A Taste of Modern Mexico Comes to Selfridges

News provided by

Mexico Tourism Board

07 Apr, 2015, 06:05 GMT

LONDON, April 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

- Mexico Partners with Iconic Department Store for Two Months of Vibrant Mexican Gastronomy

Modern Mexican gastronomy has arrived at Selfridges for "Welcome to Mexico" an exciting culinary partnership. As part of the 'Year of Mexico' in the UK celebrations, there will be a series of taste tantalising demos, samplings in the Foodhall and guest chef takeovers.

Mexican cuisine has a long and rich history.  It was given the honour of being inscribed on UNESCO's representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.  From April, a superbly talented group of young chefs are borrowing from the past to rediscover and reinvent Mexican cuisine in new and innovative ways. In the same way that world renowned British chefs have put new British gastronomy on the global map and changed how an entire nation viewed British cuisine and ingredients - a similar process is well underway in Mexico.

A select group of these chefs, representing Mexico's vibrant restaurant scene, are coming to Selfridges for a series of gastronomic events at the store's Corner Restaurant between the 14th April and 12th May.  Benito Molina, Daniel Ovadia, Miguel Angel Guererro, Javier Plascencia and Manolo Banos are all making guest appearances.

Diners to Selfridges will get the chance to sample contemporary dishes such as lobster with mole verde, Madagascar tuna tostada and a rice pudding and nitro churro in the stylish surroundings of the Corner Restaurant.  A limited number of tickets priced at £80 per person for a tasting menu with paired wines and spirits are now available: Selfridges.com/Mexico.

Corner Restaurant Evenings:

  • 14th April: Miguel Angel Guerrero is widely regarded as the pioneer of Baja Mediterranean cuisine.  He grew up on his family's ranch in Tijuana, Baja California and owns four acclaimed restaurants in the region (El Taller, La Querencia, Almazara and El Colegio).
  • 21st & 22nd April: Javier Plascencia born in Tijuana, where he grew up working in his father's restaurants. Javier is regarded as one of the most prominent chefs in driving Baja Mediterranean cuisine - a combination of Mexican and Mediterranean styles, using local ingredients and has five restaurants (Misión 19 and neighboring Bar 20, Erizo Cebicheria, Hotel Caesar's, Villa Savieros, Casa Plascencia, and Via Mercado).
  • 28th & 29th April: Daniel Ovadia, is one of one of Mexico's most famous young chefs.  He is chef-patron of three critically acclaimed restaurants (Paxia, Morablanca and Pewter) and a line of tequila and mezcal.
  • 12th May & 13th May: Benito Molina and Manolo Banos.  Benito Molina is founder of Manzanilla.  Benito Molina together with wife Solange Muris founded Manzanilla (ranked 25 on Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants 2014) and it's named after the olives that the region is known for.  The restaurant is famed for using only the best sustainable local ingredients - from seafood to wine, olive oil to chillies. Manolo Banos grew up inspired by his grandmother's cooking in his native in Oaxaca.  Banos' dishes provide a gastronomy tour around the state; from the

Central Valleys, La Costa where he grew up, through to the Mixteca.  Banos is chef-patron of the acclaimed Pitiona Restaurant.

An authentic taste of Mexico will also come to life in the Selfridges Foodhall with leading Mexican restaurateurs and suppliers sampling some of their signature dishes.  Participants range from acclaimed London based Mexican restaurant Lupita to Gringa Dairy, an artisan dairy making authentic Mexican cheese based in Peckham.  Tastings will take place daily between 12pm and 8.30pm at the Oxford Street store in a pop-up stand featuring an arresting design inspired by modern Mexican architecture.  

  • w/c 6th April: Café Cobalto's Mexican coffee is not to be missed.  The brand started as a secret speciality coffee club for many years and their beans are grown on the slopes of the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean.
  • w/c 13th April: KanKun Sauces - use a secret recipe guarded fervently by generations of grandmas, aunties, and mamas from the Cardenas family and will be sampling their Salsas together with tortilla chips.
  • w/c 20th April: Lupita - award-winning taqueria that has its roots in Mexico City's Condessa district will be offering a bite sized morsels of their signature dishes .
  • w/c 27th April: Chilango - describe themselves as "Mexican food missionaries" and they will be spreading some of the finest tastes of the country with delectable tostadas
  • w/c 4th May: Benito's Hat - Selfridges Foodhall's resident Taqueria will be offering bite sized tasters of some of Head Chef's Felipe Fuentes Cruz's most popular dishes

To keep up to date with the latest gastronomic events and for further information about the Year of Mexico in the UK please see the official micro-site: http://mexicouk2015.mx/en/dual-year.