6/28/2009

Guelaguetza in Oaxaca, Mexico


Guelaguetza (from the zapotec word “guendalizaa”) means “Shared Offering”. This word represents the maximum celebration of art and culture in Oaxaca. The Guelaguetza is celebrated this year in July 20th and 27th. Communities from within the state of Oaxaca gather in the city to present their regional culture in the form of costumes, dances, music and food in front of thousands of curious spectators. The Guelaguetza is the spirit of Oaxaca throughout the year. It is the most famous celebration of its kind in Mexico.
Every thing you want to know about Guelaguetza from PLANETA.COM

Aurora Cabrera is a native oaxacan artist who operates Casa de las Bugambilias Bed and Breakfast. Under her guidance Casa de las Bugambilias is taking on a fresh new face. Her interest in art and culture as well as her commitment to earth consciousness shows in every detail at the B & B.

Casa de las Bugambilias B&B tu casa en Oaxaca

Photo by Manuel Jimenez

6/13/2009

Casa de los Sabores Cooking School in Oaxaca expands options for food enthusiasts

Alvin Starkman M.A., LL.B.

Oaxaca, Mexico, June 10, 2009

Internationally acclaimed Oaxacan chef Pilar Cabrera (NY Times, Bon Appetit) has expanded the roster at her well-known downtown Oaxaca cooking school, Casa de los Sabores (House of Flavors). Effective immediately, indigenous Zapotec chef Reyna Mendoza joins Pilar’s team, offering a new dimension to the already stellar selection of options available to intrigued foodies, those with a keen interest in Mexican cuisine, as well as chefs from around the globe seeking to add to their existing menus.

A native of Teotitlán del Valle, Reyna brings her knowledge, skill and experience to Casa de los Sabores. She specializes in the preparation of Zapotec dishes.

Reyna has worked with the likes of chefs Rick Bayless and Ricardo Muñoz. Accordingly, her pedigree is beyond reproach, combining technical aspects of the culinary sciences, with lifelong experience in the modest kitchens of her mother and her family’s other matriarchs of gastronome. And today, members of the Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast Association (http://www.oaxacabedandbreakfast.org) had an opportunity to learn for themselves.

Pilar invited colleagues from the association to attend her cooking school, so that owners and managers of small hotels and bed & breakfast guest houses in Oaxaca, would be able to experience for themselves what Reyna can add to the vacation of any visitor to the city and its central valleys. And for four hours, we grilled, chopped and filled, and finally indulged in the fruits of our labor, at this hands-on demonstration.

While we prepared a complete comida, we focused on the preparation of three distinctly different types of Zapotec-style tamales. The complete menu consisted of:

1) Tamales of mole amarillo with chicken, wrapped in large corn stalk leaf;
2) Tamales of mole negro with chicken, in banana leaf;
3) Tamales of mole negro with quesillo, in banana leaf;
4) Tamales of black bean, flavored with avocado leaf, wrapped in corn husk;
5) Salsa of tomatillo and dried Oaxacan chile
6) Salad of organic lettuce, locally grown tomato, avocado and scallion, with cilantro and chile poblano dressing;
7) Mango sherbet served with pecan cookie.

And of course, upon completing the preparation of the foregoing dishes, and throughout the comida, there were rounds of the requisite “salud,” while imbibing … Corona beer and village mezcal.
More than providing an opportunity for us to learn about Reyna and her ability to teach, and to experience for ourselves the exquisite flavor and ingredient combinations of Zapotec cuisine, it was one of those rare opportunities for members of the Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast Association to tell stories, laugh, and enjoy a day away from the office.

Classes for both traditional Oaxacan recipes with Pilar, and Zapotec cooking with Reyna, can be booked by contacting Pilar through her website, http://www.casadelossabores.com.

Alvin Starkman has a masters in social anthropology and law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. Now a resident of Oaxaca, Alvin writes, takes tours to the sights, and owns Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ), a unique Oaxaca bed and breakfast experience, providing Oaxaca accommodations which combine the comfort and service of downtown Oaxaca hotels with the personal touch of quaint country inn style lodging.

6/07/2009

Oaxacan chef to visit Toronto, Canada

Renowned Oaxacan chef Pilar Cabrera is taking the bull by the horns. With tourism predicted to be a little weak for the remainder of the year as a result of the adverse publicity generated by the Swine Flu, her way of dealing with an economic downturn which will likely impact the entire country, is to not only seek ways to bring tourism to Oaxaca, but to take a little bit of Oaxaca on the road ... and out of the country; at least for a couple of weeks.

September is traditionally a slow time for tourism, so Pilar is seizing an opportunity by flying up to Toronto, and with the assistance of a well-known food researcher, writer and television and documentary film producer, is offering her services to Ontario restaurants and cooking schools:

The press release features a couple of photos, with the following text:

A Taste of Oaxaca, Mexico in Toronto, Canada with Chef Pilar Cabrera Arroyo
The sun-drenched valley city of Oaxaca, in the Mexican state of the same name, is considered by many to be the country’s culinary capital. Apart from being the land of seven moles (pron. moh-leh), Oaxaca also boasts an impressive gastronomic repertoire long admired by the rest of Mexico and gastronomes the world over. Working within the state’s rich and proud culinary heritage is one of Oaxaca City’s brightest lights in the food world, Pilar Cabrera Arroyo (in photo holding one of her luscious flans).

This September, 2009, Pilar will be visiting Toronto, ON to share those well-preserved traditions with food enthusiasts throughout the GTA.

Pilar grew up in Oaxaca City surrounded by the state’s vast food history and ingredients- including chile dusted fried grasshoppers (chapulines) and pre-Hispanic dishes that tell the tales of ancient, native peoples. After completing a food engineering and nutrition degree, she worked in research and development for the food giant Herdez-McMormick before returning to her true passion- cooking. In 1994, she opened her own restaurant, the award-winning “La Olla” (or the Pot), featuring the produce of regional (when possible, organic) farmers who help make her Oaxacan cuisine a living work of art.

Pilar has also found a growing fan-base of intrigued foodies around the globe through her “Casa de los Sabores” (House of Flavours) cooking school where banana leaf wrapped tamales, rose petal sorbet and Oaxacan yellow mole have become oft-requested recipes. Oaxacan cuisine is a labour of love that requires attention, a deft hand, fine-tuned taste buds and old-world knowledge. Pilar learned the basics and the cuisine’s subtleties from her mother and grandmother. She’s an excellent teacher and speaks English fluently.

Some of Pilar’s Oaxacan Menu Options Include:
• Sopa Azteca (Tortilla soup seasoned with avocado leaves)
• Tamales de Calabaza con Chocolate (Squash and chocolate tamales)
• Taquitos sauves de nopalitos (Tender cactus paddles in soft corn tortillas)
• Mole Negro con pollo o guajolote (Black mole with chicken or turkey – see photo inset)
• Memelitas (Small corn tortillas stuffed with cheese)
• Gelatina de rompope (Eggnog gelatin)
• Flores de calabaza rellenas de requesón (Squash blossoms filled with requesón cheese)

For Pilar, sharing the food of Oaxaca with Torontonians is akin to giving them a glimpse into the region and the dishes that satisfy both body and soul. And for the first time in the chef’s illustrious career, she’ll finally have the opportunity to do just that this September.

To inquire about restaurants and cooking schools in Ontario where Pilar will be working her magic, or for further information regarding opportunities for your own restaurant or cooking school, please contact:
Mary Luz Mejia - Sizzling Communications (in Toronto)
E: mluzy@hotmail.com ; Cel: 416 -992-2644 ; Office: 416-763-3455

Alvin Starkman - Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast