Chef Martín Limas’ kitchen is not equipped with cutlery, a refrigerator or even a stove.
But who needs culinary gadgets on a radio cooking show?
“On television it’s ta-ta-ta-ta-ta and then you’re done,” says Limas, the host of “La Cocina de Martín” on La Buena Onda, KNRV 1150-AM. “But on radio you are only talking – not smelling, not tasting, just imagining.”
With two minutes remaining before hitting the airwaves, Limas pulls up the three recipes that will occupy the one-hour time slot on the Spanish-language radio program: “Drunk Wings,” “Chile Rellenos With Shrimp, and Fish With a Tuna Salsa,” and “Chiles Jalapeños With Chorizo and Cheese.”
“These are authentic Mexican dishes that many people will eat to celebrate Mexican Independence Day,” he says, silently licking his lips. “And boy are they delicioso and fabuloso.”
With that, he swivels in his chair and says in Spanish, “Let’s go, let’s go” as he slips on his headphones, which resemble chocolate muffins, and leans so close to the mic he has to catch himself with his feet to keep from falling forward on the 4-foot-long table he calls his desk.
“Hello, and good afternoon to you, friends,” he says, advising his audience to grab a pen and paper so they can jot down the ingredients for the first recipe.
Mariachi music fills the airwaves with the spirit of the upcoming Mexican Independence Day (Saturday), and Limas starts dictating ingredients for “Chiles Jalapeños With Chorizo and Cheese,” pausing for about five seconds after each ingredient while music plays in the background: chiles jalapeños … 1/4 cup finely chopped onion … 1 pound of finely chopped chorizo … 9 ounces of shredded Manchego cheese … masa … 6 eggs …
As he reads the directions, Limas acts as if he were in front of a real stove, turning imaginary knobs to heat the oil that will shock the chiles out of their skins, while imitating the sound of a fryer with “ssshhhhssshhhhing” noises.
In the next room, Mayra Nieves, vice president of production, chuckles to herself as she listens to the improvised sizzle.
“I told him, ‘Martín, I’ll buy you the special effects,’ but he says, ‘no, people like it,”‘ Nieves says, citing a listener uproar after an annoyed caller told Limas to invest in a real blender. “It’s a show that’s entertaining that also brings culinary aspects. There is nothing like him in terms of Colorado.”
But faking sounds of blenders and oil popping in a pan wasn’t always part of his job description. Born in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, he began his cooking career making pastry in his mother’s bakery before studying tourism and hotels at Sant Pol de Mar in Barcelona, Spain, where he learned how to prepare such desserts as German chocolate cake and carrot cake.
Eager to put his newfound skills to use, Limas returned to Mexico to work in the family bakery and prepare desserts for area hotels and eventually landed a cooking advice show on Nucleo Radio there.
While in Mexico, Maria Elena Llansa and Heberto Limas-Villers, founders of La Buena Onda, which has stations in Phoenix and Denver, heard his culinary advice on the radio and recruited him to work in Phoenix. They later asked Limas to move to Denver when the station set up headquarters here nearly two years ago.
“It’s unique, it’s his style, it’s great,” says Mariela Mea, vice president of sales, explaining that the sound effects and authentic Latino recipes remind the listeners, who fall in the 25-plus age group, of cooking at home. “The Hispanic culture is very rich in food and flavors. He tends to be diverse in his recipes and brings a taste of other countries to Denver.”
Sometimes the taste of the exotic can cause problems when searching for ingredients, Limas says. Many of his listeners come from the state of Chihuahua, and getting ingredients from other Mexican regions and states is a challenge.
Maria, a listener who telephoned in to Limas’ Thursday afternoon show agrees.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to bother you, but I am not able to find albaricoques,” she says in Spanish, asking if he could tell her where she could find the fruit.
“You aren’t bothering me,” he says, as Maria tries to jog his memory about a juice recipe he ran a few days before.
After thinking for a few moments, Limas realizes she needs dried apricots and tries to tell Maria the name in English.
“It’s part of the family, how do you say it, it’s like a peach,” he says as he racks his brain thinking of the English word.
“It’s an apricot,” he exclaims as he regains his train of thought.
Maria doesn’t understand the word and asks Limas to repeat it, after which Limas spells it for her, “A-P-R-I-C-
O-T.”
After getting the missing link to her juice recipe, Maria and Limas finish their call, and Limas ends his show.
“I get lots of calls all the time. Some are about recipes and some are for things like, ‘What can I do if I’m losing my hair,”‘ Limas says. “But I love it. I love, love, love talking to the listeners.”
With that, Limas slides on his headphones and greets the residents of Phoenix, going through the same recipes for the same show, just in a different time zone.
Radio host reveals secrets of good taste
We turned the tables on Limas, asking him a few questions about his preferences.
Which do you prefer, sweet or savory? I love sweet but prefer savory.
Do you have a favorite dessert? Hijole, that’s hard. Tres leches cake and ice cream. Actually, my favorite ice cream flavor is tres leches.
What’s your favorite spice? Chile poblano because it is sweet and spicy.
Do you have a favorite cooking method? I love to cook in my wok and steam things. I love tamales.
Any big cooking plans? I want to start a catering business that focuses on finger foods with Latin fusion.
Do you have any advice for the chefs at home? Always make sure you can taste what you are eating. For example, a good steak should only need a little bit of salt and pepper. Some people like to cover it in sauce, but it shouldn’t need it.
Martín Limas’s recipes appear each week in Viva Colorado and his show, “La Cocina de Martín” airs at noon Monday through Friday on KNRV 1150 AM. For more information, visit .
