📝 usncan Note: Dine With Mexico’s Top Chefs At This Upcoming Culinary Festival
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The Apapaxoa GastroCultural Festival at Xcaret
Courtesy of Xcaret
What happens when a group of Mexico’s top chefs come together for a week-long culinary festival — is it a bonding experience or do their competitive sides come out? “It’s harmony and passion and sharing the love,” says Carlos Gaytán, the first Mexican-born chef to be awarded a Michelin star in 2013 for his restaurant Mexique in Chicago. “We share techniques and everything we know.” For chef Karime López, the first woman from Mexico to be awarded a Michelin star in 2019 for her restaurant Gucci Osteria in Florence, Italy, it’s also an emotional experience. “Coming back to my country, my people — it brings up a lot of feelings,” says López. “I learn so many things from other chefs. There’s so much inspiration.”
Gaytán and López will be joining a host of other chefs and culinary talents at the Apapaxoa GastroCultural Festival, August 26-31, being held at the Xcaret hotels in Riviera Maya, an hour south of Cancun. The festival will feature six days of dinners, tastings, talks, cultural activities and workshops featuring some top Michelin-starred talent, including Andoni Luis Aduriz (Xal), Paco Méndez (COME), Jonatan Gómez Luna (Chino Poblano), Santiago Lastra (from Kol in the UK), Lucho Martínez (Em in Mexico City) and Luiz Filipe Souza (Evvai).
Chef Carlos Gaytán
Courtesy of Xcaret
The festival will start off with a gala dinner celebrating Enrique Olvera, owner and chef at the two-Michelin starred Pujol in Mexico City. The following evenings have different dinners spread out over the resorts with unique pairings of chefs creating meals together: such as chef Gaytán teaming up with fellow Michelin-starred chef Francisco Sixto at the resort’s own Michelin-starred restaurant HA’ (that’s a lot of stars). The combination of techniques and dishes from chefs who’ve stayed within Mexico and those who are returning from their restaurants overseas will provide some one-of-a-kind dinners.
The Apapaxoa GastroCultural Festival at Xcaret
Courtesy of Xcaret
Throughout the days of the festival there will be a series of ‘Savory Tales’ — talks between chefs, sommeliers and other experts on deep dives into Mexican cuisine, such as ‘Heirloom Corns of Ixtenco’ and ‘Michoacán’s Culinary Tradition,’ as well as talks on Mexico’s wines and other beverages and the success of Mexican cuisine around the world. There will be daily workshops on Bioceramics, Chocolate and Xocolatl, as well as book signings by chefs and even by author Laura Esquivel, whose “Like Water for Chocolate” was adapted into the highest-grossing foreign-language film in the United States when it was released. Every evening will end with a cocktail takeover, featuring master mixologists at a different lounge each night.
Xcaret is a group of three hotels and multiple adventure parks in Playa del Carmen and Riviera Maya. Hotel Xcaret and Hotel Xcaret Arte are larger all-inclusive resorts — the first being for families and the latter being adults-only. But for a more intimate stay during the festival, or for any vacation, the third hotel of the group La Casa de la Playa, would be the first choice. With only 63 suites, all facing the ocean and each with its own private pool, La Casa de la Playa has a more boutique and private vibe. The resort is also adults-only.
La Casa de la Playa
Courtesy of Xcaret
Even when there is no Apapaxoa GastroCultural Festival, there are four onsite restaurants at La Casa de la Playa providing the best of Mexican cuisine: including XAL which features a merging of Mexican, Filipino, and Basque cuisine, Centli for regional cuisine of Chiapas, Tabasco and Veracruz and Lumbre for northern Mexican cuisine. Bodega is a private tasting room for sampling high-end spirits and La Cava features a predominantly Mexican wine list — a good opportunity for those who’ve never sampled the country’s growing list of quality wines.
