From Farm to Table

The concepts of “local and organic” are the main pillars of the farm-to-table movement, which promotes health and fair trade. Few people know where the food we consume comes from. Since the late 18th century, when the Industrial Revolution began in England, the separation between man and raw materials has greatly expanded. From living daily by sourcing ingredients for food from local producers and having a personal relationship with suppliers, we evolved to buying everything necessary for the home at supermarkets. Today, we are returning to those years that now seem so distant. The farm-to-table movement started in San Francisco and Washington, with chefs like Alice Waters from Chez Panisse and Jerry Traunfeld from Herbfarm being some of the pioneers who decided to go against the molecular cooking movement led by Ferrán Adrià years before. Seeing how syringes, gels, foams, and test tubes took over modern cooking, these famous chefs chose to distance themselves from that trend and return to the basics. Their rules were simple: cook with local ingredients, bring products to the table as quickly and fresh as possible after harvesting, and respect both the customer and the food supplier. In major cities, urban gardens began to be created to have access to local vegetables, and the habit of importing meat and fish from other countries has gradually faded to turn towards national coasts and use immediate products. Even the aesthetics of dishes in fine dining restaurants have changed, and the thick, heavy, and complicated creations that French cuisine inherited to the world in the 90s have dissolved to welcome vibrant, fresh, and uncomplicated dishes. This movement has reached unexpected limits as the best restaurants in the world have shown compliance with it. The clearest example is Noma, run by Danish chef Redé Redzepi, who has been named the best chef in the world three of the last four years by the S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best list. In this establishment, they have forgotten about evolutionary cuisine and instead have gone to the gardens of their own country and the seas of Scandinavia to find what is unique in their part of the world. According to Redzepi himself, “to create a truly original, unique, and conscious menu, one must cook with the local; pork and beef exist in any country, but vegetables are the true representation of each terroir.” Mexico is no exception to the rule, and from North to South, establishments that sympathize with the farm-to-table idea have emerged. In Mexico City, for example, the restaurant Raíz (www.raizrestaurante.com) has created its own roof garden where it grows and harvests all the vegetables used in the kitchen. In Pujol (www.pujol.com.mx) by Enrique Olvera, no ingredient is used that does not come from Aztec land, and they have a cardinal rule to pay fairly to rural suppliers who supply them. In Baja California, the best example is Flora Farm (www.flora-farms.com), a restaurant built in the heart of a farm where the lettuce in your salad is pulled from the ground no more than half an hour before reaching your plate. Similarly, the protein comes from the stables adjacent to the restaurant where pigs, cattle, and chickens grow organically and freely. Mexican Recipes From Farm to Table   Recipe for Quesadillas de Flor de Calabaza and Huitlacoche Ingredients: - 1/2 kilo of tortilla dough - 2 cups of fresh or canned huitlacoche - 2 bunches of squash blossoms - 300 grams of Oaxaca cheese - 2 cloves of garlic - 1/2 chopped onion - 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil - pepper to taste   To see the procedure click here.   Recipe for Pozole Rojo Ingredients: - 1 kilo of shredded pork meat - 1 bag of pozole corn - 3/4 onion - 4 cloves of garlic - 50 grams of guajillo chili - 1 cube of Knorr Swiss - oregano   Click here to discover the steps for this recipe. Find more recipes where you can use Mexican products by clicking here.   For us as diners and home cooks, it is a motivation and inspiration for the countryside to come closer to the city. There are no excuses to eat from boxes or cans when the fauna and flora of our country knock on the door. It is clear that the last five years in the gastronomic world belong to the farm.   What is your favorite Mexican ingredient?