Culinary Tour of Mexico
With New Zealand Mexico Connections and Janet Seager
October 2013 (xx nights)
Each day in Mexico is a movable feast as we explore markets and learn about raw ingredients that form the backbone of Mexico’s world-class cuisine, and sample the cooked results. As we travel from Mexico City to Oaxaca to Puebla, we will savour an array of food and drink new to us, flavours that typify Mexico’s separate and distinct culinary regions. We will roam open-air markets and graze at street stalls in order to sample the most important flavours used in Mexican cooking. To better understand Mexican cultural traditions and the impact they have had on Mexican cuisine, we will visit archaeological sites, important museums and centres of culinary importance. We’ll dine in casual and sophisticated restaurants for an understanding of how these simple and ubiquitous ingredients have been used to create a world class cuisine.
Day 1 Mexico City – Arrival
Saturday: Transfer from the airport to Hotel Fontan Reforma Mexico. Our Hotel is situated close to the Alameda, Hidalgo Metro station and a 20 minute stroll to the Zocalo (but be prepared to spend an hour or more as you marvel at the sights of the Historic Centre of this vast and beautiful city).
Day 2 Mexico City – Centro Historico
Sunday: This will be a quiet day to allow us to acclimatise to the altitude of 2,250 metres (7,380 ft). We will take a leisurely stroll through the Alameda Central to the Casa de los Azulejos (House of the Blue tiles) for breakfast. Built as a private home in the 16th century, the casa is now a Sanbournes restaurant, one of the best known in the city.
After breakfast we will continue along Calle Madero, now closed to traffic. This street contains several historic buildings of note including the sinking church of San Francisco, founded in 1524 and the elaborate 18th century Palacio de Iturbide, now the Banamex Cultural Centre. Passing many, many goldsmiths we will enter La Plaza de la Constitucion, popularly known as the Zocalo. Straight ahead we will see the vast Palacio Nacional, home of some of Diego Rivera’s most famous murals, and to our right, the huge Cathedral Metropolitana, constructed over a period of three centuries. (Writing about this beating heart of Mexico City has one grasping for synonyms for enormous).
To the North-East of the cathedral is the Templo Mayor, the site of the principal Aztec (Mexica) pyramids and religious precinct. The Spanish Conquistadores established the Zocalo over the Axtec (Mexica) city of Tenochtitlan and it has undergone many transformations during the intervening 500 years. A pathway around the excavated site leads to the superb Templo Mayor museum.
Running along the north side of the Museum is Calle Republica de Guatemala where we find La casa de los sirenas (House of the Mermaids). This lovely 16th century house has been converted into a restaurant and here we will enjoy a well-deserved lunch.
On our return to our hotel we can stop at the Museo Franz Mayer. The contents of this charming museum, an extensive and rich collection of decorative arts from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries, was assembled by the eponymous German-born financier and is situated in a 18th century building build around a cool and restful courtyard where we can take coffee and listen to soothing classical music just metres from the busy Avenida Hidalgo.
This evening will be free, with an early night recommended.
Day 3 Mexico City – Street food
Monday: This morning we will venture out to breakfast on atole and tamales from a street vendor, then we will spend the morning wandering the city streets tasting as wide a selection of Mexican street food as we can manage, whilst taking in the sights.
Mexico City boasts a vibrant street food culture. As we walk we will try fresh-squeezed fruit juice, tacos al pastor, quesadillas, carnitas, sweet corn and more.
In the afternoon we will visit Mercado de La Merced, a market so enormous, its own metro stop disgorges into it. La Merced is Mexico City’s largest market. The intense activity, endless variety and sheer quantity of food produce and other products all but defies description.
Day 4 Mexico City – Coyoacan
Tuesday: On previous days we have reached our destinations on foot. Today, after breakfasting at our hotel, we experience the Mexico City Metro on a trip to Coyoacan where we will visit the Casa Azul, former home of painter and Mexican cultural icon Frida Kahlo, where she lived with her equally iconic husband, muralist Diego Rivera. The rambling home is airy, full of light and cluttered with art, pre-Columbian artefacts, books and personal effects of the artists..
From the Casa Azul we follow Avenida Ignacio Allende past vendors selling everything from lucha libre masks, to clothes and food. By now, following our noses, we approach Café el Jarocho on the corner of calles de Cuauhtemoc y Allende, an institution since 1953, where artisanal coffee is roasted on site. Accompanied by delicious, fat doughnuts this will be a welcome pick-me-up.
Refreshed, we will explore Plaza Hidalgo a stately public space with the former Case de Cortes, now the city council building, on one side, and ringed by cafés and ice cream shops, and the shady, manicured Jardin Centenario just across the road. Using what we have learned of Mexican dishes, we will peruse menus at various restaurants before deciding where we want to eat.
