On holiday last year my two travelling companions and I
joined a cookery course in a Mexican restaurant. There were eight participants, all keen to learn the
secrets of the nation’s cuisine. The students ranged from people who already
had some expertise in the kitchen,
to totally unskilled people like
myself.
Our teacher, Liana Cabrera, started with a short talk,
then handed out some notes giving explanations
of terms we’d be coming across. Soon we were trying out a range of exotic
ingredients, with suprisingly good
results. Cabrera started giving cookery lessons five years ago, and has become
quite a celebrity, with a long
waiting list for her courses. And because of her extensive knowledge of
almost-forgotten regional dishes she is also a regular contributor to cookery programmes on national television.
In the afternoon I joined the salsa-making team, with
rather disastrous results. My
colleagues complained that my food was so painfully
hot it made their eyes water. There own efforts turned out considerably better than mine. The communal meal at the end of the
day was delicious, and I’d not only learnt something about cooking, but I’d
also broadened my understanding of Mexican culture.
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