Once we were back in Mexico and had gotten settled, I was anxious about sharing my cuisine with family and friends. I therefore decided to organize a small get together on Epiphany (January 6). I called some of them. Everyone happily accepted my invitation. I thought it would be an amazing chance to share something of what I had learned during the last year of my life.
I started to get ready. It was a little bit difficult to find some of the ingredients I had gotten used to, but once I had everything at hand, I very easily began to prepare a Parisian-style ‘Galette des Rois’. For the Mexican version of the ‘Rosca de Reyes’ (King’s Cake) I preferred, however, to go with a commercial version rather than experimenting, since it was the first time we would get together with some of the people we had missed the most. I wanted it all to be perfect.
I cannot deny it was a very nice soirée. However, I thought it would have been better if I had known more about Mexican bread-baking. I began once more to think about what I was still missing to learn. I only knew how to prepare my mother’s cuisine. And honestly, my mom prepared Enchiladas and Chicharrón in Salsa Verde, never did she prepare Pozole or Cochinita Pibil, even less a King’s Cake. And it’s not because she didn’t know how to cook, it’s just that I don’t come from a family where a hundred tamales were cooked for Christmas or ‘Chiles en Nogada’ for Independence Day.
I made some research here and there -especially on the Internet-, and everything I found directed me towards the same professors; the same school. I had no idea who they were or how much they knew. I visited the place, asked everything I was curious about, and given my interest but my dubitative state, I was offered to go see a class. The place was divine. It was an antique house in the middle of the ‘Colonia Condesa’ which had been adapted. I later learned so much about this place. However, it was unbelievable for me to learn that this small place would be the only one where traditional Mexican cuisine could be learned, when my country has such a gastronomic tradition. I went back home and talked about it with some of my people. I found someone who knew them, and she gave me all the information I needed. I felt comfortable now. Everything I needed was for someone I could rely on to know who they were, and then everyone started telling me how good they were. It was like magic. Everyone recommended the place and even started to teach me about their amazing trajectory. I would have to invest another year, but it seemed like I would learn much more than how to do chilaquiles and tamales.
