GLOBAL GOURMET: Les Dames of Mexico

by Margaret Swaine | Mar 11, 2020

I was witness to an historic event in Mexico City last Sunday. Women marched, delivered speeches and sang feminist anthems in the capital and in dozens of other cities in a nationwide protest against the gender based violence they suffer. The next day all across the country women went on strike, staying in their homes for the day to show what a world without women would be like and demanding the government take action to halt the killing of on average ten women a day in the country.

It was a heady experience, especially as I was in Mexico with 50 members of Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI), a leadership culinary organization of women who have distinguished themselves in their profession and contributed significantly to their communities. Everyone of Les Dames in the group was strong, opinionated and successful. Our nametags hung on purple ribbons, the colour of the Mexican feminist movement, and Araceli Ramos Rosaldo, Mexican Chapter president of Les Dames kept us informed about the protest and its meaning.

“It’s something we have to do,” said Ramos Rosaldo. “ We are all daughters and many of us are mothers and grandmothers. We want justice and life.”

Les Dames d’Escoffier was founded in New York City in 1976 with a mission to promote the education and advancement of women in careers related to food industries. The society provides scholarships for women to advance their skills in the fields of food, wine, other beverages and nutrition for example. Throughout the year the chapters of Les Dames organize events and dinners to get together and to raise funds. The group I was with had signed up to attend the LDEI Mexico Chapter’s “Flavors of Mexico”- Mexico City 2020.

Mexico City is the country’s economic and cultural hub, as well as home to the offices of the federal government. It’s also a mecca for fantastic restaurants run by acclaimed chefs and by traditional Mexican women cooks. Our hosts told us that Mexico is a country of solid tradition where “la receta de la abuela” (grandmas’ recipe) can and almost always wins any culinary throwdown.

The women of the Mexican Chapter had the savvy and the contacts to really show us the town.
In our four day itinerary we experienced Pujol, one of the world’s top restaurants, and famous family run ‘grandmas’ recipe’ places, El Hidalguense and El Cardenal as well as Sabor es Polanco, a gourmet festival held in the ritzy Polanco district of the city. We also toured and dined in the former home of artist Frida Kahlo and in the Museo Tamayo, which featured the work of this Mexican painter and took some lessons in Mexican cooking.

At El Cardenal, founded in 1969, Dr. Marcela Briz Garizurieta, owner and youngest daughter of founder Doña Olivia, shared the story of the 50 years of El Cardenal and the recipes of her mother still used today in the restaurant. Much of the produce comes from the family owned farm and everything was ultra fresh. Pastries were fluffy light and full of flavour, huevos a la cazuela (scrambled eggs covered with their proprietary red salsa) was deliciously spicy and chilaquiles verdes (tortilla chips simmered in green salsa topped with fresh farmers cheese, cream and minced chicken) a crunchy delight.

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To make their barbacoa, they wrap lamb in maguey leaves, place it inside a pot with vegetables, herbs and a little liquid and cook it in a brick lined oven dug about 3 feet into the ground. Wood is burned at the bottom of the oven. Then the whole thing is covered with a metal sheet and a layer of fresh earth. The meat is left to cook overnight. When uncovered the lamb is tender and moist and the liquid has turned into a savoury soup.

We also enjoyed sope huasteco (blue maize antojito with refried beans, salsa, farmers cheese and pork cracklings which are called chicharrón in Mexico), guacamole prepared in a molcajete (stone vessel) and several house-made cheeses served hot with various toppings. We tried four different fruit flavoured pulque (alcoholic drink made by fermenting sap from the maguey), mutton broth and with the barbacoa, white mutton pancita (tripe). It was a feast to say the least and all from family recipes.

Dinner at the chic Pujol, ranked number 12 in the World’s Fifty Best Restaurants in 2019, was the opposite of home cooking. Chef Enrique Olvera cooks Mexican cuisine but as molecular gastronomy. He draws inspiration from Mexican ingredients and traditional recipes and reinterprets them. For example, street snack was a baby corn with a husk attached covered with a savoury orange sauce so it looked like a carrot. Mole madre, mole nuevo was a six year old ‘mother’ black sauce beside a fresh made version served with a blue corn tortilla pressed into a green leaf. The seven course meal was inventive, imaginative, visually stunning and very tasty.

At the Colegio Superior de Gastronomia (Superior College of Gastronomy) we saw their Sensoria Gastro Experience room where on Friday and Saturday evenings they offer the public Mexican cuisine from different eras in the country’s history in a surround sound and vision room. We also learned about the traditional Mexican crop growing system called, ‘milpa’ where the ‘three sisters’ corn, beans and squash are grown together along with other plants.

Our instructor told us “All Mexican food starts and ends with corn” – there are over 60 varieties of corn in the country. He explained how to make masa (corn meal) and turn it into tortillas. After the lecture we had hands-on instruction while we made several traditional dishes.

On our fourth day at the seventh annual gastronomic festival Sabores es Polanco 2020 (flavours are Polanco) we experienced the diversity and excellence of the areas restaurants. Over 60 of them dished up scrumptious foods. For drink, there was an impressive array of spirit, wine, beer, coffee and other drink producers pouring their best.

Sunday as we waved goodbye, Les Dames Mexico marched in solidarity with their compatriots.