"Cualquier tipo de reconocimiento, lleva implicito un reto;
en la gastronomia mexicana nuestro reto es transformar la comida del pasado,
en la comida del presente: es evolucionar como la sociedad ha estado evolucionando"
"Any kind of acknowledgement has implicit challenges,
in the mexican cuisine, our challenge is to transform yesterday's food into today's food:
to evolve as the society has been evolving"
-Guillermo Santamaria- that's me!
I'm sure you remember from my previous posts (And if not, please read this entry) about how I was disappointed by all that pseudo-mexican food that I tried in France and Norway.
But then I realized it was not totally the owner's fault, or totally the consumer's fault. Yes they are guilty for making burritos stuffed with chili con carne, or green tortilla wraps with lamb and couscous and dare to say its mexican. For not doing a research. Yes.
But the fault is ours, mexicans, chefs, epicureans, connoisseurs, foodies, travelers; anyone who knows about mexican cuisine, and just expect the world to know about our food without us even talking about it, knowing it, or sharing it.
My motto is simple; Cook, learn, share. How do I do it? Simple:
- I cook; at home, at my grandma's, at my best friend's, at school, at my girlfriend's, at work, at the restaurant, at the hotel..heck, even on a cruise liner! In Mexico, in France, in Norway, in Austria, in Germany, in Italy, anywhere!
- I learn, from my parents, my grandparents, my friends, my friend's parents, the guy at the taco place, the woman at the quesadillas, the guy selling tamales, foreign people, local people, farmers, indigenous people, indians, canadians, norwegians, french, british, icelandic; books, recipe books, my mentors, my teachers, internet, colleagues, other chefs.
- I share; with my family, my relatives, friends, co-workers, my boss, and anyone interested in learning about the little-or much knowledge I've got.
When we were asked to prepare a Mexican Gala as our final exam at the University in Paris, I said rock on, and we did really good! Read about it HERE, and when Craig Whitson from Uthuset, in Stavanger, Norway, invited me for mexican cuisine classes for norwegians, I absolutely loved it.
I prepared a guajillo sauce from scratch, red rice and luckily we found frozen corn tortillas.
Also I prepared "Arroz con leche" served in a different way, as you can see. It was great to have so many people interested in REAL mexican food. 
However, when I was told the Secretariat of Governance (Secretaria de Gobernacion) in Mexico City wanted me to host a short cooking demo and interview, due to the imminent UNESCO's recognition on the mexican food, I was excited; yet shocked.
Me? on national TV...damn!
The Bicentennial of the Mexican Independence was close too, so this documentary would have a particular importance during the celebrations, and was aired on the 15th and 16th September nationwide.
"Oh but you wanted to share your thoughts, didn't you?" I said to myself. So, let's go.
Nobody told me if we would have a script, or if I was going to explain a topic in particular. Nothing. They just told me they'd come next week to film everything. What did I do? first, bought a new jacket, and secondly, made another research about the actual news about mexican cuisine. I hate to speak about things I dont know about (Also its stupid) So as dedicated as I am, made my own research, and had everything planned.
The big day arrived, lamps and filters were set-up, microphones, and then the producer told me: "So, what are you going to cook today?" I knew It was an interview about mexican cuisine; but nobody told me about it. However went to the walk-in fridge and after 5 minutes I had my dish visualized. And then we started.
Setting up the audio. There were too much interference and alambric microphones had to be used.
The Sous Chef, Marlene was taking over from time to time; we always made a great team.
-Laughs- Cut, cut, Im laughing so bad (me)
-Don't worry Chef, we'll edit the laughs (P)
-Cut, cut, cameraman, now you are laughing too? (P)
Sometime later..
-Take seven: rolling. (P)
So we started rolling; all the cameramen were giving a close look to every move I made
After the cooking, it came the interview. Again lights and soundcheck, because the bells of the Cathedral and the aztec dancers with drums made us mess up with the volume.
It was a great experience for me, my sous chef, and the whole team.
Don't miss the video!
