Hot and Spicy in Merida, Mexico

Sitting in the dappled light of the early morning sun, the conversation around the table laden with delicious fruit, yogurt, cakes and fresh coffee, is all about Martha. In 2009, the American TV celebrity and member of what some may term "cooking royalty", Martha Stewart, visited the capital of the Yucatan region of Mexico, Merida. Whilst there she dropped by the house and Los Dos Cooking School in which the international amateur cooks were now eagerly awaiting their chef du jour, David Sterling.

Born in Oklahoma, Sterling, and his partner bought a dilapidated courtyard house in the centre of Merida in 2002. Over the next year, they renovated and restored the house, which has now become their home and base for the Los Dos Cooking School. Wrapped around the pool, the house displays the couple's tasteful furniture and locally commissioned artwork, including a geographically correct 360 degree mural in the dining room of Merida's main square. If you look closely, you can even see the chef. It is the kitchen, however, that beckons with its brightly coloured tiles and deliciously spiced aroma.

Having some culinary experience as a pantry chef in Michigan, Sterling has pursued his passion for food and immersed himself in the history of Yucatecan regional cuisine. Seated in the elegant dining room, the first part of the day-long class at Los Dos is spent learning more about the influences of the land, the Mayans, the Spanish, the French and the Lebanese on the local cuisine. Budding chef's assistants also learn about the different cooking styles and sample some of the key ingredients, most notably the potent habenero chili.

It's then time to head out and with shopping lists, grocery bags and a bottle of water in hand as the eager disciples follow their leader toward the central market. Here, the group stops for a while to take in the colour, sounds and smells of this lively spot. They are also treated to a sampling of Tacos al Pastor, a dish similar to a doner kebab, except the rotating meat on a spit is made of pork instead of lamb and is served with a chunk of pineapple on top of lightly warmed tacos rather than pita bread.

What follows feels like a treasure hunt as the group proceeds through the market following Chef Sterling as he makes his purchases of vegetables, spices, herbs and fresh tortillas. The piles of chilis and scramble for hot-off-the-press tortillas are quite a sight.

Eventually, the lists have been checked off and it's time to head back to the house in a fleet of taxis where fresh juice awaits the thirsty shoppers. After a quick comfort break, the class begins and the group is taught how to make fresh tortillas in the traditional way by a local woman before doing a taste comparison test with those from the market. Homemade is definitely better, and the class creations are later used to create Panuchos, bean-filled tortillas.

In the kitchen, Sterling's other helpers assist him and the group to prepare Sikil P'aak, a delicious appetizer made from tomatoes and squash seeds before moving on to the grand dish of the day, Pollo Pibil. Normally, Pibil dishes are cooked in an underground fire-pit but here the red-coloured chicken pieces wrapped in banana leaves are actually cooked in a sealed pot on the stove.

After all the heat of the kitchen, it is time for a refreshing drink and dip in the pool before lunch, which is served to the guests in the lovely mural-covered dining room. A few extra dishes are served, including a creamy soup and delicious but intriguing papaya dish. Dulce de Papaya was soaked in calcium hydroxide before being served with Edam cheese. It may sound odd but these Yucatecans know a thing or two about flavor combinations.

The convivial group leaves Los Dos with their denim aprons and recipe books in hand vowing to sample more of the region's culinary delights.

Los Dos
Calle 68 No. 517
Por 65 y 67 Colonia Centro
Mérida, Yucatán 97000
México
info@los-dos.com
http://www.los-dos.com/

Bettys Cookery School in Harrogate, UK

Further to the previous article about Bettys in Harrogate, readers might be interested to learn about what a day at the Bettys Cookery School is like and, in so doing, be part of Eating History in the making!

The Cookery School is located to the south of Harrogate itself on a rather bland industrial estate. However, as you drive in through the gates of the Bettys site you enter a land of Swiss quality, chalet-style buildings and, most importantly, edible fancies. The School itself is next door to the craft bakery set amid a car park featuring rather quaint sculptures of tea pots.

The low-rise building housing the School is clean, bright and functional containing a large training area equipped with granite work benches and high-tech demonstration wizardry along with all the essentials a budding chefette needs. In addition, there is also a relaxation area, cook’s library and small shop selling a modest selection of utensils and other tools of the trade.

My day learning to cook Swiss specialities started at 8.45am with coffee and shortbread followed by an introduction to the staff and housekeeping rules. By 9.15am all 15 trainees were observing Richard, the senior trainer, demonstrating how to make our apple cakes light and moist. By 10.30am, we had all replicated Richard’s efforts and had managed, without disaster, to get our rather large buns in the oven, so to speak. It must be said, that our creations might not have been so speedily assembled or, perhaps, successful, had the ingredients not been so carefully measured out and pre-bagged by the professionals in advance.

By this time, it was starting to feel rather warm and the coffee and croissant which accompanied our mid-morning break were very welcome. This breather also allowed time to chat with some of the other participants, mainly female, and learn that, for most, this was not their first visit. Indeed, it was their third or fourth time at the School and I was given some friendly warnings that my first foray into this foodie’s paradise was unlikely to be my last.

After the break, we made a pearl barley soup and seemed to chop ‘til we nearly dropped! Francisco, the second trainer, was, however, on hand with encouraging words that the effort would be worth it in the end. My soup certainly looked and smelt good by the end of it all. This is more than can be said for my efforts at rolling out pastry into a neat circle, which was our next task. And I used to be so good with play dough!

The pastry, once I eventually managed to get it looking mildly curvaceous, was put in the chiller and, in the afternoon, more chopping ensued to fill the pie base with onions and create a divine-looking Swiss Onion Tart. But, before this, we all set to on making lunch – a creamy alpine macaroni dish with bacon lardons, potatoes and raclette cheese. This was served with a lambs lettuce salad and Bettys’ bread, all washed down with a scrumptious glass of Swiss wine. Desert was ‘Engadine’, from the craft bakery – a tasty merengue and nut creation. Rather replete and slightly inebriated, I was very glad my fingers remained in tact as I attacked my onions post-lunch.

Our fifth dish of the day was a mushroom and onion sauce to take home and serve on warm toast. In fact, I went home with enough food to feed a small army…well, my family at least. Departure was delayed though by yet another round of coffee and cake. As four o’clock rapidly approached it had become very obvious we were not going to be allowed home without a full tummy and full carrier bag of goodies. I, however, managed to go home with two carrier bags full of goodies as I also succumbed to the temptations of the kitchen shop by purchasing my own tools to recreate my Swiss specialities at home.

The proof of the pudding comes in the tasting and, all I can say is that the silence which descended over the dinner table later in the evening as my family tucked into the Swiss Onion Tart said it all! Compliments to the chef!

For more details of Bettys Cookery School visit: www.bettyscookeryschool.co.uk