I thoroughly enjoyed Enrique Olvera’s Chef’s Table episode. I’ve always been a huge lover of Mexican food, with mole being one of my all-time favourite dishes from any cuisine. I have learned to make it at home, but I didn’t know much about the food itself prior to hearing about Chef Olvera. When you think of fine dining, usually French food comes to mind, or maybe Italian. Mexican food is typically thought of as cheap, easily accessible street food, as discussed during the episode. Prior to Pujol, I would be hard-pressed to name another upscale Mexican restaurant.
I appreciate how this episode went into detail about the more lesser-known Mexican foods/ingredients as well. Learning about the uses of Chicatana Ants was particularly interesting to me because though I know that insects are eaten in many different cultures, growing up in the United States I’d never thought about cooking with them before. I also enjoyed his discussion about mole, and how he plates it alone, without any meat or accompanying dish besides tortilla. As mentioned above, I love mole, but in the past I’ve always made it with chicken, so it was interesting to see someone showcase it as a complete dish by itself when I used to think of it as a sauce only. I really appreciate the respect Chef Olvera has for his heritage, local ingredients, and the cuisine of his come country.
Hi Grace!! I loved your post. I also really enjoyed Chef’s Olvera episode. I am from Oaxaca, and I grew up eating mole. It is my favourite dish, and we eat it in so many ways. If you like mole, you should definitely think about going to Oaxaca. I am not sure if you are vegetarian now or just interested in meat alternatives, but my two roommates are vegetarians. When they came to visit, they had no trouble finding meat alternatives.
Regarding insects, I was also impressed when Chef Olvera talked about Chicatanas. When I was little, Chicatanas would arrive at the school’s soccer fields, and we would capture them and play with them. Then some of my friends would take them home. One of my friend’s grandma made a delicious salsa with them. I am also a huge fan of chapulines (grasshoppers), so that’s another thing you could see if you go to Oaxaca. 🙂
Thank you for your comment, Fernanda! I would love to visit Oaxaca 🙂 So cool to hear about your experience with the Chicatanas too!
The Olvera episode was such a delight, as are your reflections on it (and Fernanda’s reply)! I appreciated how the episode began, with Chef Humm describing Mexican cuisine at the start of the show as a rich amalgamation of foods from cuisines and cultures across the world. It was almost a perfect description of “culinary mestizaje.”
If our class ever meets for a meal in person, I vote you make mole 🙂
I’d love to, thanks for your comment Tamara 🙂