Quinoa, from the field to the gourmet market

As a life project that is just beginning, graduates from UCundinamarca were inspired by the production of Quinoa in the municipality of Carmen de Carupa and started a business with snacks based on this superfood.

Diego Luis González Coronell, a graduate in Business Administration, and Óscar Fernando Garzón Bello, a graduate in Systems Engineering, along with Rafael Antonio Ballen Almanza and Sergio Leonardo García Rojas, a gastronomy student, created Tradición Gourmet.

“This is a company run by lifelong friends; you could say it’s a family business. We all contribute, and with our knowledge, experience, and passion, each of us does whatever it takes to make this dream a reality,” said Diego Luis González Coronell, a Business Administration graduate.

Diego Luis became interested in quinoa when, in a class, they had to solve a problem faced by producers of this grain. There, together with his classmates and under the guidance of teacher Sandra Melo, they created a solution: a machine to peel the material.

“The people of Asoprocampo cultivate and market quinoa, but the process was done by hand, so we devised a kind of bicycle and that's how the fruit began to be peeled, it was a benefit for these people,” the graduate explained.

Upon learning about the virtues of this food, which is a cereal but at the same time has properties of a legume and great nutritional value in vitamins, he invited his friends to try making "doughs".

Cookies, alfajores, truffles, chicha, oatmeal, rosquetes, and bread are some of the products offered by Tradición Gourmet. These products are made and sold in Ubaté, the hometown of the young people who make up this team.

A project that is moving forward

Tradición Gourmet was created three years ago, however, it wasn't until last year that they began working seriously on the project. “We attend events, food fairs and that's how we're making ourselves known. We also have social media,” explained the Business Administration graduate from UCundinamarca.

The team is currently working on other projects; the business doesn't yet generate enough income to live on, but that's the goal of these four young people who are preparing every day to make Tradición Gourmet a business success.

Diego Luis and Sergio Leonardo are studying gastronomy to learn more about food, its preparation, and to continue improving the quality of their products, dreaming of exporting and making this product, which benefits the health of its consumers, available throughout Colombia.

More news from the Ubaté branch at the News Agency