Next week, as of 5th October, we will be introducing our winter menu with some exciting new additions to it. One of these new additions that we are really excited about is Spelt.

Spelt is an ancient grain which can be traced back 7000 years. A relative of wheat, it is higher in protein and was one of the first grains used to bake bread. Not unlike barley in texture, it is reputed to be helpful for those with wheat intolerances and IBS.

Wahaca is going to be using this organic british grown spelt from Sharpham Park which is grown and milled in small batches in the west country and is certified by the soil association. With it’s firm texture and nutty flavour, it makes a great addition to our salads.

We’ll be steaming ours with a little  bit of vegetable stock and seasoning, and serving it up in our salads. 

Please let us know what you think!

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We met the producer of this programme over margaritas at the Mexican Embassy  last week while celebrating Mexican Independence Day. We’d love to do a culinary trip across Mexico like this but also we’re really excited that a programme like this is being done as just spreads the word more that there is SO much diversity to Mexican food.

The TV programme started on Monday 21st, Travel Channel, channel 251 on SKY and will continue every Monday  at 9pm for the next 6 weeks. For anyone passionate about Mexican food and the different flavours and traditions across this vast country this should be a great show!

Next weeks show details!

“Charlie bites off more than he can chew in this sizzling hot romp across the Yucatan Peninsula. After tackling the world’s hottest chilli, our intrepid gastronome takes a tour of some of Mexico’s most visited sites like Chichen Itza and Ek Balam, before dropping in on a Mayan family to unearth an ancient recipe for buried pig. In the second half, we show you the secret, subterranean world of cenotes as Charlie dives through a breathtaking maze of underground rivers and cave systems. Finally, we head for the Caribbean and give you an exclusive look at some of the highlights of the Mayan Riviera.”

From Travel Channels Website. For more information on this series click here.

If you don’t have SKY (like me) then you will be able to buy the DVD on line soon.

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We’ve just had our second round of menu testing for the new winter menu to launch in early October and I have been dreaming of some of the dishes since… below are a few of my favourite. 

Vegetable Tacos

Our new menu will be more seasonal than before and I am just loving the introduction of roasted squash to the Autumn Veg Tacos along with autumn greens, ancho chillies and  other goodies.

Then as the weather gets colder we will introduce the winter greens and mushrooms – topped off with a little Feta which has a richer flavour. These will keep you happy and warm through the winter months…

And the best of them all…

Tommi and our team of chefs created a new dish that we are really hoping to get on the menu as a main course. Our fish always has to be sourced from the best sources – and at the moment we still have a bit of work getting the prices down on this dish. It may not get on this menu but we are working hard at it! This dish has lemon sole goujons (from an MSC certified source) in tortillas served with salad, tomato salsa, chipotle crema with rice and Wahaca coleslaw on the side…

We have a little more testing to do with some of the fish dishes as we experiment with grilled or baked options. We also aim to get as much MSC certified fish on our menu. We will update you on this shortly.

We were watching Jamie’s fantastic new show on Channel 4 last night where he travelled around the Mexican “barrio’s” of southern California. He was talking about our favourite subject – Mexican food!

Some of the recipes he explored looked fantastic, especially the mexican salads, the mole and the cactus…

But he did make one little mistake, he said you couldn’t get anything like it in the UK….!

Those of you that have been to Wahaca will know our Mexican salads full of radishes, hibiscus flowers, ancho chillies, mint and pumpkin seeds, and our delicious Chicken mole enchilada, not to mention the Cactus Tostadsas!

Jamie we’d love to invite you down to try all these and hope you will see that proper Mexican food is alive and well in the UK

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Thursdays in Covent Garden are market day and I was all over excited and hungry! It is great to have it on our doorstep once a week.

Carolyn (who does Wahaca’s product sourcing), Tommi (co founder and chef) and I all headed down for a spot of lunch and to chat to Niamh (@eatlikeagirl) at her stall to try out this weeks fare.

We tried some delicious Frank Hederman smoked salmon with Niamh’s own pickled cucumbers and chunky fresh bread. She’s spent the last few weeks pickling and canning her cucumbers as well as her home cooked filo pastries with butternut squash, spinach and chilli. We love a bit of chilli! All of this was topped off with a cheeky glass of Prosecco. hmmmmm…

We hope next time to try Frank’s smoked mussels in olive oil, which has come highly recommended… Niamh said she’d find out whether they’re available. Please let us know!

On to pudding…

I have a weakness for chocolate and other spoiling treats! We found this little stall selling mini shots of different puddings for just £1 – called the Dessert Deli. Chocolate shot with honeycomb on top was my favourite but I think the others were favouring the Crème Brulee.

Can’t wait for next week.

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