Susana Trilling, internationally acclaimed chef, tour guide, and owner of Seasons of My Heart cooking school in Oaxaca, recently toured western Michoacán with Mexico Cooks!. It was Susana's first trip to Michoacán, but definitely not her last.
Mexico Cooks! was recently quite tickled to take Susana Trilling on a cook's tour of some off-the-beaten-path culinary highlights of western Michoacán. Susana, after more than twenty years in Oaxaca, was enticed to visit Morelia and this region of Michoacán by two of Mexico Cooks!' good friends, Cynthia Martínez of Morelia's Restaurante San Miguelito and Chef Joaquín Bonilla, director of the Colegio Culinario de Morelia. Susana's visit, prompted by her desire to see Michoacán and taste its marvelous regional delicacies, was a prelude to a visit to Michoacán that she and Mexico Cooks! will guide together in the near future. It was enormously exciting to meet and travel with Susana, who in her touring style is Mexico Cooks!' alma gemela (soul mate).
Renowned Purhépecha cook Benedicta Alejo of San Lorenzo, Michoacán (left), photographed with Restaurante San Miguelito owner Cynthia Martínez. Photo courtesy Rubén Hernández.
San Miguelito's famous Rincón de las Solteronas (Single Women's Corner). This dining room contains more statues of San Antonio than you can count--thousands! Each is hung upside down (to get Saint Anthony's attention) as prescribed by tradition, to attend to a woman's prayers for a husband. It's San Antonio's job to hear your prayer, if you're a woman seeking a mate! Just remember that the answer could be yes--or it could be no!
To start off Susana Trilling's week-long tour of Michoacán, we were invited to join Cynthia Martínez, Benedicta Alejo, and several other friends at Cynthia's Restaurante San Miguelito. It was an amazing introduction to the arts and crafts of Michoacán as well as to its regional cooking--everything in the restaurant is a gorgeous example of the best crafts work of Michoacán (and other parts of Mexico), and everything is for sale. Featured in such magazines as Travel and Leisure, Día Siete, and Estilo México for its beautiful surroundings and its food, Restaurante San Miguelito is a treat for all five senses. Our meal, chosen especially for us by Cynthia, introduced Susana to the taste of Michoacán.
Early the next morning we were off to chilly Pátzcuaro, where we enjoyed an outdoor breakfast near the Basílica: corundas (regional tamales) stuffed with doble crema (similar to cream cheese) and rajas de chile poblano (strips of fresh poblano chiles), wrapped in long, green corn leaves, and steamed. On the left in the photo is Susana's companion, Joaquín Jiménez.
Close-up of one of Pátzcuaro's gigantic corundas--it's nearly the size of a softball. These corundas are served topped with lots of salsa muy picante (hot!) and crema de mesa (table cream). In the upper right corner of the photo is a big mug of atole de guayaba (a delicious hot drink, flavored with sweet, fresh guavas and thickened with corn dough). At this same booth, we also tasted two other atoles: canela (cinnamon) and tamarindo (tamarind fruit).
At Galería El Manantial, Pátzcuaro. Photo courtesy Rick Davis, proprietor.
And then we shopped. And shopped, and shopped some more! Naturally Mexico Cooks! believes that the arts and crafts of Michoacán are Mexico's best, and we saw much of the best of the best. Susana's favorite stores in the Pátzcuaro area were Galería El Manantial, Artesanías Irepan, and Artesano Saúl Tavera e Hijos.
The following day we visited several artisans: Belia Canals, whose glorious clay catrinas you see in the photo above, pottery workshops in the artisan village of Capula, and the painted furniture workshops at MFA/Eronga.
Left to right: Chef Joaquín Bonilla, Mexico Cooks!, Chef Blanca Vidales (owner of the eponymous La Mesa de Blanca), and Susana Trilling. Remember that this was a cook's tour--mostly we traveled from meal to meal, eating and exclaiming over new-to-Susana flavors and food combinations. We joined Chef Joaquín Bonilla for a long, leisurely comida (main meal of the day) at La Mesa de Blanca in rural Ziracuaretiro.
Esteban Barragán López of Mesón del Queso Cotija shows Susana some of the characteristics of fine, aged Cotija cheese.
On Sunday, we drove for several hours into the wilds of JalMich territory, in far western Michoacán. Our destination was the cheese cava (like a wine cellar) at the Mesón del Queso Cotija, where famous Cotija cheese is aged to perfection. In the next few weeks, Mexico Cooks! will bring you a full report on the extraordinary work being done at the Mesón.
On Monday, we were invited to the Colegio Culinario de Morelia, the only school of gastronomy in Michoacán that offers a licenciatura (full degree program). The event that the students and staff had prepared for Susana, her companion Joaquín, and me was heartfelt and beautiful. Two student demonstrations of Purhépecha food preparation, regional songs and ballet folklórico, and a wildly appreciative student body joyfully greeted Susana's visit. They had created this lovely tableau combining Susana's book with typical Michoacán foods and crafts.
After a long comida at Restaurante LU, Morelia, Chef Lucero Soto Arriaga (left) and Susana Trilling posed for a photograph. We dined with other friends: Chef Joaquín Bonilla and Arquitecto Gerardo Torres of Morelia's Museo del Dulce (Candy Museum). You've read about Restaurante LU before, but the menú de degustación (tasting menu) has recently been updated and will be featured in Mexico Cooks! within the next six weeks.
After our hours-long comida at Restaurante LU, Arq. Torres had arranged a full tour (complete with--oh wretched excess!--lots of tasting!) at the Museo del Dulce. In the photo above, you see delicate, sweetly flavorful candied rose petals, the latest beautiful offering at the Museum store. Who could resist just one (or maybe two, but who's counting) of these tiny treats?
To end our week of regional Michoacán food tasting, we had our farewell almuerzo (hearty late breakfast) at Fonda Marceva in downtown Morelia.
Did Susana have a good time? Here's what she said:
"It was inspiring to be around all your knowledge and network of wonderful people that you got together to show us the magic of Michoacán! I can see why you love it so much. Not only is it physically beautiful but the spirit of the people is engaging and contagious. We left feeling so well received and in awe of the talent of Michoacanos, and we felt that we learned so much! ! Everyone at the school was impressed by the dulces [candies] and the artesanías [arts and crafts] we brought back. If it hadn't been for you, we never could have seen and done so much...You are incredible!"
If you would like a culinary and cultural tour of Morelia and Michoacán, a tour designed especially for you, just click on the link below.
Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.
I see a highlands visit in my future.
Ahem...this is the 5,309th time you've said that. C'mon over, Steve.
Posted by: Steve Cotton | October 19, 2010 at 03:56 PM
what a Sunday morning treat--I read the last 3 postings you did and enjoyed and learned from each
Posted by: sheila velazco | October 17, 2010 at 09:40 AM
Oh! The longing for a corunda is overwhelming me! How I miss those delicious balls of delight.
It sounds like a marvelous tour.
Posted by: jonna | October 16, 2010 at 01:56 PM