Nowadays, food is rarely just one thing — cultures cross boundaries and constantly influence each other, becoming something entirely brand new. And that cross-cultural reference is on full display at one of Calgary’s newest restaurants, Orijins.
Started by Eduardo Sosa and helmed by chef Francis Martinez, Orijins is inspired by a specific type of fusion cuisine called Nikkei. Originating in Peru, Nikkei cuisine was created by Japanese immigrants using traditional Japanese cooking methods fused with Peruvian ingredients to create a very distinct cuisine. Orijins expands on this idea by drawing inspiration from flavours found across Latin America to create an exciting menu of tapas-style dishes.
Coming from Bolivia, Sosa was familiar with Nikkei cuisine, but he wanted to do something a little different. “We’re not traditional Nikkei,” says Sosa. “We’re influenced by it, but we’re doing our own version. We don’t want to be boxed into a category.” And not being boxed in means plenty of opportunity for unique new flavours.
When Eduardo pitched his idea for a Nikkei restaurant, he knew he would need the right chef for the job. Eventually, he found Martinez, who, coming from FinePrint, knew his way around a kitchen and already had experience fusing flavours from his Filipino heritage into FinePrint’s food.
The restaurant’s kitchen is small but mighty. Much of the food is cooked on two charcoal grills, including dishes like pork belly with ají-som (a cross between chimichurri and Vietnamese nước chấm), a whole grilled sea bass with coconut cream and ginger scallion salsa, and anticucho, a variety of grilled skewers that change weekly.
Other dishes include raw preparations like red prawn ceviche with cantaloupe, guajillo chiles tobiko and ponzu or Hokkaido scallop ceviche made with coconut leche de tigre, pickled daikon and shiso oil. For dessert, more mashups like matcha tres leches cake and miso chocolate mousse are on the menu.
Orijins plans to eventually launch a chef’s tasting menu at the kitchen bar so you can get a full taste of the breadth of flavours here. The tasting menu will include a variety of anticucho and ceviche.
Despite the high level of cooking, Orijins maintains a casual atmosphere. “Our aim is not to try to be fine dining at all,” says Sosa. “It’s just simple food that looks and tastes really good. We want our doors to be open to everyone.”
1A, 8330 Macleod Tr. S.E., 403-255-1222, orijinsyyc.com