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Annual Awards of Excellence Scholarship Trips2006 Winners Trip to Mexico - Report from Rebecca Kinsella, AAE Pastry 2006 
Myself, Enrico Molino, Paul Smart and Michael Coaker had the excellent opportunity, thanks to the Academy of Culinary Arts and their sponsors to spend 8 days in Mexico. We arrived in Mexico City on 2nd September 2007 where we were given tours of a number of hotels and restaurants in the area. In Los Giras Les the chef demonstrated how to make mole sauce and a variety of other sauces with chilies, nuts and spices. 
From Mexico City we traveled down to Oaxaca. On our first day in Oaxaca we were accompanied by Chef Alejandro Ruiz Olmedo who took us around the markets in which we purchased all the fresh ingredients for that night's dinner. We were able to see him prepare local specialties and tasted many new flavors, including chapulinos, which are dried and fried grasshoppers. This was the first of many encounters with chapulinos! The chef had us try a drink called donay that is made from Mescal, grenadine, orange juice and the glass is rimmed with a smokey red salt. Later we found out that the smokey flavor comes from ground dry red worms. For dessert we tried many of the beautiful fruits from the market, cinnamon custard and burnt milk ice cream. We also had the opportunity to try Mexican wines from the Baja California region. On our second day in Oaxaca we went to visit a small chocolate factory called Mayordomo. They roast the cocoa beans and then grind them between rotating stones of varied coarseness. Once they get a paste from this they added sugar and then flavorings like vanilla, cinnamon, nuts and coffee. We did some sight seeing in the village of Mitla where we saw Aztec pyramid ruins and tombs. Afterwards we went to visit the distillery where Mezcal Beneva is made. We got to see the pit where they cook the trunk of the cactus for 72 hours, the fermentation and distillation processes. We had a tasting with different aged Mezcal as well as fruit and coffee flavored mescal liquors. Again we encountered chapolinos and another delicacy Escamole a dish of garlic fried ant larva. 
Next we traveled down to Merida in Yucatan where there was a big difference in temperature and cuisine. We participated in classes at The International chef school where they created regional specialties. We visited the restaurant Nectar where chef Santiago Pineda Leyva demonstrated a scallop and a pork dish both using a red paste called Achiote, which comes from the Annato plant. We traveled to Chichen Itza, which is the ancient Mayan city where the pyramids were built to the Mayan rain god; ironically we were caught in a thunderstorm! We went to the Hacienda Temozon for dinner and sat in front of open windows looking out onto the Hacienda's beautiful grounds. The food was superb and especially the dulce papaya ice cream with honey yogurt sauce. We also visited a hacienda where they produce Xabentun the anise-flavored liquor that the Mayan people used to "speak with the gods".
This was an incredible experience for me, and one I will never forget. I liked Mexico and Mexican people so much that I am planning a return trip in December. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to see this beautiful culture and appreciate their food. Rebecca Kinsella, AAE Pastry 2006 |
