Taco Maria

I am so excited to write about my amazing adventure yesterday.  The Cape Hotel and Manta Restaurant are celebrating their one-year anniversary with a culinary weekend that was kicked off with a cooking demonstration at Manta, Chef Enrique Olvera’s restaurant.

I have been following Chef Olvera for many years. At the age of 24, Enrique opened the intimate restaurant, Pujol, in Mexico City which has been described as “the best Mexican food on the planet.  He also owns Eno, a causal eatery in Mexico City, Maiz de Mar in Playa de Carmen and Cosme in New York.  He is the founder of Mesamerica, the annual international food symposium; he publishes Boomerang, a Spanish language culinary magazine and has published the cookbook, Mexico From the Inside Out.  He is also one of the chefs showcased in the second season of the very popular Netflix series:  Chef’s Table.  Now at the age of 40, he has expanded his empire to Los Cabos.

It was co-hosted by Chefs Carlos Salgado and Alex Branch.  Chef Salgado was named a Food and Wine Best New Chef in 2015 and has been named a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef West.  He is the chef/owner Taco Maria in Costa Mesa, California. Chef Branch has cooked and studied in Mexico, Germany and Austria before coming to Manta.

Before the cooking began, the adorable mixologist, Osvaldo Vazquez, started us off with a refreshing drink called Buffalo Green.  Osvaldo begins with making a “shrub” from Champagne vinegar, lime and sugar and then adds fresh cucumber juice, freshly made ginger beer and lime juice to which gin or vodka can be added.  Later he created a drink called Cantina Band with Mezcal, grilled pineapple and ginger beer.

For the starter, Chef Salgado prepared delicious Ricotta Squash Fritters with a Green Tomato Jam and Wild Flower Honey with Ground Chile Arbol. This dish had so many unexpected flavors and textures exploding in my mouth – I loved it and it will be part of my cooking repertoire for many years to come.

For the main course, Chef Olvera prepared flounder filets pan cooked in butter, ginger, garlic and herbs served on sweet potato puree surrounded by sweet corn and hominy kernels and presented with lime and a chiffonade of epazote leaves.  It was just divine!

For dessert, Chef Salgado prepared Arroz con Leche (Rice Pudding) with Tea Soaked Prunes – the perfect ending to a perfect lunch.

The best part of the day for me was to get up enough courage to speak to Chef Olvera.  He was lovely, kind and thoughtful.  I also had the opportunity to speak to Chefs Salgado, Branch and the Mixologist, Osvaldo. They were passionate, warm and definitely the new young movers and shakers in the culinary world.

I am celebrating my birthday and this was my dream start to what is looking to be a wonderful weekend.

 

Recipe:  Green Tomato Jam

1000 g green tomatoes or tomatillos

20 g olive oil

50 g sugar

20 g Champagne or white wine vinegar

1 cardamom pod whole

1 g coriander seed whole

1 g cumin seed whole

3 g salt

Wash and stem the green tomatoes.  Grate on the large holes of box grater; combine with oil in a wide pot and bring to a gentle simmer stirring regularly. Remove the cardamom seeds from the pods discarding the pods.  Combine the seeds with the cumin and coriander in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.  Grind to a fine powder, then add to the tomatoes.  Continue cooking slowly until the liquid is reduced and the jam is thickened.  Add the sugar and vinegar and cook for a few minutes to thicken again, stirring constantly so the pulp does not burn or color.  Add the salt before removing from the heat to cool.

There is still time to participate in the finale tonight: 

Saturday, July 2

6-11 p.m. – Five-Course Prix Fixe Menu at Manta

The dynamic chef duo of Salgado and Olvera team up again at Manta for a one-night-only prix fixe menu. As they alternate in preparing courses, each provides insight into their distinctive, yet complementary takes on Mexican cuisine. Vazquez’s beverage pairings include sake, wine and cocktails. Tickets are $100 per person or $120 with beverage pairing.

10 p.m.-2 a.m. – Anniversary Party at The Rooftop

As a grand finale, the anniversary festivities flow to Cabo San Lucas’ only rooftop lounge for bites and specialty cocktails inspired by both The Cape and Taco Maria. Resident DJ Capri and guest DJ Cyril spin tunes to sync with an anniversary fireworks display. This retreat elevates the party mood with its views spanning from downtown to the Sea of Cortez, communal seating area with a fire pit, intimate cabanas and a craft beer garden pouring Baja-sourced brews. Admission to The Rooftop is complimentary, with menu served at a la carte pricing.

Again, individual events are open to hotel guests and the general public. Reservations are available by  emailing :

mantareservations@thompsonhotels.com

or calling 011-52-624-163-0000 (when dialing from the U.S.).