COOKING WITH A LOCAL| PLAYA DEL CARMEN, MEXICO

Juan More Tacos is a family-owned company that was started from scratch by the owner Enrique located in Puerto Vallarta. I was impressed to learn that Enrique got his start by pawning his laptop in order to purchase ingredients for the first cooking classes. The family members are from a hospitality background as well and Chef Alma has been running the school from her home in Playa del Carmen for three years. I liked the fact that we started the day visiting the local market in a neighborhood far from 5th Avenue (the popular tourist district).

To begin the day, the group of just three (including myself) visited a local fresh produce market and tortilla “factory” where tortillas are made from freshly ground corn (mais). At the market, Alma selected ingredients we would use for the day’s menu such as avocados, limes, tomatoes, onions, etc. Thereafter, we also made a stop at the local butcher within the same area and saw fresh meat strung on racks and people gathering in line ready to select their prime meat. Once we finished shopping for ingredients, we then drove to Alma’s house nearby to start prepping the menu.

First and foremost, Alma asked the group to juice limes for the margaritas which would kickstart the day. The margarita was very delicious once I got past the intense lime flavor and I definitely would use this cocktail recipe in the future. Next, it was about time for a snack to go along with the margaritas and we used a mortar and pestle to mash the avocados and cilantro for a delectable guacamole recipe. I also ate the guacamole spread on a tortilla with pork rinds and queso fresco (cheese) as well.

Following the introductory drinks and snacks, it was time to char poblano peppers directly on the stove. The charred poblanos would then be peeled and used for the Raja Poblanas recipe that also includes potato, sweet corn, onion, garlic, and heavy cream. This was a very delicious recipe in which I ate a few servings of and plan to make again soon. Then, the ingredients were laid out for the main star of the menu which is Mole Chicken. There are a number of ingredients that are used to make the famous mole sauce such as cinnamon, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, cloves, and even animal cookies! The dry ingredients firstly need to be toasted and then combined with chicken broth and later the unusual, but key ingredient of chocolate will also be added.

Finally, we got to use a fancy contraption to hand-press the freshly made tortillas that we be served along with the Mole Chicken, Raja Poblanas, and Mexican Rice. This cooking experience was unique because we shopped the market like a local and also made home cooked meals at a local’s house, so I really appreciated the concept of this cooking class. I also like the fact that it was more of an intimate group of people and I was lucky since only two others were in my class, but usually a maximum of five to six people.