Wahaca

Food & Drink, News, Recipes & Cooking Tips

Steve Gale on Tommi’s Book Launch (Guest Post)

This is a guest post by Steve Gale who is the winner of Tommi’s Mexican Recipe Competition. Steve’s brilliant recipe for a refreshing salad made with watermelon and a dusting of sugar, salt and chilli can be found in Tommi’s new book, Mexican Cooking Made Simple. Over to Steve for an insight into where his idea came from and what he thought of the book launch…

I first sampled Thomasina’s cooking at the Covent Garden branch of Wahaca and remember being blown away by the authenticity of the food. It was a really fun place to eat and there was the all important buzz of people enjoying fantastic food with friends. So many times I have eaten in other Mexican restaurants and have been disappointed with the standard nacho and fajita fare. So when I saw the competition to submit a recipe for possible inclusion into Thomasina’s new book, I leapt at the chance.

Over the past 10 years I have travelled extensively in Europe, India, Asia, Mexico, Central and South America. I feel I am uniquely strange in that as a bloke I don’t watch the footie, I travel and write down recipes of blinding meals I have eaten in unusual places. I trawled back through my note books and remembered a great Mexican street food trend of serving chilled fruit with a chilli, salt & sugar sprinkle. The cold juicy fruit works really well with a salty chilli hit – just what you need on a blisteringly hot Mexican day. I adapted this into a light salad with some fresh cheese and a crispy tortilla and was extremely lucky to win the competition.

Thomasina was kind enough to invite me to the book launch in her new Wahaca restaurant in west London. It was quite a star studded affair and a little intimidating for one not used to media events. However a few (strong) margaritas later and I was feeling much more comfortable, if a little drunk. I think the key to a good margarita is not to let any one element overpower the drink and these ones slipped down a treat! The canapés were great – a selection of delicious dishes in miniature from the main menu. Potato and chorizo tacos, lime and coriander braised beef tostadas, crispy fried chicken tacos… I could go on….

I had a really good chat to Rachel Allen and Matt Tebbut and then stalked the other celebs for a photo opportunity before finally catching up with Thomasina (and her Mum). Thomasina is clearly passionate about Mexican food and is trying to show people that the food of this region is not a one trick piñata. Yes, tortillas play a big role in Mexican food but this is the carbohydrate staple of the nation. Imagine suggesting that the cuisine of Italy is dull because they eat a lot of pasta! The food of Mexico is as exciting and diverse as any I have eaten. From fish tacos in Baja California to the seven famous moles (sauces) of Oaxaca, great smoky chilli rubs on barbequed meats to delicate marinated fish dishes. I really hope that Thomasina succeeds and inspires more people to cook and eat real Mexican food.

You can read more of Steve’s culinary adventures on his website: www.gapyeargourmet.com and find out more about his recipe in Tommi’s new book: Mexican Cooking Made Simple.

Congratulation Steve and thanks for sharing such a great recipe.

Food & Drink, Food Topics & Trends, News, Our News

Mexican Food at the British Museum

We are thrilled to have Mel from Travels with my Fork writing a guest blog for us on the exciting talk that took place at the British Museum last week. If anyone else out there wants to write a guest blog for us do just let us know.

Last night, myself, Kelsie (the other half of Travels With My Fork) and dozens of people converged at the British Museum to hear a panel discussion about Mexican food. This was a rare opportunity to hear from some people I personally really admire talk about a subject near and dear to their hearts.

Moderating the panel was Fay Maschler, food critic of the Evening Standard. She was joined by Wahaca’s very own Thomasina Miers, as well as Fiona Dunlop who has recently published Viva la Revolucion! , Chef Enrique Olvera who runs the prestigious Pujol a restaurant in Mexico City and my hero when it comes to Mexican cooking, Diana Kennedy.

The talk traversed a wide range of topics, including these highlights:

Diana Kennedy giving a ‘tip of the iceberg’ description of the mostly unknown regional differences in cooking and ingredients.  She spoke about how there are many varied bio-regions which have led to these regional differences and sounded a warning call against big agribusiness which has the potential to wipe out these micro-crops.

FIona Dunlop describing the recent rise in visibility of a new generation of Mexican chefs who are propelling Mexican food to international recognition.

Enrique spoke at great length about the balance between maintaining traditions and their natural evolution.  I was particularly impressed by how he described a shift in cooking from obtaining legitimacy from European influences to honouring the well developed classic techniques from within Mexico itself.

