Mérida, Yucatán — A cultural fusion at the Hacienda Aké and the hotel Rosas y Xocolate drew on gastronomic techniques from Yucatán and some of the most recognized chefs in the world.
The Hokol Vuh festival, billed as a “culinary journey of body and soul,” brought together chefs from as far away as Russia last week. A limited number of tickets were sold for the event, which also included fine wines and live music.
At the Hacienda Aké on Friday, with the archaeological zone in the background, almost 20 international, national and local chefs prepared seven dishes made from Yucatecan ingredients.
Plates included raw snail with beet and chaya; wild yam risotto; tlayudas with deer; octopus with sikilpak; and for dessert, a coconut tamale and cold soup of fermented cocoa was served.
Santiago Castro, chef of the much-heralded Tulum popup restaurant Noma, said he was excited and happy to find an ancient culture with gastronomic importance like the Maya.
The second part of the feast was a larger dinner Saturday night at Rosas y Xocolate on the Paseo de Montejo, to the sound of live jazz.
That’s where the kitchen from Rosas Sur — a spinoff of the resort at Santa Lucia park — combined textures in a ceviche of sea bass and toasted-coconut milk with an infusion of mussels and smoked octopus.
Oliva Restaurante served soft shell crab with mayonnaise, recado negro, fried onions, cilantro and avocado with olive oil. Meanwhile, La Hermana República, the restaurant associated with the Patito craft beer establishment, presented a tuna crudo with beet, lime and habanero broth, courtesy of chef Alex Méndez.
The dishes were accompanied by Rosas y Xocolate’s smooth house wine, El Cielo from Baja California.
For dessert, panacota of oregano with almonds and grapefruit was served.
Hokol Vuh 2017 was the first of what is intended to become an annual event.
With information from La Jornada Maya
