88 Years Ago…

September 5, 2020

Today would be my co-founder and boss, Marilyn Tausend’s 88th birthday.

Thinking of her today and reflecting on the unexpected, unplanned, giant network she helped create within the culinary world.

Thanks to an unprecedented and triumphant lawsuit against an American institution, won by Marilyn’s husband Fredric C. Tausend for my parents; they brought Fred to Mexico, Fred brought Marilyn and, here we are today. In memoriam, a tu salud Marilyn.

Zoom Classes with Raquel Torres!

August 10, 2020

 

Raquel Torres, cook, anthropologist and one of our beloved culinary stars whom many of you know from our trips, is offering 3 fabulous classes via the now famous Zoom. The first, tomorrow August 11th, is in Spanish, followed by two in English on August 18th and August 25th. 

Her daughter, Metzli López Torres, is the person to direct message (DM) via Instagram here:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CDte3LblII7

An excellent way to get back to our New Culinary Adventures world, with more to come as we re-organize re-direct and re-do.

If you need any help connecting with Metzli for the info, please text or email me. I am happy as always to connect our worlds.

Hoping each and everyone of you is well, un abrazo,

Carmen 

 

Trip Dates…!

March 10, 2020

We are Happy to Announce Trip Dates!

Some for those who can leave on a whim… and some for those who must to plan ahead:

July 9-16, 2020   Xalapa-Tlaxcala: Contrasting & Intertwining Cuisines, Profound Ties

$3750   7 nights (final night in Mexico City), min# 6 people, max 10.

For more info: click here

July 17-21, 2020  Gourmet Weekend in San Miguel de Allende- Rainy Season Abundance

  • The rainy season fills our markets with ingredients and our chefs… with inspiration.
  • In beautiful San Miguel de Allende learn and revel with the foods of Chefs Kirsten West and Paco Cárdenas along with meals at both traditional and innovative restaurants. (Trip repeats with variations, in 2021!)

$2900   4 nights, RT ground airport transfer, min# 6 people, max 8.

For more info: click here

September 24-October 1, 2020    Querétaro From Comal to Convent

  • A close look at the fascinating array of Querétaro foods: traditional kitchens, convent cuisine, French imposition (or acquisition?)…colonial Mexico has much to share from its complex history and Querétaro is the place to be.
  • Anthropologist Raquel Torres Cerdán, Chef Olivia González Mendoza along with local Cooks will open the doors to this little visited region.

$3750   7 nights, min# people TBD, max 10. For more info: click here

October 29- November 2, 2020   Long Mexico City Weekend With Chef Ricardo Muñoz Zurita

  • A unique opportunity to hang out for the weekend of Día de los Muertos with our very own -and Mexico’s- leading chef and ‘anthropologist’ of Mexican cuisines. Ricardo will bombard you with local culture, cooking and insight regarding the foods and flowers for our celebration of our dead- not only out and about, but in his home as well. 

$4000   4 nights, min# people 6, max 8-10.  For more info:  click here

⇒⇒⇒JANUARY 17-23, 2021   YUCATÁN IN A NEW LIGHT⇐⇐⇐

Join us as we re-visit the beloved State of Yucatán, with a completely new perspective gastronomically. Ricardo is sharing his most recent investigations into to this region delving into both the traditional and new views on their regional cuisine foods. This trip will truly reflect our new focus and findings!

$ TBD (coming soon) 7 nights, min# people TBD, max 12. For more info: click here

⇒⇒⇒⇒JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 4,2021    OAXACA-REVISITED⇐⇐⇐⇐

As in our Yucatán revival, we will be taking you to a completely different side of Oaxaca, un-tapped by others. Again, all based on Chef Ricardo’s latest investigations into the region.  Culinary Adventures continues to  trail blaze and evolve with our country’s cultural changes!

$ TBD (coming soon)  7 nights, min# people 8, max TBD.  For more info: click here

We look forward to again sharing our world though food and people, making a mark upon your soul as only Mexico -unwittingly- knows how.

¡Hasta pronto!

Carmen Barnard Baca

 

Ricardo Muñoz- latest news…

March 7, 2020

New Year News With 20/20 Vision!

January 17, 2020

 

Emerging from a hiatus dedicated to finishing an exciting project (more on that later), we

are working on our new trips!

