the experience that smells like history

By Flavia Tomaello, https://flaviatomaello.blog/, Instagram @flavia.tomaello

In Uruguay, fire is honored. There is a sacred moment, when the first spark touches the dry firewood and the air is filled with that aroma of the field, of wood, of waiting. One of the country’s deepest traditions gathers around that flame: the barbecue. More than a meal, it is a ritual, a common language that translates friendship, pause and belonging.
In Montevideo, an experience seeks to teach this ancestral art from its roots: “Make Your Asado”, a proposal that invites travelers and locals to live, understand and savor the essence of the most genuine Uruguay.
Here it’s not just about learning to cook meat. It is about discovering a way of living, a philosophy of encounter that is transmitted from generation to generation. A ceremony around the fire
The day begins slowly, with mate and biscuits, as custom dictates. There is no rush: roasting is time that is savored before the first bite.
The host, an experienced Uruguayan griller, guides participants through each step of the process: choosing the firewood, patiently lighting the fire, creating intense embers that do not go out but are tamed.
Unlike other countries in the Río de la Plata, Uruguayan barbecue is not made with charcoal, but with mountain firewood. That almost poetic detail changes everything: the aroma, the flavor, the texture. Each ember carries within itself the memory of the landscape.
The experience proposes a learning that is, at the same time, a celebration. Visitors observe how the grill becomes an altar, where the cuts of meat – strip, vacuum, tail of rump – are arranged as offerings. The griller reads the embers as if they were words; He knows when to add more heat, when to wait, when to turn the meat to reach the right point, that balance between juiciness and browning that defines perfection. The taste of time
The roast is not rushed. You hear it, you see it, you feel it. While the fire works, the parallel kitchen is filled with hands preparing the typical accompaniments: homemade chimichurri, with parsley, oregano and olive oil; roasted vegetables—bell pepper with egg, onion, tomato—that provide color and freshness; flavored breads that collect the juices of the roast and complete the scene with their tempting aroma.
Each gesture has its reason for being. Salt is added with respect, herbs are chosen with care. The chorizo ​​al paninaugurates the banquet and marks the transition from learning to celebration.
And, as in every Uruguayan ceremony, the barbecue is shared. There are no spectators: everyone participates, asks, tastes, toasts. The fire becomes a meeting point between strangers who, at the end of the day, treat each other like old friends. Wine as a fire companion
The experience is accompanied by a guided tasting of Uruguayan wines, often in alliance with Bodega Fallabrino, which provides a curation of local labels designed to enhance each flavor.
Tannat, the country’s flagship grape, is the protagonist: its robust tannins and notes of black fruits accompany the meat with character. But other varietals are also explored: Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir, all with the elegance of wines born between Atlantic breezes and stone floors.
Pairing is part of learning. It is taught to recognize how the wine rounds out the flavor of the roast, how the embers and the tannins dialogue in the same language: that of balance. From the grill to the soul
Each participant takes away more than recipes or techniques: they take away a story.
Because that’s what the barbecue is: a living narrative. It speaks of the Uruguayan countryside, of the generosity of time, of the value of sharing. It is a practice that, in each home, is repeated as a domestic and collective rite, always with the same emotion of the first fire.
At the end, when the meat is served and the plates are filled, the grill invites you to toast. The smoke rises slowly and the air is filled with wood and wine. Laughter mixes with the crackling of the fire. The experience becomes a memory, and the memory becomes an identity.
Lunch concludes with a classic dessert: Martín Fierro, cheese and quince paste, a symbol of the balance between salty and sweet, simple and essential.
Sometimes, there are also freshly made fried cakes, golden and soft, accompanied by a new mate, as if the day closed with the same gesture with which it began: that of sharing. The art of showing what one loves
“Make Your Asado” is more than a masterclass. It is a cultural immersion, an invitation to understand Uruguay from your table.
Organized by Dcom Travel together with Bodega Fallabrino, this experience recovers the value of artisanal learning, human contact and respect for natural times.
There are no uniforms or rehearsed speeches. Just a griller who teaches with his hands and heart, and a group of curious people who discover that fire can be a form of conversation.
The environment accompanies: open fields, immense sky, clean air and that feeling that time has been suspended. Each visitor becomes, for a while, part of a story that began centuries ago and that is still alive in every grill in the country. The ritual of fire, the table and friendship
Learning to make a Uruguayan barbecue is, deep down, learning to look at life with different eyes.
Because in that slowness that the firewood demands, in the attention that each cut requires, in the toast shared with Tannat wine, a simple wisdom is hidden: that of enjoying without haste, that of honoring the everyday, that of celebrating the company.
When the fire goes out and only warm embers remain, visitors understand that they have not just attended a class, but a ceremony. One where the master is not only the grill, but the fire itself.
And so, among smoke, laughter and wine, Montevideo reveals its soul: hospitable, discreet and deeply human.
A city that teaches, through its oldest tradition, that true luxury is having time to share.

You can move around Montevideo easily: Uber is a simple and well-known resource, the 1919 Celeritas Taxis will schedule any section for you, Transfer Transfers and Incoming Tourism can make your journey end-to-end.

For the Buenos Aires–Montevideo route, Buquebús operates with 25 weekly frequencies, maintaining daily departures and multiple schedules per day.