Juan Ventureyra, the tomato seed collector from around the world

Time Out

05-05-2025

Mendoza changes color with the tomato season, and the calendar marks an event that has become a tradition: grandmothers, children, and grandchildren gather at a home to make tomato sauce and preserve fresh tomatoes for the winter. The greengrocers are dressed in red from February to April to begin this ritual, which is a production chain: washing, peeling, cooking, crushing, and bottling.
This moment of gathering becomes a true transmission of recipes and secrets between generations, and it is such a quintessential act of Mendoza that when chef Juan Ventureyra arrived in the province from his native Buenos Aires, he was surprised and realized that Mendoza is as much a "tomato region" as it is a wine region.
'Until I arrived in the province, ten years ago, I didn't know the custom of gathering to can tomatoes in various methods... I went crazy and thought, 'How is it that in wineries people talk about meat and wine but not about tomatoes?' when in every house, people talk about tomatoes, and there are pantries filled with jars of preserves,' reveals the chef who leads the kitchen at Riccitelli Bistró, a restaurant that recently earned its first Michelin star.
The chef, who also retained the Green Star awarded by the Michelin Guide in 2024, arrived in Mendoza with seeds from 50 varieties of tomatoes, and this summer, his collection grew to 92. He established vegetable gardens in his restaurants and introduced the idea that it should be the chef who works with the harvest of vegetables, which will then be served fresh and pure in the dishes.
Where his obsession with collecting tomato seeds began
"My first garden is in Olivos, at my house," shares Ventureyra, who, while working at Astor Bistró (Colegiales) alongside chef Antonio Soriano, discovered the fascinating world of vegetable seeds: "A producer brought me a white tomato, I tried it, and we created a dish entirely in white with all ingredients of that color. That's when the lightbulb went off for me—to keep the seeds from the products that entered the kitchen, dehydrate them, and take them to spread in my 30-square-meter garden."
That same summer, Ventureyra started looking online to see where he could buy seeds from other parts of the world, and his surprise came when he was able to access that "powdered gold." 'I was in my twenties, and I remember finding a biodynamic seed producer in Missouri, USA, and I asked for a small packet; when I had it in my hands, I made a deal with the producer of the white tomato, giving him the seeds in exchange for exclusivity for the first year, and that's how it all began; our own vegetables were reaching the table."
In Buenos Aires, and just back from France, Juan received a call that would change his postal code once again. It was chef Lucas Bustos who invited him to work in Mendoza, and it was at that moment that the chapter of Ventureyra's story in the western Argentine province began. "They gave me half a hectare, and I created my own garden at Ruca Malen winery; all throughout the first year, I worked the land for six hours a day, before and after each restaurant service,' the "fan of wine and vegetables" as he describes himself on Instagram, explains.
"They gave me half a hectare, and I created my own garden at Ruca Malen winery; all throughout the first year, I worked the land for six hours a day, before and after each restaurant service"
Leaving everything behind, the chef knocked on the door of winemaker Matías Riccitelli and proposed opening a vegetable-focused restaurant at Riccitelli Wines, an innovative idea for 2018, as there were no wineries offering gastronomic experiences in the Las Compuertas area (Luján de Cuyo). "He trusted me, and we opened in February 2020, and he was surprised when the first employee I hired wasn't a cook, but Nolberto, my seed keeper, who still works with me and is in charge of supplying my kitchen," says Juan.
With this, the chef recognized by the Michelin Guide in 2024 and 2025 showed that in order to serve their own vegetables, they had to plant them in advance so they would be ready when Riccitelli Bistró opened its doors.
"From that moment, we began to talk about the Mendoza vegetable and the tomato as our flag," he says, adding: "Today we have 500 square meters of garden at the winery and another garden in the Maipú department; Nolberto has my biodynamic seeds, he does all the agroecological work in the land, all manually and without pesticides, because in my menu, I offer the real flavor of vegetables."
