don t know how to cook. anthony: nobody cooks at home. maybe their cook does. so they eat out a lot? tomas: yeah, it s a new part of our culture. everybody wants to go to a restaurant. anthony: so 10 years ago, 15 years ago, what, traditional, casual food, uh tomas: yeah. anthony: a few fine dining, you know, white tablecloths served with what, french or continental or italian? but this is new? tomas: yeah, it s a new stuff. it s a new business. it s a new world. but i think the two great values from colombian food the mixtures of the culture, yeah? anthony: right. tomas: black people, indian people, white people, that mixtures is beautiful. and the other one is all of this region, all of the mountains, all the valleys, all the rivers, all the sea, we are like a big farm. a beautiful farm to send all these products to the world. i believe more in a beautiful carrot than a great recipe, yeah? anthony: right.
side in the macarena neighborhood, where the city s center meets the north. the lunch tomas is serving us here at tabula is defined more by high-quality fundamentals than by high-concept theories. if there s a theme here, it s that ingredients this good, meticulously prepared, are the essence of great eating. it s a beautiful space. so, how s the restaurant business in, uh, in bogota? tomas: it s a very good business. a lot of people with money, they don t know how to cook. anthony: nobody cooks at home. maybe their cook does. so they eat out a lot? tomas: yeah, it s a new part of our culture. everybody wants to go to a restaurant. anthony: so, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, what, traditional, casual food, uh tomas: yeah. anthony: a few fine dining, you know, white tablecloths served with what, french or continental or italian? but this is new?
north/south divide. chef tomas rueda s tabula and donostia restaurants sit side by side in the macarena neighborhood, where the city s center meets the north. the lunch tomas is serving us here at tabula is defined more by high-quality fundamentals than by high-concept theories. if there s a theme here, it s that ingredients this good, meticulously prepared, are the essence of great eating. it s a beautiful space. so, how s the restaurant business in, uh, in bogota? tomas: it s a very good business. a lot of people with money, they don t know how to cook. anthony: nobody cooks at home. maybe their cook does. so they eat out a lot? tomas: yeah, it s a new part of our culture. everybody wants to go to a restaurant. anthony: so, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, what, traditional, casual food, uh tomas: yeah.
struggle for three years especially in the past six or seven week we have had to lay off employees, we have been forced to discount both food and beverage. it is not easy. neil: what kind of food do you sell? all over the board? guest: we are a restaurant and bar, casual food. neil: normally if that environment people would still frequent you but they are not ordering as man drinks or the appetizer or not ordering as much with the main meal. what do you see? guest: people are forced to cut back so we have had to offer incentives, $2 drinks, forced to use coupons to get people in the door, and unlike southwests with able to have an increase, we re forced to do the opposite. we re forced to discount. not a good situation. neil: how do you relate this to gas?