Comfort Food at the End of the World

epicurious.com

Near the top of one of these peaks, a young Argentine chef knows how to take the chill out of an Antarctic afternoon. Marcelo Oliver is the chef de cuisine, prep cook, and head dishwasher at the Refugio del Montaña, a small cabin perched on the hillside high above the city of Ushuaia. During the winter, the Refugio is a ski lodge and school; during Ushuaia´s short summer, the restaurant serves hikers on their way to the Martial Glacier, a few hundred yards further up the mountain. In the small Refugio, Chef Oliver puts the culinary training that he received in his native Córdoba to work creating cuisine appropriate to his alpine location, like vino caliente  (hot wine) with orange peel and spices, and his locally famous guiso de lentejas. The recipe for his rich, silky lentil stew calls for renowned Argentine beef and a healthy portion of Malbec wine which, combined with locally grown vegetables, gives the stew a heady aroma that fills the small dining room when it´s brought to table.

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The southernmost city in the world can be a cold place to spend a vacation—even in the middle of summer. Once a penal colony, Ushuaia, Argentina, is now a destination for adventurous tourists from around the world, and a waypoint for those waiting to board icebreakers bound for Antartica, a three-day sea journey to the south. During the height of summer, Ushuaia gets over 18 hours of sunlight, producing the monstrous lupins and poppies that color the hillsides and local flower gardens. But breezes from the frozen south or off the snowcapped peaks that surround the town can chill even the sunniest summer day.

When asked what brought him to the city that bills itself as "El Fin del Mundo," Chef Oliver smiles, shrugs and gestures out the window—and the view from the Refugio is uniquely beautiful. Behind the cabin, the peaks of the Cordillera Darwin poke through the Martial Glacier; far below, the city of Ushuaia clings to the shore of the Beagle Channel; and to the south, the last mountain peaks of South America recede into the mist, pointing towards Antarctica. Chef Oliver´s answer doesn´t need to be translated; the End of the World is a great location. (The recipe for Marcelo Oliver’s lentil stew is available from the author by request.)