Savoring a rare occasion to unwind on the receiving end of a deluxe dining experience, a crowd of top notch chefs and restaurateurs from Guadalajara and lakeside converged at Chapala’s Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo (CCGG) on Monday, April 28 for La Gran Noche del Chef.
The elegant gourmet feast showcased native ingredients and ancient culinary traditions representing all corners of Mexico. Chef Gerardo Montoya, an expert in pre-Hispanic cuisine, assembled the menu under the title Banquetes de Moctezuma, bringing in students from the Universidad Enrique Díaz de León school of Gastronmy as his kitchen crew.
The nine-course tasting menu opened with a vegetable medley cooked in nopal cactus pads served with a blue corn tostada, and a shot of pitaya pulque on the side. The series of savory delights that followed featured various types of edible cacti, wild greens, seafood and game along with corn in diverse manifestations and chile sauces made to tickle rather than scorch the palate.
The meal peaked in round seven in the platter of quail stuffed with huitlacoche, set off by a chile guajillo atápakua relish and a light floral salad. For dessert, a miniature coffee flavored popsicle, served with fruit foam and fresh berries framed in cookie crumbscompletely satisfied the sweet tooth.
For a spectacular prelude to the dinner, the Xalistli indigenous dance troupe performed a ritual blessing in keeping with the evening’s theme. Ignacio Garcia Robles, a master craftsman of hand-hewn basalt molcajetes, held the spotlight in the exhibition of restaurant and kitchen products.
Founder Lupita Cruz Guerrero launched La Gran Noche del Chef in 1996 as a platform to celebrate and promote Mexico’s culinary heritage, wrapping each succeeding edition around a particular cultural theme. The CCGG previously hosted the event in 2009. Other editions have been held at different venues in Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta.