Colombian chef and social entrepreneur Leonor Espinosa, also known as ‘Leo’, believes in using gastronomy as a vehicle for social and economic development in indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities. Her skill lies in weaving ancestral culinary knowledge from rural communities into contemporary and mainstream food ethos. Known for her ‘ciclo-bioma’ philosophy that highlights the culinary biodiversity of each biome, the 59-year-old is a regular on national TV in her country and promotes Colombia as a ‘gastronomy tourism destination’ abroad.
She was recently voted World’s Best Female Chef 2022 by the panel that elects The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Her Bogotá-based restaurant, Leo — which she runs with her daughter, sommelier Laura Hernández-Espinosa — was listed in The World’s and Latin America’s 50 Best awards. She was also a recipient of Latin America’s Best Female Chef award, and the Basque Culinary World Prize, both in 2017, for her socio-environmental foundation, FUNLEO, that reintroduces ancestral culinary knowledge from Colombia’s rural communities into mainstream gastronomic culture.
