Wa Ha Ca

Let’s start by saying my last blog included some shock value. I had just started on my own and I was scared. I’m still scared but am doing much better. I don’t regret my decisions and still feel I’m 100% doing the right thing. It certainly won’t be a direct route to deciding what’s next for me but I know I’m getting closer.

Nicaragua is a special place. It’s largely un-touched by us therefore preserving a way of life that hasn’t adapted to the tourist dollar. I really enjoyed immersing myself in it. I made a few friends, explored the country and the beautiful Spanish architecture of Granada, and of course tried all the food. And then I decided it was time to leave. I’m currently writing this part of the post from the airport in Mexico City.

I tried to find the inspiration to stick around Nicaragua but it never came. I had discussed with a local restaurant the idea of doing a work stint. I networked with the ops manager at the Selina hostel in the square for a pop up taco shack. I built a menu and did the food costing and everything. I think it could have happened. But none of it gave me the feels. I guess that’s the consequence of reading one article on the internet saying Granada is cool and thinking that’s where I’d end up

Anyway. I had a lot of time to think. And I realized that I need more action wherever I end up. Professionally, I also need a scene where people are doing new and unique things with food. Granada is beautiful but it’s sleepy. I’m a city dude. I need that energy and the variety. Variety in food too, restaurants and ingredients. Nicaragua had amazing ingredients but not much variety. That was the feedback from any chef I spoke to there as well. I also need more chilies in my life. Then it dawned on me. A place that’s been on my radar ever since I had the life changing experience of eating mole for the first time and researched where it came from. A place where there are SEVEN definitive varieties of mole (and millions of different abuelitas’ recipes for each). A place with the same name as the absolutely superior cheese for anything that needs melted cheese.

That place is….

 

 

 

 

 

As of this part of the post I’ve spent one day Oaxaca, Mexico and it makes me feel alive. It has the food markets I’m looking for, a restaurant scene that’s part of the global conversation, and a proper city to get lost in. It’s surrounded by beaches, mountains, and villages of indigenous people that bring even more variety to the food scene and the culture. And they have mescal.

5 months ago I had more feelings than I’d ever had in my life, maybe aside from a shitty breakup 10 years ago. The feels started from the first days in Laguna post corporate world to laying under the Northern Lights in Iceland listening to my spirit song. This can be attributed to the fact that I was en route to culinary school and everything that came along with my decision to do that. It was progress toward a meaningful life pursuing something I enjoy. Most importantly, my path was set for the next several months.

Post culinary school hasn’t been the same. Of course one can argue travelling around Latin America without a job is awesome, and it is. But I’m not getting the same feels as frequently. I think it’s because it’s been a confusing time. For Ballymaloe I had to be there for a welcome gig on September 16th. Then I had a set schedule every day until I finished my certificate. But now it’s just like post college. I have my degree but no one is telling me what to do next. These are decisions I need to make. And at 33 years old I don’t have many chances to go all in on the wrong decision. What I mean there is that to do something great I not only need to go all in, but I also need to spend years cultivating it. I don’t want to fuck mess that up. The good news is that at 33 yrs old I have more experience in the real world than I did at 21. I know I need to collect enough data to make an informed decision. So while this seems a lot like a permanent vacation where I bleed all the money I worked hard for, it’s not.

Here are some other interesting tidbits since my last post:

• I used a connection from Chicago to chat with a chef at a restaurant here with a 12 course tasting menu. An earthquake hit when we were chatting, kinda crazy. But I already like the ethos and he needs the help and is interested. I think this one might happen. I’m eating there tonight.
• I ate at Enirque Olvera’s restaurant, Criollo, last night. It was a 7 course tasting menu. The decor and presentation of the food was fantastic. It’s an excellent place to bring guests or a date. The food was creative and I appreciated that. The service was top notch. And I’d rather eat street food in the market. Not that the food was bad, it just didn’t blow me away, which is admittedly a very difficult feat these days. The salsa that accompanied my $1 USD torta in the market blew me away.
• The markets here are cleaner and have more variety than Nicaragua. I had goosebumps the entire time I explored them
• I like the edible grasshoppers. They’re a salty, spicy, umami bomb. I would use them as a crunchy topping to a bowl, along with the traditional applications
• The previously mentioned salsa that accompanied my torta at a small stall in the market blew anything I’ve ever made out of the water. It was sweet, smoky, spicy and the consistency was spot on. I’d eat that shit with everything.
• I visited Costa Rica for a few days with some good company. It’s a beautiful country and I definitely want to return. Like Nicaragua, it’s a vacation destination, not a place to set up shop. I shopped for my seafood at the “cooperativa” which is a collective of all the local fishermen. It’s a very un-assuming counter in a small, non-touristy fishing village called Tarcoles. The red snapper and jumbo shrimp were excellent. The snapper was so fresh I made several raw dishes with it
• One day in Oaxaca and I already feel much better about being here than Nicaragua. I think/hope I’ll stay a while (and post more too)
• I think it’s crazy how I can proofread a blog before posting and miss typos. But after I publish it’s like I’m seeing it with a new set of eyes and I catch everything. Happens every time and I can’t change it no matter how hard I try

Here are some photos from the past few weeks: