Never did Tulio Zuluaga imagine he would impact as many Columbus School students with his masters as he has, starting out with Burger Master back in 2016, followed up by  Sushi and Pizza master, which have helped him get where he’s now: bringing tastes from all over the nation to the table and allowing for children, and young adults from our school to try out these innovative tastes.

Tulio has incorporated 20 cities in this gastronomic events that move the economy notably, the winner is elected through social media by posting a story on instagram and tagging the restaurant with the respective hashtags. Students attended many restaurants and chose their favorite one, restaurants prepared unique and delicious plates that achieved to persuade students.

“The masters are a competition but truly the point is not to sell a determined amount of food, it’s mostly a base of marketing,” Zuluaga said.

Most students have attended at least two of the masters competitions and that is a lot taking into account that there are three in total. Students among themselves recommend restaurants to visit. The popularity of this event in school is huge, not only students but teachers also attend. Conversations during window and lunch are all about the masters, this involves students giving opinions, recommending and hearsay.

Students not only love the sushi itself but they do love good prices. A roll of sushi during this event had the cost of 18 thousand pesos with no beverage included. A burger costs COP 14.000 and pizza COP 13.000. Sodas varied anywhere from COP 3.000 5.000 depending on the restaurant. One thing students loved was that food was being served fast while quality did not drop. Some restaurants entertained clients with games and food during the wait in line. For example, Roll Up Sushi Burrito offered a riddle game while Wok House gave their clients fortune cookies. 

“During lunch time all I talk about with my friends is the masters and which restaurants should my friends visit, also I loved that restaurants had entertainment in line for their clients, it’s a great option of marketing,” Senior Sofia Soto said.

Sushi Master 2022 was from September 5th to September 11th, this event’s purpose was to search for the best sushi in each town. Many students attended this event, commonly attending up to 2 or 3 restaurants on average. Many students say the best restaurant they attended was Roll Up Sushi Burrito located in Provenza. This restaurant had to offer sushi but not quite as imagined, sushi in taco form. 2 tacos were included, one with tuna and the other shrimp. Both included kanikama, crab sticks, pineapple pico de gallo, cream cheese, avocado, sushi rice, nori algae, sesame seed and ponzu sauce. This restaurant’s highlight was the plate presentation and how the ingredients all combined tasted superior. This plate received the name of Sensei.

Another student favorite was Tokio de Lima in Centro Commercial Lemont.. This sushi roll offered grilled crunchy shrimp, avocado, shichimi, blue shrimp cream, parmesan cheese, drops of lime, green onion, finally topped with eel sauce. Students said this sushi roll had something mildly hot but did not take the flavor away but it still added up in a very positive way.

Least favorite among students restaurant was Sushi Light located in various malls such as Amsterdam, El Tesoro, Mayorca, Strada, Santafe, and Laureles. Sushi Light tried to create a sushi with Colombian taste. This resulted in a complete fail. Students were disgusted by the fact that this sushi roll was topped with a caviar and coffee cream. It also had a bed of Passion Fruit sauce. Inside it had: shrimp, izumidai, avocado, cream cheese and picadillo criollo. The restaurant tried to attempt something out of the ordinary, but it did not compare to the offerings of  the other restaurants. 

“I attended sushi master’s this year and the best one was a place called Roll Up Sushi Burrito, it offered sushi in taco form, it was delicious. I got to know new restaurants that I never imagined I would visit.” Senior Maria Jose Londoño said.

These Masters events have taken on a life of their own, and Tulio takes up to a year putting all the details together.  He often travels to 2-3 cities a day tasting and listening to the proposals that each restaurant has to offer. These events have helped a lot of entrepreneurs stay afloat during a tough period for the restaurant business. 

Students eagerly await these events each year and benefit from low costs and the chance to sample amazing restaurants. The final even of the year, the Pizza Master before Tulio starts all over with events for 2023.

“Now I spend my time traveling, arranging the master could be up to 1 year receiving proposals and tasting, but the biggest change in my life is traveling,” Tulio said.

“I attended 3 restaurants in total, I really like the idea that Tulio has created, I know a lot of people that have benefited because of his events, some sushi was strange but some were delicious,” Senior Londoño said.