Thomasina described how what she and the Wahaca team are doing is a challenge directly tied to the availability of produce and ingredients that are only found in Mexico.  She also described the different ‘races’ of corn available in Mexico and sees, with the lime slaking technique used there, the opportunity to develop corn as the next superfood.

Following questions from the audience, I learned about a ‘magic’ rock used by one woman’s grandmother when making beans that imparts a unique flavour.  There was a very animated discussion about the difficulty in reversing most UK people’s association of Mexican food with that of stodgy, sour cream laden Tex-Mex abominations to the wealth of flavours and ingredients that Mexican food truly is.  A question about tamales, got Diana really excited and she was ready to spend another two hours discussing all the different varieties she has come across.

It was a great mix of viewpoints and experiences and as the evening wore on I was hoping it would never end.

An apt closing question asked each panelist to talk about a memorable experience or memory of Mexican food.  Both Fiona and Thomasina described Mexican versions of ‘Underground Restaurants’ with their meeting women who sold their specialities from the front of their homes.  In the case of Fiona it was Mole sauce, and in the case of Thomasina it was empanadas.  Enrique spoke about his grandmother’s food which has had a lasting influence on his cooking and described her dish of Frijoles Puercos (pork and beans).  And finally,Diana described an expedition to find a particular nut that is only found in a small area.  After travelling and searching she found the bush only to be informed by a local woman that all the nuts had been eaten that morning by a flock of parrots.

And if the talk were not enough to get our appetites going, the Wahaca folks laid on a spread of food afterwards with a selection of Mexican beers and Margaritas to complement the food.

It seems clear from this experience that Mexican food is finally getting the recognition it deserves for being a rich, well-developed classical cuisine of it’s own right.

Viva la revolucion of Mexican food!

PS: I was extremely honoured at the end of the panel discussion to meet Diana Kennedy and ask her to sign my 20-year-old foodstained and dogeared copy of The Cuisines of Mexico.  She urged me, as she had urged the audience throughout the evening, to pick up a copy of her new release Essential Cuisines of Mexico.

Check out Tommi making a Mole on the British Museum website here.

Thanks to Mel for a fantastic Guest Post.

Food & Drink, Pairings, Supplier Articles, Wahacos

Wine Training at Bibendum (Guest post)

We went to Bibendum Wine to enjoy one of the many perks of our job – wine training! Dan from Bibendum has written a post about the day, including a video where our very own Pedro and Robin describe a fantastic addition to our list:

It’s probably not your average common or garden wine. “Oh yeah, I’ll have your Cabernet/Zin/Barbera/Petite Sirah blend from Baja California please” is not a phrase you’re likely to hear down the local pub. But that is the point of it – this wine is so unique! Estapor Venir is a voluptuous, sinful and downright sexy wine that burst all over your tastebuds like spicy, fruity depth charge. But it’s not something that many diners will have heard about before they sit down so education is key.

Last week Bibendum was very excited to welcome Wahaca staff into our office for a day of wine training. Amanda and Liz took the guys through all the wines on the list, with one eye on the menu and possible food matches. The Estapor Venir has just gone onto the Wahaca wine list and is rich and packed with red and black fruit and hints of chocolate. I think it would work well with a hearty, meaty dish like Pork Pibil or Mole. It has good fruit sweetness which means that it can stand up to chilli and spicier dishes. But don’t listen to me! Why don’t you listen to what the Wahaca guys thought?

Not only is it a great wine that celebrates Mexican produce, but it also has a great story. Produced using sustainable viticulture in the Guadalupe Valley in Baja California, Winemaker Hugo d’Acosta favours Zinfandel and Grenache which are particularly well adapted to the climate and need little intervention. With minimum use of chemicals and only natural fertilisers the vines are encouraged to form long roots and in some vineyards no irrigation is needed at all.

At the “Escuelita” winery, where Estapor is produced, Hugo has set up a non-profit winemaking school. His aim is to promote small-scale winemaking in the area by educating local people about winemaking traditions and teaching them winemaking skills, thereby providing a means of supporting themselves. Built on the site of a former olive oil production plant Hugo and Alejandro have tried to set an example by their own recycling. They have made extensive use of old bed and boxsprings, barrels, wine bottles, vineyard poles, irrigation hoses and plastic bottles by turning these into an art form. Old PET bottles are heated and pressed into layers to use as insulation in the walls and ceilings of new buildings. In time there are plans to make use of solar energy.

And if you’d like to hear what one of the wine trade’s most respected tasters had to say about it, here’s a quick interview with Steven Spurrier (of Decanter Magazine) at our Winestock Festival last year.

Thanks Dan, we’re looking forward to the next training already and look out for Estapor Venir on the menu.