The style of our cuisine can be characterised as “porteña gourmet”, even though there is no formal school of cuisine with that name. “Porteño” is the word we use in Spanish to refer to the inhabitants of the City of Buenos Aires.  Nevertheless, the concept “porteño gourmet”, is a little tricky, especially for those who believe that something belongs to a tradition only if it has been actually created – as opposed to adapted - by its inhabitants, as if the French had invented cheese and steak aux frites, or the Spanish  tortillas; or, indeed, as if it were possible to find steak aux frites, cheese and tortillas in Argentina prepared in exactly the same way as they are  in either of those countries
	To fully grasp the concept of “porteño gourmet”, it might be a good idea to take a look out of a window in Buenos Aires. What do you see? Renaissance-style palazzos and almighty skyscrapers? Parisian hotels? Precarious ranchos and the country houses of the great estancias? Nothing of the kind! Buenos Aires is a city whose architecture has been influenced by many different styles which combine in a wholly unique way. Its identity lies both in the combination of traditions and in the way these traditions have been adapted. Some people call that style “chaos”; to us it is just Buenos Aires. At Tomo 1, we are engaged in exploring our traditions in ways that reflect our own habits and our own tastes, because, after all we are both porteños and gourmets.
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