Traditional Mexican cuisine sings thanks to the fusion of bold flavors.
The origins of Mexico’s national dish, the festive green, white and red chiles en nogada (mild fried green poblano chiles, stuffed with beef and dried fruit, then topped with pomegranate seeds and a creamy walnut sauce), date back to 1821, when the nation gained its distinctive tricolor flag and independence from Spain.
The subsequent post-colonial melding of three unique kitchens – Spanish, French and indigenous Aztec, Mayan and Olmec – begat a cuisine as complex and intriguing as Mexico’s baroque heritage.
The most rewarding way to appreciate this rich culinary heritage is to enroll in a cooking class in situ, around a traditional hearth. I recently received a tasty education in Mexican cuisine in the intimate, Talavera- tiled kitchen at Doña Estela Silva’s Mexican Home Cooking School, in Tlaxcala, Mexico’s smallest but most spirited state.
Estela Silva’s maternal great- great-grandmothers were Frenchwomen who migrated to Puebla in the early 1860s and began cooking for wealthy families. Their culinary concoctions and creativity are embodied in the school’s earthy family recipes, which emphasize simplicity, tradition and the freshest local ingredients: the Mexican version of Slow Food.
Manual prep work
Instead of firing up an automatic blender after shopping for ripe produce at a lively market, we were taught to char chiles directly over open flames. Salsas were mashed up by hand in a molcajete (a heavily textured earthenware bowl specifically designed to draw out essential flavors) with the aid of a hefty stone pestle that required two hands to wield. Over the course of our week-long program we fashioned such delicacies as cinnamon-infused almond chicken, cactus-paddle salad and wild mushroom soup garnished with chiles and squash blossoms.
The school’s highly personalized programs are customized to match the interests of individual students. Classes are bilingual (English and Spanish), held for three to four hours a day and are limited to four students, except in the case of private groups of up to six. The weeklong programs feature five morning cooking classes and a trip to a traditional local market. Optional guided afternoon excursions can be arranged to pulquerías (traditional cantinas specializing in pulque, a fermented liquor derived from the maguey plant) and impressive nearby archeological ruins. Additional options include visits to artisans’ home studios, and pottery, fabric and handicraft shops around Puebla and Tlaxcala.
Romantic meeting
Estela met her American husband, Jon, while cooking in her family’s restaurant in northern California. The two complement each other perfectly: Estela provides the culinary pizazz and inspiration, while Jon helps translate the culinary intricacies for students. Throughout our stay the music was upbeat and the ambiance lighthearted; to celebrate a particular culinary success, Estela would spontaneously dance around the hearth in her spacious kitchen.
The setting for the class was an added treat: The couple’s serene, rural, hacienda-style complex, Casa Carmelita, sits atop a hill just a few miles outside Tlaxcala’s sleepy capital city (also called Tlaxcala). Though less than an hour from Puebla and only two hours east of Mexico City’s international airport via a modern expressway, the surrounding wildflower-studded countryside felt a century removed from the frenetic pace of Mexico’s modern megalopolises.
At the end of each day at 7,000 feet, after a glass of surprisingly drinkable Baja California wine, there would be much storytelling while we savored the dishes we had prepared. But by the end of our altogether illuminating and satisfying week, we realized that the curriculum had taught us much more than salsas and soups: It felt more like a cultural-immersion academy – with a dash of delicious down-home cooking thrown in for good measure.
Based in northern California, adventure travel consultant Andrew Dean Nystrom (adnystrom.com) has co-authored the past three editions of Lonely Planet’s Mexico guidebook.
INSIDER’S GUIDE
ESTELA SILVA’S MEXICAN HOME COOKING SCHOOL
Tuition for the seven-day, six-night program, including meals, drinks and on-site B&B accommodation with fireplace and private bathroom, is $1,200 per person; non-students are welcome for $500. Optional guided afternoon excursions are $50-$100 per person. For reservations, telephone or fax 011-52-246-46-809-78, or e-mail MexicanHomeCooking
@yahoo.com. Visit the website at mexicanhomecooking.com.
GET THERE
Direct flights link Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport to most major North American cities. From Mexico City, frequent deluxe Estrella Roja buses (estrellaroja.com.mx, two hours, $15) depart for Puebla, from where the school provides a free inbound transfer. Rental cars start around $50 per day, but driving on Mexican byways and expressways is not for the timid.
OTHER NOTABLE MEXICAN COOKING SCHOOLS
Cocinar Mexicano (cocinarmexicano.com): Cultural-immersion workshops, including culinary writing workshops and chef-only week-long intensives, are timed to coincide with lively local fiestas in the village of Tepoztlán, an hour south of Mexico City.
Mesón Sacristía de la Compañía (mesones-sacristia.com): This lovely boutique hotel’s five-day Culinary Magic package focuses on Puebla’s rich cuisine and allows plenty of time for touring the city’s museums.
