Get a taste of Mexico at its authentic best
IFIRST came to Mexico when I was 19 on a gap year. In my first week I was invited to a party and the food was incredible. I had absolutely no idea. I thought Mexicans all ate TexMex – greasy, heavy food with cheese and beans. How wrong I was. The food was a revelation, and I ended up travelling all around Mexico eating everything I could see. I came back thinking I was going to eat tacos all the time and then realised there were none in the UK.
Ten years later I was back. I visited Oaxaca City – and have been going there regularly ever since. It’s where the idea for Wahaca, my chain of Mexican restaurants, was born, and where I still come to research our menus.
The Oaxaca region has its own distinct microclimate, which means it has amazing produce. It’s best known as the ‘Land of Seven Molés’, special sauces which are made with all kinds of chillies.
It’s there that I met Alejandro Ruiz, a great chef who’s revitalised the restaurant scene in Oaxaca City. His Casa Oaxaca Cafe does the best traditional Mexican breakfasts: huevos rancheros – fried eggs with a Mexican herb called hoja santa – panes de nata, which are clotted cream cakes, and Mexican hot chocolate, made with water instead of milk and a special blend of cacao, almonds, sugar and cinnamon.
Round the corner is Itanoní Flor del Maíz, a corn restaurant. Whether you go for quesadillas, tacos or memelas, they’re all made from various varieties of corn sourced from a co-operative of different growers. It’s a pretty spectacular place, where you can see everything made on the griddle in front of you.
Alejandro is an amazing guide to the city’s markets. You can book a tour with him of the main wholesale market in the city, the Central de Abastos, through his hotel, Casa Oaxaca – and for 2,000 pesos (£85) he’ll show you round the best places, such as Valentina’s memela stand, then buy ingredients and give you a cooking class. All with wine, of course.
Alternatively, you can explore the Benito Juarez Market by yourself. It’s the oldest in the city and more touristy, but lovely. Find empañadas de molé mario, which is a variation on a taco, loaded with yellow molé, shreds of chicken, and white onion relish. They go on sale at about 11am because the corn is freshly ground first thing in the morning to make the dough for the tortillas. You can also buy ingredients like chorizo and steak and take it to be cooked to eat with the different tortillas. It’s a very democratic way of eating.
The chefs here take inspiration from what’s going on on the streets, and now cooks such as Rodolfo Castellanos, who left Oaxaca years ago to work in fine restaurants, are coming back and bringing fabulous dining to the city. The food at Rodolfo’s restaurant Origen is, I think, some of the best in the city.
That’s what I fell in love with – the laid-back style of eating and the freshness of the ingredients. Whether you’re eating in a top restaurant or munching on street food, it’s impossible not to eat well.