Laura Veraguas: connecting with the essentials
We delve into a cuisine with simple and natural preparations, the kind that nourish both body and soul.
Laura invites us to a universe where cooking is more than food: it is emotion, values and connection with nature. She proves to be a restless person with great sensitivity, and she puts all this into her project. We embark on a journey to and from the essential. Ready?
Tell us about yourself and your work. Where did your vocation start? Any first memories?
I never really ask myself this question. I believe that cooking is in my DNA, it's in my nature and has been a part of me for as long as I can remember. The vocation is integrated, there was only the exercise of presenting myself with my concerns and the accompaniment that exists to this day just as powerful as in the beginnings of my professional career.
As my first memory of introducing myself and my concerns, as I mentioned before, I could tell you about the experience of cooking baked pears with a blue cheese sauce for my mum when I was 13. I remember that we went shopping and looked for all the ingredients together, I got down to work and the result was not what I expected, and I got so angry that I left the kitchen in a pitiful state. On the other hand, my mum was delighted to eat them, of course... Motherly love. This event and others have made me have a very high level of self-demanding. Thank you, mum!
What do you find most satisfying about your work, and is there anything you are particularly proud of?
What I find most satisfying about my work is seeing how people connect with the different gastronomic proposals. To see that they are not only eating pleasure, but also values. The emotion, the concentration of the diner. Actually, I get a lot of satisfaction from my work. And something that makes me feel especially proud would be to ensure that the simplicity of the dishes is valued.
What is your creative process like, what are your sources of inspiration, any particular music while working?
My creative process is insatiable. I am interested in everything and this makes me generate proposals interconnected by different disciplines such as philosophy, design, art... My main source of inspiration is NATURE. Normally, I don't work with music for concentration reasons and because I love music and I could pay more attention to it than to my gastronomic chores at any given moment, but Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds or Wim Mertens, among many others, would be ideal as companions.
Favourite colour, book, film and record - in that order! ;D
White.
The revolution of a blade of straw (Masanobu Fukuoka)
Mauvais Sang (Leos Carax)
Mulatu Astatke (The story of ethio Jazz 1965-1975)
Is your home a reflection of who you are? Tell us what it smells like, your favourite corner, your favourite decorative object or piece of furniture, if you treasure a collection... And if you have a pet, introduce it to us!
I am a reflection of my mother. My house smells of food most of the time. My sacred place and objects is the bookshop with its books. I have pets Uma (kitten) and Pitu (dog), who is no longer in this world.
If you could buy anything right now and take it home, what would it be? Anything!
The truth is that I don't know, I'm becoming less and less materialistic.
A great plan at home always includes...
Food, good wine and good music.
Do you have a signature dish?
A flagship of VER AGUAS would be the low temperature leek confit with crispy leek plate and the vegetable garden.
Where is your favourite place in your city and abroad?
Anywhere where there are few people, I know how to enjoy all the spaces. Anywhere that is wild and with a lot of nature, but as I say, I let myself be surprised all the time.
Anything you want to tell us that we haven't asked you, speak now or forever hold your peace!
Did you know that SEEING WATERS refers to the fluidity of water, to its transparency, to its ability to reach and filter anywhere...? Well, that's what SEEING WATERS is.
