Bent over his mobile phone on the terrace of his Bogota apartment, Colombia’s “Lord of the Fruit” describes the flavours, textures and potential uses of rare species to thousands of social media followers.
Gian Paolo Daguer, a 47-year-old environmental engineer, is on a mission to save these natural delicacies from extinction in one of the most biodiverse countries in the world.
In one of the many videos on his Instagram page, Daguer extols the virtues of the lucuma, a little-known tropical fruit he is introducing to the uninitiated.
The lucuma looks somewhat like a small coconut on the outside, with flesh that resembles yellowish avocado pulp.
“This is considered the queen of Peruvian fruits,” says Daguer as he explains the lucuma’s genealogy and geographic spread, then cuts it open and takes a bite.