Sometimes we in California find it tough to think outside the taco. Mexican food is all around us. We’re proud of our fish tacos, burritos and carne asada fries. Leaving aside the question of whether some of those even are Mexican food, the Latin food world is bigger than that. In fact, it’s bigger than Mexican cuisine. And that’s the world that ¡Latin Food Fest! celebrates.
Latin cuisine, in fact, is bigger than Latin America. It is nothing less than the food of Spain and Portugal and their respective former colonies in the Americas. From the Rio Grande in the North to the tip of Tierra del Fuego in South and including Caribbean island lands such as Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic the food, drinks and culture are as varied as the geography they encompass.
Latin cuisine is incredibly diverse. It ranges from Spain’s paella to Argentine parrillada with chimichurri, Peruvian ceviches and tiraditos, Cubano sandwiches, the seven great regional cuisines of Mexico and plenty in between. Frankly, about the only things that tie them all together is the fact they are all Latin and they are all incredibly flavorful.
As diverse as Latin cuisine is, there are some commonalities. Many of the cuisines of Latin America include crucial components based on maize, corn that tends to be other than the sweet corn so familiar to American eaters (though elotes are an everyday Mexican street food). Amongst these are Mexico’s tortillas and tamales, Salvadorian pupusas, and the arepas of Colombia and Venezuela.
Salsas and similar condiments are another commonality. Mexican salsas (like salsa fresca, aka salsa bandera or pico de gallo) are frequent, of course, though they bear relatively little resemblance to and has never relinquished that title. Guacamole is also nearly ubiquitous (but is generally only served with chips here or in Mexico’s northern reaches). And its not just Mexico: Argentina has its chimichurri, Peru has its aji Amarillo, Ecuador its aji criollo and Cuba its mojo sauce.
We tend to associate beans with Mexican food. But beans are another staple of many Latin cuisines. From Brazil’s national dish, feijoada, to the classic garbanzo bean and pork based stew of Spain, cocido Madrileño, there are few Latin countries that do not pride themselves on what they do with this legume.
Chiles also feature widely in Latin cuisine. From the many chiles that feature in Mexican cuisine (fresh such as jalapeño, serrano, poblano or habanero, dried like guajillo or pasilla or smoked like chipotle) to South America’s ajis or Spain’s padrons, where Latin food is to be found so, generally, are chiles. But the formula that CHILE = HEAT is oversimplified at best and dead wrong at worst. Indeed, the idea that chiles in Mexican food mean incendiary levels of spice is a misconception too. Chiles, whether in Spain or Mexico are more often used for the non-spicy aspects of their flavor profile than for their heat. It is from within the tremendous variety of those flavors – sweet, spicy, bitter and more – that the wonders of Latin cuisine can be found.
The ¡Latin Food Fest! on August 18-19 at San Diego’s Embarcadero is a wonderful opportunity to taste many of the commonalities amongst Latin cuisines as well as discover its diversity. One of the reasons it is difficult for many of us to recognize how far outside the taco Latin cuisine really goes is because we rarely have the opportunity to experience these foods side-by-side. At the Fest’s Gran Tasting, Latin Superclub and Sunday evening Mercado, talented chefs – ranging from local luminaries to A-list celebrities — will be making and offering dishes representing the breadth and depth Latin cuisine has to offer.
Cracking Cocos at ¡Latin Food Fest!
Amongst the previous chefs at ¡Latin Food Fest! were Double Michelin star winner Josiah Citrin, The Food Network’s Aaron Sanchez, owner of forty restaurants worldwide Richard Sandoval, The Food Network’s Ingrid Hoffmann, Univision’s Tati Polo, and Mexican restauranteur Javier Plascencia to name several, Past standout dishes include the Goat Yora by two Caribbean chefs (Martin Omar who travelled from the Dominican Republic for the event and Chef Felipe Raul from Puerto Rico by way of Baja California), , Sous vide beef tongue and oxtail with charred chile by Javier Plascencia, Duck flautas with guajillo cotija sauce by Aaron Sanchez, Alejandra Schrader’s spicy arepas, Café Secret’s Peruvian cebiche, and Chef Sara Polczynski’s Three Chile Lamb Barbacoa.
Jamon Iberico by Master Carver Pedro Liebana at ¡Latin Food Fest!
