so please check out the recipes we will publish from time to time (that’s ‘de vez en cuando’ in Spanish), so too can have your own ‘Tarde Venezolano’.

The ‘afternoon’ was the first for the Institute, which was established by the Venezuelan embassy in Georgetown approximately 42 years ago in the midst of ongoing cooperation activities in the area of culture.