Fermentation is not a trend. It is one of the oldest food transformation techniques in existence, present in every culture in the world long before anyone gave it a scientific name. In Colombia, fermentation has deep roots: the Pacific viche, the masato of indigenous communities, the homemade pickles of market stalls, the costeño suero. All are fermentation products that popular Colombian cooking has used for centuries.
What has changed in recent years is that Colombian author cuisine started taking those techniques seriously. Not as nostalgic reference but as a technical tool with precise applications in contemporary haute cuisine. La Makha Restaurant, on the first floor of Binn Hotel in El Poblado, Medellín, is one of the restaurants that works fermentation with that consistency: not as a decorative element on the menu but as a structural part of several dishes.
Fermentation on the La Makha menu
Pickles are the most visible expression of fermentation on the La Makha menu. They are not external purchases. They are the restaurant’s own preparations that the kitchen team controls internally, adjusting the time, the acid proportion and the aromatic ingredients to obtain exactly the profile each dish needs.
The pickled chayote appears in the Orellanas ($58.000) of both the tasting menu and the à la carte menu. Chayote is a fruit from the cucurbit family that grows in the Colombian Andean mountains. It has a mild flavor and a crunchy texture that the pickling process enhances with acidity without destroying. In the dish, it works as a counterweight to the yogurt foam and the smoke powder: it brings freshness and acidity where the other two elements bring creaminess and depth.
The pickled mustard seeds are one of the elements of the tasting menu’s Watermelon Ceviche. Pickled mustard seeds have a texture that bursts in the mouth and an acidity different from lemon: rounder, less citric, with a gentle bitter edge that complements the chontaduro leche de tigre without competing with it.
The house-pickled beets are part of the Pork Belly ($68.000) on both the à la carte and the tasting menu. The house vinegar is a detail that says a lot about the level of control the kitchen team exercises over its fermentations: they do not use generic commercial vinegar. The acidity profile of the house vinegar is softer and more complex than industrial vinegar, and produces a pickle that has character without being aggressive.
Viche: the most important Colombian fermentation on the menu
The most significant fermented ingredient in La Makha’s proposal is not a pickle but a drink: viche canao. Viche is an artisanal distilled spirit from the Colombian Pacific made from sugar cane by Afro-Colombian communities. It has had a denomination of origin since 2021, making it a product with geographical protection similar to champagne or cognac.
Viche canao is a variety of viche that goes through maceration with aromatic plants and Pacific fruits. It has a profile that combines herbal and fruity notes with a softer alcoholic base than conventional aguardiente. La Makha uses it in two specific contexts: the Basil Smash that is the pairing for the Corn Crisp Arepa in the tasting menu, and the Carajillo that closes the menu alongside the Coconut and Coffee Flan.
In the Basil Smash, the viche canao combines with pennyroyal, basil, lemon and simple syrup. The viche’s fermentation brings aromatic complexity that conventional aguardiente would not have. In the Carajillo, the viche canao replaces the usual spirit and produces a digestif with Colombian identity from start to finish.
Fermentation as a tool for seasonality
One of the most intelligent applications of fermentation in La Makha’s kitchen is its capacity to extend the useful life of seasonal ingredients. Colombia has extraordinary biodiversity but also real seasonality: certain ingredients are only available at specific times of the year.
Pickles allow an ingredient that arrives at peak quality in a given month to remain part of the menu weeks later, transformed by fermentation into something with its own character. The pickled chayote is an example: fresh chayote is available during specific periods, but pickled it can be maintained with quality for longer and with a flavor profile that the fresh ingredient does not have.
That logic of preservation and transformation is central in author cuisine that works with seasonal product. It is not only about conserving. It is about creating something different and better through the fermentation process.
Yogurt as fermentation in La Makha’s kitchen
Lactic fermentation, which produces yogurt, also has a presence in several dishes on the menu. Goat yogurt appears in the Lamb course of the tasting menu, as a foam together with Paipa cheese. The acidity of goat yogurt, which is more pronounced than that of cow’s milk yogurt, balances the richness of the bone glaze and the braised lamb filled pasta.
In the Orellanas, the yogurt foam serves a similar function: it brings lactic acidity and creaminess at the same time, creating a counterweight to the rustic texture of the choclo cake and the depth of the smoke powder. It is not a passive ingredient. It is a fermentation that has a specific technical role in the architecture of the dish.
Fermentation and the future of Colombian author cuisine
Colombia has extraordinary fermented ingredients that author cuisine is only just beginning to explore. Fermented guarapo, chicha from different indigenous communities, tropical fruit ferments, fermented dairy products from different regions of the country. La Makha works with some of them but the territory is much broader.
What the restaurant shows is that Colombian fermentation has the technical level and aromatic complexity to integrate into contemporary haute cuisine without losing its identity of origin. There is no need to import Japanese or Nordic fermentation techniques when Colombia has its own tradition that deserves the same level of attention and rigor.
To go deeper into how La Makha applies modern cooking techniques to Colombian ingredients, the article on haute cuisine techniques at La Makha explains the process behind each preparation and the technical consistency that defines the restaurant’s proposal.
Hours and reservations
La Makha opens for dinner Monday to Thursday from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and Friday and Saturday until 10:30 p.m. Sundays and holidays are closed for dinner. Breakfast is available every day from 6:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
The restaurant is at Carrera 25 #10-51, Transversal Superior, El Poblado, Medellín, on the first floor of Binn Hotel, with free covered parking.
Frequently asked questions about fermentation at La Makha
What fermentations does La Makha use in its kitchen?
Its own pickles of chayote, mustard seeds and beets in house vinegar, goat yogurt foams, Colombian Pacific viche canao and Paipa cheese from Boyacá as fermented ingredients with denomination of origin.
What is viche canao and how does La Makha use it?
Viche canao is a variety of Colombian Pacific viche, an artisanal distilled spirit with a denomination of origin since 2021, macerated with aromatic plants and fruits. La Makha uses it in the Basil Smash pairing for the Corn Crisp Arepa and in the Carajillo that closes the tasting menu.
Why is fermentation important in author cuisine?
Fermentation transforms ingredients by adding flavor complexity, acidity and depth that no cooking technique can replicate. It also allows extending the useful life of seasonal ingredients and creating in-house preparations with the identity of the cuisine.
Where is La Makha in Medellín?
At Carrera 25 #10-51, Transversal Superior, El Poblado, Medellín, on the first floor of Binn Hotel.
Which La Makha dishes use fermentations?
The Orellanas with pickled chayote and yogurt foam, the Watermelon Ceviche with pickled mustard seeds, the Pork Belly with house-pickled beets, and the Lamb with goat yogurt foam and Paipa cheese. At the bar, viche canao appears in the Basil Smash and the Carajillo.
How much does the tasting menu at La Makha cost?
$330.000 per person without pairing and $420.000 with curated pairing, which includes Colombian fermented drinks like viche canao in the Basil Smash and the Carajillo.
To book and explore the full proposal, the starting point is the official La Makha Restaurant page. Colombian fermentation has a lot to say at the table. At La Makha it already has its own voice.