Wednesday: Today we will travel by first class coach from Mexico City to the city of Oaxaca (pron. Wa-ha-ca) in Oaxaca state, We will travel through breath-taking mountain ranges to arrive at Oaxaca which, at an altitude of 1,500 metres, has a near perfect climate. Our hotel, The Dainzu is situated 2 blocks from the Zocalo and within easy walking distances of the main attractions.
After settling in we will take a brief walking tour of the Zocalo, the social hub of the city, and perhaps a drink at a table outside one of the many cafes under the portales.
We will end the day with dinner at Restaurante Maria Bonita. This family run restaurant is dedicated to the rescue of traditional recipes, being lost in the desire to try new culinary forms, by conserving traditional Oaxacan family recipes.
Day 6 – Walking Centro Historico de Oaxaca and Museums
Thursday: Today we hit the streets walking once again. From our Hotel we will stroll along Macedonio Alcala, taking in the restored facades of colonial buildings, painted in rainbow colours and housing many of the cities best jewellery and craft shops, along with restaurants and cafes, until we reach Oaxaca’s most famous church, Santo Domingo. This church is renowned for its outstanding, ornate gilt and coloured stucco decoration. Next to Santo Domingo is the restored Dominican Monastery that houses the Museo Regional de Oaxaca. This museum houses displays of textiles, clothing, household goods and archeological artefacts. The jewel in the crown is the significant collection of Mixtec jewellery in gold, obsidian and turquoise recovered from Tomb 7 at nearby Monte Alban, and dating back to approximately AD500.
Next to the museum, and visible from its balconies, is the beautiful ethno-botanic garden, which only brings together plants that are relevant to the region’s culture.
From Santo Domingo and the museum we will stroll through colourful back streets as we wend our way to the 17th century Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Soledad to admire the lavish Baroque interior and the bejewelled statue o statue of Oaxaca’s patroness, who is believed to have miraculous healing powers.
Next to the Basilica is the shady retreat that is the Jardin Socrato, where we will rest and enjoy delicious ice cream flavoured with fresh tropical fruit.
From here we will walk along Avenida Morelos to the Museo Rufino Tamayo. Renowned 20th century artist Tamayo, native son of Oaxaca, donated this superb collection of pre-Hispanic artefacts to the city.
Next we head back to the Zocalo and comida at la Casa de la Abuela, where we can eat and observe the comings and goings in the Zocalo from the first floor windows.
The quality of Oaxaca’s folk art is world renowned and highly coveted by collectors. This afternoon we are free to retrace our footsteps along Macedonio Alcala for a little retail therapy in the beautiful craft shops which line this street.
Day 7 – Mexico to Oaxaca
Friday 12 October:
Day 8 Oaxaca –
Saturday 13 October:
Day 9 Oaxaca
Sunday 14 October:
Day 10 Oaxaca -Cooking with Nora Valencia
Monday 22 October: Today we get the opportunity to work with the wonderful ingredients we have been exploring in the market places and restaurants over the past week.
Your class with Oaxacan instructor Nora Valencia of Alma de Mi Tierra cooking school will begin at 9.45 with a brief introduction to the day’s events. You will then be off to the market where Nora will show you how to choose the correct ingredients for the day’s menu.
Your class will include a soup, appetizer, salsa, main dish, fresh bread or tortillas, dessert and Mezcal.
Comida today will be taken sitting around Nora’s table as you feast on the fruits of your labours
Day 11 Oaxaca – Monte Alban
Tuesday 23 October: Today we will take a guided tour of the great Zapotec ceremonial centre of Monte Alban. Established around 500BC Monte Alban eventually achieved a population of around 25,000 inhabitants in its heyday.
Situated atop a mountain, the top of which was flattened to create the site, Monte Alban commands 360˚ view of the surrounding countryside.
Look up some stuff about Monte Alban
Lunch at Monte Alban?
After lunch we will leave Monte Alban to spend a relaxing afternoon soaking up the sun at Hierva el Agua (the water boils), a beautiful collection of natural mineral-water pools.
We will end the day with an evening of botanas (Mexico’s answer to tapas) at restaurant Los Danzantes.
Day 12 Oaxaca
Wednesday 24 October:
Cooking with Pilar Cabrera
Day 13 Oaxaca
Thursday 25 October: Trip to Teotitlan del valle (with Pilar?) to spend the day with Reyna Mendoza who will cook traditional Zapotec food for us.
Visit Mitla
Late supper
Day 14 Oaxaca
Friday 26 October: Today we will travel in a comfortable van to nearby pueblos to meet artisans and shop in their studios for Oaxacan rugs and weavings in Teotitlan del Valle, carved and painted fanciful animals in San Martin Tilcajete and/or Arrozola, famous black pottery in San Bartolo Coyotepec, and more.
Day 15 Oaxaca – Oaxaca – Puebla
Saturday 27 October:
Day 16 Puebla
Sunday 28 October:
Day 17 Puebla
Monday 29 October:
Day 18 Puebla
Tuesday 30 October:
Day 19
Wednesday 31 October
Puebla – Mexico –home (arriving am Friday 2 November)
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nzmexconnex 