Mexico’s traditional cuisine is the first ethnic cuisine in the world to be recognized by UNESCO on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The organization announced the honor following a presentation of Mexico’s traditional dishes by acclaimed Chef Enrique Farjeat, accompanied by other renowned Mexican chefs and regional cuisine cooks.
“This acknowledgement by UNESCO, the first in the organization’s history, is a testament to the cultural heritage and colorful flavors found in Mexican food,” said Chef Farjeat. “I am honored to represent Mexico and to have presented our culinary traditions before UNESCO and the world.”
In recognizing Mexico’s gastronomic tradition, UNESCO stated: “Traditional Mexican cuisine is a comprehensive cultural model comprising farming, ritual practices, age-old skills, culinary techniques and ancestral community customs and manners. It is made possible by collective participation in the entire traditional food chain: from planting and harvesting to cooking and eating.”
“Visitors and cooking enthusiasts have long appreciated the irresistible flavors of Mexico’s cultural cuisine–handcrafted from local ingredients in age-old ways–and now UNESCO has made it official,” said Farjeat, who’s passion for Mexican cooking extends throughout his career and his present position as executive chef of the St. Regis Hotel Mexico City.
For meeting planners, with attendees keenly interested in all things foodie thanks to TV cooking shows, UNESCO’s prestigious recognition now turns group cooking classes and dine-arounds into cultural experiences where ever you go.
For instance, Puebla is home to chiles en nogada. Groups of up to 60 can learn how to prepare them at the Meson Sacristia de la Campania Hotel & Cooking School. In Oaxaca, La Casa de los Sabores Cooking School reveals the secrets of indigenous delights including all seven of Oaxaca’s mouthwatering moles and banana leaf-wrapped tamales.
At the Colegio Culinario de Morelia in the state of Michoacan, attendees can grind their own nixtamal (dried corn) on a stone metate and prepare zesty pre-Hispanic specialties like Atole de grano (corn soup prepared with fresh anise) and atapacua de pipian (a thick concoction of pumpkin seeds, chiles, onion and cilantro). On the Gulf coast, Veracruz-inspired chilpochale (a spicy seafood soup) is the order of the day.
In the Yucatan, the luxury eco-hotel Hacienda Chichen Resort offers classes in authentic Maya cuisine including cochinita pibil (pork wrapped in banana leaves and roasted in the ground) and recado de chilmole (a spectacular rub made from charred chiles and fragrant allspice berries)–all washed down, of course, with xtabentun, the ancient alcoholic beverage of Maya royalty, made from honey and anise.
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