Mexico
Chef Aarón Sánchez shared his Mexican heritage with the CDP team and Chefs Amanda Freitag and David Rose, by traveling with us to Mexico, where we had the opportunity to learn more about his rich culture and cuisine.
We started our journey in the heart of Mexico City, learning how to make delicious local food at the open-air market in Coyacan. The women taught the chefs all about tlacoyos, a favorite street food made of a thick boat-shaped grilled masa, traditionally filled with beans and cheese. They had the chance to get creative with fillings and toppings while cooking for people visiting the market.
Venturing outside of the city we headed to Milpa Alta, known for two different Mexican culinary traditions, nopales and mole. We spent the day with a local farmer and his family, learning about how the cactus leaves and their fruit, the prickly pear, are harvested. The matriarch of the family taught the chefs how to cook with the plants and together they created an incredible lunch with a variety of dishes, out in the middle of the nopales field. Later, we walked through the town center exploring the many mole stands and learned about its history and cultural importance.
Our next adventure took us out to Puebla, where we spent the day learning about the intricate process of cooking barbacoa with local ranchers. Rounding out the trip, we explored the water canals of Xochimilco and learned about chinampa, a sustainable farming practice.
In celebration of the bicentennial of the U.S. and Mexico's bilateral relationship, we partnered with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City to create a special recipe that blended the American culture of our chefs, as well as Chef Aarón’s Mexican heritage. The dish was showcased by the chefs when they appeared on the morning talk show, "Hoy", and they also taught this dish to culinary students at the UNITEC Cuitláhuac campus, where they also shared their own personal culinary journeys.