"In my menu, I offer the real flavor of vegetables"
Tomato seeds from every corner of the world
In 2024, Juan harvested 84 varieties of tomatoes, and this year he doubled the bet, reaching 95. 'One always tries to plant more varieties to make certain dishes, but it almost never goes well because nature is capricious; one wants to anticipate the planning of a menu because they get to know the types of tomatoes, but this year, for example, it didn't work out; there was little production due to the frosts and rains. Some years, we produce 3000 kilos of tomatoes, and others only 1000,' Ventureyra details.
"The truth is, I no longer seek to have so many new varieties, but rather to perfect our work, though sometimes I get carried away and add a few," says the chef, laughing, and adds: "When our variety deteriorates, we do buy seeds without altering them to return to the original genetics." Something else he does is exchange seeds with other producers from Córdoba, Mar del Plata, Jujuy, the United States, Italy, France, and Chile. 'There is camaraderie between us,' he points out.
Just as with Mendoza's tradition, Juan preserves tomatoes and other vegetables; in his pantry, you can find ketchup, sriracha, different sauces, jam, and chutney, among other preparations. 'Not all the varieties of tomatoes I plant are good for preserving, most have very high acidity, and it's hard to reduce it when cooking. Each tomato has a specific use when processed, even though all can be eaten fresh, just picked,' explains the seed enthusiast.
Among his favorite tomato varieties is the Green Zebra, which produces a dark yellow fruit almost green with darker green stripes; at home, for pasta, he uses the classic San Marzano, and for salads, the Blue Wagner, which looks red and black on the outside and green on the inside. 'Not all tomatoes are the same, and what varies isn't just the visual part; the skins, the number of seeds, and the amount of flesh each has vary; it's incredible and delicious,' he emphasizes.
"Not all tomatoes are the same. The skins, the number of seeds, and the amount of flesh each has vary"
Juan Ventureyra and the art of transforming the culinary experience
Juan Ventureyra is a kind of culinary magician who transforms diners who visit his restaurant. When someone enters, they talk and think about cuts of meat, but once they leave, they are fascinated by vegetables. In fact, the welcome at Riccitelli Bistró is with an exhibition of over 90 varieties of tomatoes, 15 varieties of chili peppers, 6 varieties of eggplants, and so on… "Everything is on a 5-meter-long counter, all products that come from the garden, allowing diners to understand what they will be eating that day," the chef explains.
The first thing guests try at the bistró is a tomato platter, recommended to be eaten without any additions like salt or oil so they can recognize the differences in acidity, sweetness, crunchiness, or softness of the skins, and even the water content each variety takes from the land. And if anyone wants to try one from the garden, it is open for visitors to experience harvesting and tasting fresh produce.
'Here, I achieved my maximum expression of the concept I wanted, which I started a decade ago; I don't exclude meat, I respect my cooking style, which is 80% vegetables and 20% with some dairy, some flour, and some meat,' clarifies Ventureyra, who highlights the ease this provides when dealing with dietary restrictions: "No one will have to stop eating anything, and there won't be any improvisation in a dish."
"I don't exclude meat, I respect my cooking style, which is 80% vegetables and 20% with some dairy, some flour, and some meat"
It's worth highlighting that Ventureyra's menus are truly seasonal, meaning he only cooks with what the garden provides. If a vegetable is no longer available, he adapts the dish to whatever is available. 'The structure of my dishes always includes a vegetable from our own production and one wild edible; conceptually, it's very long to explain because it involves many ingredients; I suggest how to eat it so that the diner can discover each product or technique used,' says the chef.
Juan's passion for vegetable and tomato seeds transcends the kitchen and garden. Ventureyra is a guardian of flavors, a defender of biodiversity, and a storyteller through the local seasonal product. For those who try his tomatoes, the gastronomic experience goes beyond taste: it's a rediscovery of a product that, although common, can be a true work of art when cultivated with passion.