That could start a small riot.

Can you make more recipes for us?'"

“For them, I decided to write a cookbook.”

A view of the kitchen and chef Francis Mallmann preparing vegetables at his retreat in Argentina

From left: inside the alfresco kitchen at La Isla; Mallmann prepares vegetables.Javier Pierini

That could start a small riot.

Once he got started, his entire outlook began to shift.

Like many chefs, Mallmann started his career chasing Michelin stars in French kitchens.

Two photos showing a vegetable dish and blue and white tableware on display at chef Francis Mallmann’s retreat in Argentina

From left: Vegetables cooked in hot ashes; French tableware lines the shelves in the indoor kitchen.Javier Pierini

But that risky move proved to be visionary.

Mallmann’s shift to vegetarian cooking coincided with another new passion: developing La Isla.

Argentine painter Sergio Roggerone’s watercolors line the walls.

Scenes from Francis Mallmann’s plant-based retreat in Argentina, including a chef at work grilling vegetables, and a sliced-vegetable dish

From left: Vegetables dangle above flames and cook on the grill; a dish of slow-roasted sliced vegetables.Javier Pierini

The custom black metal lamps and the extra-soft linens in the bedrooms were chosen by Mallmann himself.

One of the true luxuries of La Isla is the silence."

Eventually the produce became creamy, soft, and smoky.

Chef Francis Mallmann’s private island on Lago La Plata, in Argentinean Patagonia

Chef Francis Mallmann’s private island on Lago La Plata, in Argentinean Patagonia.Javier Pierini

Beets were baked in coals and then smashed on a massive griddle and drowned in olive oil and vinegar.

I ate them in a delicious salad with goat cheese and slivers of toasted almonds.

I made a note to bookmark this recipe in my copy of “Green Fire.”

A guest room at a retreat in Argentina

One of three new guest cabins at La Isla.Javier Pierini

It slows you down."

I’m thinking really thinking.

We have to change."

Chefs preparing a meal in the waterside open-air kitchen at a Francis Mallmann property in Argentina

Chefs prepare a meal in the open-air cookhouse.Javier Pierini

Bookings for La Isla can be made throughsatopiatravel.com.

A version of this story first appeared in the April 2022 issue ofTravel + Leisureunder the headlineSeeds of Change.