→Tabasco         →Yucatán          →Veracruz         →Oaxaca

    →Tlaxcala      →Querétaro      →Michoacán      →San Miguel de Allende

 → Ciudad de México

are in the works for:

JUNE,  JULY/AUGUST,  SEPTEMBER– 2020 

JANUARY (CHEFS EXCLUSIVE), FEBRUARY, MAY/JUNE,  JULY/AUGUST, SEPTEMBER –2021 

 Culinary Adventures continues its tradition of trailblazing culinary travel in Mexico, leaving behind worn-out styles and evolving with the naturally occurring cultural changes and new visions in both traditional and contemporary food.

We will post dates, destinations and skill levels soon…

Contact us at office@culinaryadventuresinc.com   or (760) 577-2810

¡Hasta pronto! -Carmen

Cooking Class with Anthropologist Raquel Torres Cerdán
Traditional Querétaro food with Anthropologist Raquel Torres Cerdán, September 2019

The joy of setting up a trip…

June 27, 2019

I just finished a conversation with a friend in Querétaro. We will be going there soon to do the set up for our September 21-28 trip.

Each segment of theses trip is such a privilege and blessing to work on. From the initial brainstorm, mundane budgeting, tracking down contacts, promoting and sale, planning and plotting, recipe translation- all is just like a small tile in the mosaic of the big work, the actual trip. It is like painting a mural, etching a woodblock, or cooking a grand meal for friends. Each person is vital to the outcome: the trip itself is the coming together of many factors– all driven by the desire to get you hooked on Mexico– our foods and therefore, our people.

Just a few spots left now. Email to sign up now on our trip to Querétaro, San Miguel de Allende & Mexico City: September 21-28, 2019!

Cilantro Seeds and So Forth

June 24, 2019

20190609_135856.jpgYesterday, taking a break from work, I sifted and sorted cilantro seeds saved from last year’s crop. Crop as in a clay pot in backyard.  A field, in my imagination.

They scent evoked yet another flavor memory; cilantro– or coriander– seeds are used in traditional Mexican candies that are placed inside piñatas. Colaciones in plural or colación singular, they are bumpy little white marble size balls. You bite into one and a small explosion of flavor occurs, sugary sweetness and cilantro seed, the flavor of Christmas, of posadas, of childhood.  It’s an acquired taste, mysterious, profound, causing wonder,  a “where am I?” sort of feeling.

We have these endless supplies of food memories in Mexico because food and flavors and their relationship to daily and celebratory life are countless. Strike up a conversation in Mexico about food and you will get advice as to where to eat, a story of a best family cook, a recipe, a food related anecdote.

Please join us this time ’round on  September 21-28, 2019 as we delve into Querétaro, San Miguel de Allende and Mexico City.

We love bridging your world with ours as pioneers in culinary travel to Mexico. True regional cooks, chefs– and always fairly paid. Our ethos since 1989.

Sign up at: office@culinaryadventuresinc.com

Querétaro Flavors

June 3, 2019

My food memories of Querétaro are of contrasting flavors. When someone made a dish from there, it was definitely not our Morelia food, nor even Michoacán. ¿De dónde es?– I would ask. “It’s from Querétaro.” Querétaro evoked an exotic place in my mind because of those flavors, and never matched up visually once I went there. It too was a colonial city like Morelia- they even had an aqueduct like us! But the flavors were theirs alone.

queretaro quadratin.com.mx

A contrast of flavors: fresh with spicy, sweet with savory, rough with delicate. Cumin, oregano, cinnamon, clove, mixed into sauces and dishes unlike my region’s; near yet so far taste wise.

A gordita (little fat corn dough cake) is made in Querétaro with just a sauce of ancho and guajillo chiles, mixed into roughly ground corn masa, along with crumbled queso fresco, and some pork lard.  It is an example of that “contrast” style. Here is a recipe instead of just talking about it:

26oz roughly ground corn masa

4 ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded, deveined, soaked in hot water, drained

2 guajillo chiles, prepared as the anchos above

8oz good pork lard

12oz queso fresco, crumbled

salt to taste

Blend the chiles together in a blender until smooth. Mix into the corn dough with 3 tablespoons of the lard, 3.5oz of the cheese and salt to taste.  Form into little cakes about 3.5 inches in diameter, closing in a little of the remaining cheese into each one; flatten to about 3/8″ thick. Fry in the [remaining] hot lard until golden. Drain on recycled paper bag and serve. Re-heat on a comal or griddle.

