[René Redzepi photo: Bonjwing Lee. All other photos: Amy McKeever/Eater.com]
On the final day of Mesamérica 2013 (see coverage of day one and day two, the line-up was stacked with some pretty serious heavy-hitters, includi...
[René Redzepi photo: Bonjwing Lee. All other photos: Amy McKeever/Eater.com]
On the final day of Mesamérica 2013 (see coverage of day one and day two, the line-up was stacked with some pretty serious heavy-hitters, including Alex Atala (D.O.M.), Jordi Roca (El Celler de Can Roca) and René Redzepi (Noma, duh). Every single one of these guys was at once thought-provoking and entertaining, whether screening videos of chickens launched into space or inviting a group of guys wearing lucha libre masks onstage during a cooking demo.
But beyond those headliners, there was also a serious discussion about the rise of Latin American gastronomy. Mexican chefs such as Antonio de Livier, Aquiles Chavez and Diego Hernandez-Baquedano took the lead in the discussion alongside Peru's Virgilio Martinez and a panel of journalists and bloggers from across the region. And, given the number of young people in the audience wearing chef coats, many of the day's talks were full of advice for the rising generation of cooks. Here now, day three:
The Rise of Latin America
Chef Virgilio Martinez (Central, Lima) shared his explorations of Peru's impressive biodiversity, from foraging trips in the Andes to visits to the Amazon buffer area. From the latter, he said, he and his team take products like berries and mushrooms, wild herbs and cacao to bring back to the restaurant. Martinez then demo'd a few dishes, including one using ingredients from the Amazon buffer area. One such ingredient was some pulverized coca leaf, which he noted was pretty hard to bring to Mexico City given how customs usually frowns on the leaf from which cocaine is made. (And, yes, he passed some out to the audience.) Martinez also talked about his kitchen's slogan: "There's more outside." The time when there was nothing but the kitchen is over, he said, and cooks now have to bring the outside in — which they are doing through the work of the Mater Iniciativa.
Virgilio Martinez and his coca leaf. [Photo: Amy McKeever/Eater.com]
Easily one of the most energetic presentations of the day was that of Guadalajara chef Antonio de Livier, whose ardor for the traditional Mexican meat stew birria was clear. As he prepared a version with pork belly, clams, and shrimp, de Livier worked the audience, demanding applause for things he likes such as: his mentor, his hometown Mexicali, and Enrique Olvera's restaurant Pujol. He also got the audience members yelling out where they were from — all over Latin America, it turns out — but he was surprised at the muted reaction when he asked where the New Yorkers were. De Livier also told the crowd that he believes cooks are the providers of joy, and he invited the many culinary students in the audience to become experts in broth and Mexican cuisine, "the art of Mexico."
A panel of journalists and bloggers from across Latin America — Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, and Peru — gathered together for a conversation about gastronomy in their own countries and for the region. They discussed the need to take advantage of the focus there is on Latin America at the moment in the food world, in particular countries that have lagged behind in culinary development such as Uruguay and Paraguay. The Peruvian journalist pointed out, though, that it can be difficult to talk about gastronomy in countries where people are starving. He urged chefs to keep that ecosystem under consideration.
Mexican celebrity chef Aquiles Chavez (who also opened La Fisheria in Houston, Texas, last year) talked about his path toward working both in the kitchen and on television. With a speech titled, "Television isn't what they say it is," Chavez said that you can't study to be a chef, you have to earn it. And he argued that all the chefs on TV are people who own restaurants and cook for a living. "TV is just another platform, another facet of being a chef," he said. But, he advised the culinary students, it's not like a TV
