There are fifteen of us – a full class – elbow to elbow on picnic style tables in the tiny space that El Taquito Hidalguense occupies at Calle Panama 175 (at Peru). Mostly women and mostly over 40, we’re an enthusiastic group. Introductions and handshakes are passed over the table, exchanged for salsas and limes.
I finish off my breakfast with a hot, sweet café de olla (coffee with cinnamon, anise, and piloncillo) and slide onto the next bench next to El Arrayán owner Carmen Porras to ask her why she chose this venue to kick off her day-long cooking class.
“Because I love it here,” she replies, and the folks at her table all nod in agreement, mouths full.
El Arrayán (Calle Allende 344) is an award-winning Puerto Vallarta restaurant specializing in traditional Mexican recipes made with locally-sourced foods. Porras’ mission – to “rescue old family recipes using 100% locally produced ingredients” – is backed by a philosophy that seeks to create and serve world class Mexican fare. It’s working: just check out the back wall of her place to see some of the awards and accolades the restaurant has earned since it opened in 2003.
Porras’ series of all-day cooking classes seeks to give the casual eater a more in-depth understanding of the food sources, cultural significance, and culinary techniques associated with the dishes she serves.
As we pile back into the taxi van, bellies full of breakfast, it’s clear from the happy chorus of adios’ that this first class of 2011 is going very well.
From El Taquito, we’re taken on a quick and varied tour with stops that include a traditional Mexican tienda selling kitchen wares, a tortilla factory, a food market in Old Town, and a specialty art shop in El Centro. It’s early afternoon by the time we get back to the El Arrayán kitchen.
The group gathers around the stainless steel island, where Chef Mariano Valdés and a small team of sous chefs walk us through the menu: Shrimp ceviche, Cochinta pibil slow-cooked pork, frijoles, Xnipec salsa, and a delectable Cajeta flan.
Well-organized and entertaining, the lesson includes frequent tastings, audience participation, and illustrative details, such as the fact that Xnipec (pronounced shnee-pec) is the Mayan word for “running nose”.
The demonstration proves that old adage: give a person ceviche and he or she will eat for a day; teach a person how to make ceviche and you’ll end up with fifteen happy people treating your chef instructor to a standing ovation.
By the time we sit down to eat at a long banquet table, we’re chatting like old friends. Most of us choose the house specialty drink, an arrayán margarita, which is unique and refreshing and has a base taste reminiscent of guava.
As we tuck into a round of fresh chips and assorted salsas, Carmen pulls out an alternative appetizer: seasoned crickets, available in spicy or garlic. Many decline but I do not. Although the reddish exoskeletons are daunting in my palm, in my mouth they’re dry and inoffensive, like wheat husks.
Over the main course I notice that several smaller conversations have ignited, many with common themes: the extraordinary food, the intricacy of the Huichol art on El Arrayán’s walls, and the inability to have just one more chip.
As the plates are cleared and participants begin to trail away with souvenir bottles of raicilla and bags of spicy crickets, I see Carmen in the corner with a smile on her face.
“Every time I do a class, it’s just so much fun,” she says.
Reserve Now
Next month’s class will run on Monday, February 28, from 9:30 – 3:00pm.
Menu: Sopa de Habas (Mexican bean soup), Pescado a la veracruzana (fish Veracruz), and Arroz con leche (rice pudding).
The March class will be held on Monday the 21st, from 9:30 – 3:00pm.
Menu: Calabacitas con jitomate (zucchini with tomatoes), albóndigas con chipotle (Mexican meat balls), and Capirotada (Lent bread pudding).
The fee is $90 USD per-person (cash only), and includes transportation, breakfast, instruction, take-home printed recipes, an embroidered apron, and lunch, including one cocktail or Mexican house wine.
Space is limited, so make your reservation today by calling 222-7195, or send an e-mail to Carmen at info@elarrayan.com.mx
