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.