My name is Jordan Dossantos, also known as Coa Turey, and I am a Puerto Rican chef focused on conscious eating and ancestral Caribbean cuisine. My work is born from a deep desire to reconnect my community with their bodies, their history, and their land through food. I cook from the root: from what my grandmother and grandfather planted, from the flavors that marked the seasons of rain and sun, from the plants that healed before the word “wellness” existed. My practice blends contemporary techniques with Taíno, Afro-Caribbean, and Ayurvedic wisdom adapted to the Caribbean. I believe in a cuisine that nourishes, that speaks, that accompanies. A cuisine that invites us to remember who we are.

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1. What’s your earliest food memory?

Mi recuerdo más temprano siempre es el mismo: el olor a sofrito recién hecho en casa de mi abuela. Antes de entender los ingredientes, yo entendía el sonido: el cuchillo tocando la tabla, el pilón marcando ritmo, las risas alrededor. Ese olor me enseñó que la comida no empieza en el plato, sino en la energía que uno pone en ella.

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My earliest memory is always the same: the smell of freshly made sofrito in my grandmother’s house. Before I understood the ingredients, I understood the sound, the knife hitting the cutting board, the pilón setting the rhythm, the laughter all around. That smell taught me that food doesn’t begin on the plate, but in the energy you put into it.

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2. Growing up, what were your favourite – and least favourite – foods?

Mis favoritas siempre fueron las comidas que se sentían vivas: viandas con mojo, caldos profundos, frutas recién cortadas del patio, pescado fresco.

Lo que menos me gustaba era cualquier cosa que se sintiera desconectada: procesada, enlatada, sin historia. Desde pequeño podía sentir cuando la comida no tenía “alma”.

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My favorites were always the foods that felt alive: root vegetables with mojo, deep broths, fruit freshly cut from the yard, fresh fish. What I liked least was anything that felt disconnected—processed, canned, without a story. Even as a child, I could tell when food had no “soul.”

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3. How has your relationship with food changed over the years?

Antes veía la comida como técnica: sabor, precisión, disciplina. Con los años se convirtió en medicina, en ritual, en encuentro espiritual.

Ahora cocino para sanar, para crear espacios de comunidad, para honrar a mis ancestros. Mi relación con la comida maduró igual que yo: se volvió más lenta, más consciente, más conectada al propósito.

I used to see food as technique: flavor, precision, discipline. Over the years it became medicine, ritual, and spiritual encounter. Now I cook to heal, to create spaces of community, to honor my ancestors. My relationship with food matured as I did – it became slower, more conscious, more connected to purpose.

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4. If you had to describe your approach to working with food in just three words, what would they be?

Intuitivo. Ancestral. Sanador.

Intuitive. Ancestral. Healing.

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5. What’s one food or recipe you think people should eat more often for their health and wellbeing?

Los caldos y los “fondos” hechos con tiempo: vegetales, especias, hierbas medicinales caribeñas como orégano brujo, cúrcuma fresca o jengibre.

Un buen caldo es la base de todo. Sana el sistema digestivo, calma la mente y devuelve vitalidad al cuerpo. Es la medicina líquida más antigua que tenemos.

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Broths and “stocks” made with time: vegetables, spices, and Caribbean medicinal herbs such as oregano brujo, fresh turmeric, or ginger. A good broth is the foundation of everything. It heals the digestive system, calms the mind, and restores vitality to the body. It is the oldest liquid medicine we have.

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