Nicolás Urrutia (he/she/they)

My name is Nicolás (Nico), I am a Colombian-born, New York City–based cook, food educator and food experience curator. My work explores the intersections of food, culture, and sustainability, seeking to understand, portray, and explain cultural practices, beliefs, and dynamics through the lens of food, at the same time I intend to build a closer relationship between people and the soil and hands that feed them. I see food as a universal language: a daily necessity that brings societies together and shapes shared culture. Through acknowledgment of ingredients, techniques, tools, and rituals, I aim to uncover how communities express their identity, the land they inhabit, their customs and belief systems, and the historical movements—such as migration and colonization—that have transformed the way they live and eat.

 

I spend part of my time in classrooms transformed into pop-up kitchens, where I teach about food, culture, sustainability, and nutrition. Outside the classroom, I create immersive food experiences such as pop-ups and dinners, write about food and its relationship with people (including my own), and travel in search of culinary and cultural knowledge—whether across the globe, or within the diverse neighborhoods of New York City. I also collaborate with chefs, artists, and researchers worldwide to craft experiences, artworks, and educational projects that convey powerful messages about food and culture.