In Manhattan's affluent Upper East Side, Natalia Machado is making Argentinean food famous.
The 30-year-old is the lead chef at Libertador, one of just a handful of restaurants focusing on that South American cuisine among the hundreds of dining spots in the area.
Born in Patagonia and raised in Buenos Aires, Machado said she has been a chef for "a little more than a third of my life."
Growing up in Argentina with her brother, sister and parents, dinnertime was always a family affair, "the time to be with each other, talk about our day," she said. "Food was always very present."
Re-creating that homey, authentic Argentinean atmosphere and cuisine was important to Libertador's owner, Stefano Villa, who is "Italian by nationality but Argentinean by heart." His establishment draws a diverse mix of South American expatriates, New York foodies and Upper East Side neighborhood fixtures.
Libertador takes its inspiration from the traditional neighborhood steak joints, "parrillas," that can be found everywhere in Buenos Aires, but adds a hip, chic twist.
A meat bar displays the organic, grass-fed meat that has been shaped into the traditional Argentinean cuts by an experienced "parrillero." From the sidewalk, passers-by can view the entrana (skirt steak), bife de chorizo (sirloin strip steak) and lomo (tenderloin) on the grill.
The prices -- for New York restaurants, particularly the pricey East Side -- are reasonable: $6 to $15 for appetizers and $14 to $28 for entrees.
Villa projects annual revenues for Libertador, which opened earlier this year at 1725 Second Avenue, of $1.8 million.
He has worked in the New York restaurant industry for more than 15 years. Early in his dining career, Villa served as a waiter, maitre d' and manager at several French and Italian restaurants. After he joined Novecento, a West Broadway area Argentinean restaurant, he fell in love with the country and its cuisine. He became a partner in Novecento and went on to open two other Argentinean restaurants elsewhere in New York City: Azul and Industria Argentina.
His newest effort "offers a piece of Argentina in the Upper East Side: open grill, only Argentinean wines and so on," Villa said.
For Machado, being a chef in an Argentinean restaurant "gives me the opportunity to showcase my roots."
She said Argentinean food is heavily influenced by its European origins, so the foods resemble Spanish, Italian and French cuisine.
"Argentinean cuisine is all about the product -- generally little or no treatment at all is done to the meats that go to our grill or the vegetables to our salads," the chef told HispanicBusiness.com. Because of Argentina's proximity to other countries such as Bolivia and Paraguay on the north and Chile on the West, the country has regional cuisines, she said.
"The north has a much more pronounced Andean cuisine -- lots of corn and stews," Machado said. "But in Buenos Aires, for instance, the cuisine is all about Europe: pizzas, pastas, empanadas, milanesas and ... traditional in every region and every corner of Argentina, the Asado (grilled meat)."
That's where Libertador comes in. The restaurant's menu and even its dining room revolve around that open grill and meat bar.
One of the eatery's most popular items is the empanada, which comes from the word "empanar," Machado said, meaning to cover with bread.
"They are delicate pastry dough casings filled with different fillings and baked," the chef said. "The most popular one is the Humita (corn stew) and the Hand Carved Beef 'Saltena' style, both northern Argentinean inspired fillings."
Another popular dish at the restaurant, and Machado's favorite too, is the skirt steak, served with garlic and parsley seasoned French fries.
Machado said being a native Argentinean chef at an Argentinean restaurant may give her a bit of an edge over non-Argentinean chefs.
"I bring my experience as an Argentinean diner, culinary student, chef and daughter," she said. "Since very little I was taught how to eat, cook and taste Argentinean flavors."
She has also tapped the women in her life. "I have found myself dusting off my grandmother's recipes or calling my mom for a tip or two." While that may give her an advantage, she knows she has a "huge responsibility" and she doesn't take it lightly.
Had she pursued her first career choice, Machado would have been serving patients instead of diners.
After nearly two years in medical school, she had some time off so she decided to take cooking classes.
"That first day in a kitchen full of spotless new coats and funny hats, I realized that that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life," Machado said. "I was hooked." Instead of going back to school, she took her first job in the culinary business as a pastry assistant, at the age of 19.
To those with dreams of becoming a chef, Machado warns that it will be hard work, long hours and constant pressure. "But with passion and a little sweat," she said, "it is very rewarding."