Simply, flavorful and can be accompanied with a lime and olive oil dressed salad or jicama, carrots and cucumbers with lime juice and salt. This is soul food.

Join us on our upcoming trip to Mexico City-Querétaro-San Miguel de Allende, September 21-28, 2019, where we will delve into the local foods with chefs and cooks to guide us on another culinary adventure!

30+ plus years with the best of the best. True regional cooks, chefs– and always fairly paid. Our ethos since 1989.

Contact us at: office@culinaryadventuresinc.com

We are busy setting up our San Miguel de Allende trip…September 21-28, 2019!

May 20, 2019

San Pascual Bailón, Patron Saint of the kitchen.Going on a culinary adventure to Querétaro and San Miguel seems a culinary challenge for those who know little of our regional cuisines– be they foreigners or our own nationals! “What regional cuisine?” “Everything there [food-wise] is from other regions or countries.” Well, yes, there are many pleasant, tasty restaurants with varied cuisines in both cities, but the states of Querétaro and Guanajuato have their own distinctive dishes and sazón– seasoning– and we will be delving into these in our usual off-the-beaten track style.

Please join us- it is going to be another great trip to unexpected places as per our custom for over 30 years!

True regional cooks, chefs– and always fairly paid. Our ethos since 1989.

email office@culinaryadventuresinc.com  to hold your spot!

Our past trip. Our next trip.

April 24, 2019

Finally having “Instagrammed” our past Mexico City- Puebla-Tlaxcala trip, I am ready to begin ravings on our upcoming September trip. A “few” photos of this past trip here, too:

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This is an unusual business: one has a need to savour, relish and reflect on the most recent travel to Mexico.  The very interesting, complex people– both participants and regional presenters– the breadth and scope of flavors, ingredients, knowledge and history behind each food shared with us make for deep brooding, and heartwarming reminiscing.

But ….onward to the next culinary adventure!

September 21–29, 2019

Mexico City-Querétaro-San Miguel de Allende

This trip is for food aficionados, starting and ending in Mexico City, where we will explore cultural and culinary delights, and onward to discover parts of colonial Mexico and local foods via Querétaro and mainly, San Miguel de Allende!

In San Miguel, a UNESCO Cultural heritage Site since 2008, we will discover Guanajuato and Querétaro’s little known delicious cuisines through our demos and classes in a private home, with chefs, and cooks. Beneath and beyond the foreign retirees and visiting nationals, a thriving local world of course, exists… And the setting is beautiful– colonial architecture, along with galleries, fine handicraft shops, traditional bakeries, and all sorts of bars, cafés and restaurants.

Plan to arrive at least a day early to join our group from the very first gathering in Mexico City on Saturday, September 21, 2019 at 6pm.

The fee for this Culinary Adventure is $3750 double occupancy, $4000 single occupancy. As is custom these past 30+ years, our fee includes daily classes or demos, 8 nights hotel, at least two meals a day and all fees associated with the trip, excluding airfare. All classes include well-served tastings or meals– you do not go hungry on our trips!

A $400 deposit is required to reserve a spot on our trip, with the balance due June 12th, 2019.

[Please read our policies here https://culinaryadventuresinc.com/policies/]

Email Carmen now for questions and to sign up:

office@culinaryadventuresinc.com

¡Hasta pronto!

SAN MIGUEL de ALLENDE, 2019

February 11, 2019

Dates for our San Miguel de Allende Trip are September 21st – 29th, 2019!

Sign up now as we are already filling our roster…

20190211_113030.jpg

Join us on an adventure to the high, fertile el Bajío (lowlands) region or heartland of Mexico, where vestiges of the colonial past stand as reminders of their Spanish domination both in San Miguel as in Querétaro.

From chef classes to in-home meals,  regional cooks to demos of local foods both pre-Colombian and post, along with our customary local cultural experiences, we will soak up the warmth of this region, with some time to roam and ramble throughout the charm of San Miguel… and of course, we include a taste of Mexico City. Contrasts- as always- on our culinary adventures!

¡Nos veremos en septiembre!

Email Carmen to sign up plus more information at: office@culinaryadventuresinc.com