Another of last year’s highlights was the pairing of chapulines (grasshoppers) with Fortaleza Tequila! ¡Latin Food Fest! is not just about the food. In addition to the tastings and the cooking demonstrations it sports robust spirits offerings under one tent (pisco, cachaca, rum, sotol, bacanora, raicilla, tequila and mezcal) as well as wine from Argentina, Chile, Napa, San Diego and Spain.
But that may be just what it takes to truly get outside the taco: food, wine, spirits and the full panoply of Latin culinary culture on display.
Throughout a groundbreaking, nearly 40-year career, Mary Sue Milliken finds the key to her success in following her insatiable curiosity. She is best known for Border Grill restaurants, trucks, and catering, which she runs with her business partner of more than 35 years, Susan Feniger. Mary Sue seeks to amplify the flavors of amazing ingredients, surprising guests with texture and color while maintaining harmony on the plate at every Border Grill location—Downtown Los Angeles, LAX, The Huntington Library, and Las Vegas’s Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, as well as gourmet food trucks and catering. In June 2018, Milliken and Feniger debuted a fast casual eatery, BBQ Mexicana, at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, and later this year they’ll return to Santa Monica with a new all-day Mexican restaurant.
Sindy Lazo is an Los Angeles based Venezuelan actress, author, comedian and TV host. Currently one of the contestants of the successful first edition of Master Chef Latino for the Hispanic audiences in the US. Known for her charismatic and funny characters in many Latin “Telenovelas”, Sindy also hosted her own talk-show “La Cocinita de Sindy” (Sindy’s Little Kitchen) for several seasons in Venezuela. Author of two best-selling books, “No vengas tú” (Don’t give me that…) and “La Cocinita de Sindy”, in which she compiles funny, dark and poignant essays about being a single girl who likes to cook but has no one to try her food.
Iconic culinarian, author, and entrepreneur Susan Feniger may be best known for her Modern Mexican concept, Border Grill restaurants, trucks, and catering, which she runs with her business partner of more than 35 years, Mary Sue Milliken. Now with locations in Downtown Los Angeles, LAX, The Huntington Library, and Las Vegas’s Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Border Grill continues to serve street food-inspired regional Mexican cuisine with a commitment to sustainability and the best quality ingredients. In June 2018, Feniger and Milliken debuted a fast casual eatery, BBQ Mexicana, at Las Vegas’s Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, and later this year, they will return to Santa Monica with a new all-day Mexican restaurant. Feniger also launched her own solo ventures—Blue Window with Kajsa Alger at The Huntington Library in 2016 and to-go concept Grab & Global by Susan Feniger at both LAX and San Jose International Airports in 2018.
There’s little doubt that Enrique Olvera is the world’s best-known chef from Mexico. His restaurant PUJOL is widely considered the best restaurant in all of Mexico. And his New York eatery, Cosme, sets the standard for modern Mexican cuisine.
Growing up around expert and traditional cooks in Tijuana, Mexico, Marcela was raised to be passionate about food, and she jumped straight into a culinary life with her first job working at her aunt’s cooking school in Baja, Mexico. Marcela realized she, too, wanted to pursue this growing love for food full time and enrolled in the Los Angeles Culinary Institute. She then went to the Ritz Escoffier Cooking School in Paris to become trained as a classical French pastry chef.
Born in Lima, Peru, ‘the godfather of Peruvian cuisine’ Ricardo Zarate is synonymous with indigenous South American foods. Immaculately executed and fused with his underlying passion, drive and kitchen ingenuity, Zarate’s cuisine has earned him widespread critical acclaim and praise from media and consumers alike.
Josiah Citrin is a culinary expert and veteran of Los Angeles’s gourmet dining scene, with more than 25 years of experience. He is a two-star Michelin chef and owner of Santa Monica, California’s highly-acclaimed Mélisse, Charcoal Venice, and Dave’s Doghouse at the Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles and Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Growing up in Mexico City, Richard Sandoval would join his grandmother in the kitchen and gather around her large table with family to enjoy lively Mexican feasts prepared from scratch. From his grandmother, he learned to respect fresh, authentic, ingredients and to create the vibrant flavors that turned family dinners into celebrated events. Meanwhile, his restaurateur father – owner of Madeiras in Acapulco and Villa Fiore in Mexico City – imparted lessons in service and restaurant management.
