Go to Baja for the cuisine and the cook out
Credit to Author: Dave Pottinger| Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2019 20:46:56 +0000
Baja’s burgeoning culinary scene is humming. The gastronomical movement that has taken hold over the last decade continues to flourish, with new offerings and chefs popping up in the most unexpected places. On organic farms it’s all about the bold flavours of the ingredients and the earth they come from. The new ethos here is locally-sourced organic ingredients and sustainably-harvested fish and seafood, created in holistic ways and served in lush locales with minimal environmental impact. Here’s a bite of what’s happening.
Savour
Just a 45-minute jaunt up the Cape from Cabo, in the magical coastal town of Todos Santos, is Jazamango– the brainchild of renowned James Beard-nominated Mexican chef Javier Plascencia. (Todos Santos is one of three magical towns, Pueblos Magico, on the Baja peninsula, a designation bestowed by the secretary of Tourism to towns exemplifying authentic cultural richness, natural beauty and historic relevance. There are 111 in total across the country.) Here among the vegetable, fruit, herb and flower gardens, Plascencia and his team are creating their own magic with organic ingredients and sustainable local products. Cooking classes and demonstrations, such as fresh burrata-making classes, take place in the huge outdoor kitchen complete with wood-burning oven, while long leisurely lunches of just-caught seafood, wood-grilled Baja oysters and freshly-foraged beets and carrots, are served al fresco on the shaded patio. A wander round the gardens before or after will kick off or cap the enchanting experience. jazamango.com
Along The Corridor (the resort-lined highway linking Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo) the Grand Velas Hotel’s Cocina de Autor serves up an elevated dining concept courtesy of its two-Michelin-starred head chef Sidney Schutte of the Netherlands. Schutte uses inventive techniques to transport locally-sourced ingredients to another level in his creative eight- to 10-course tasting menus. Tuna is transformed with a bubble of foam and chocolate clams become art on a piece of driftwood teetering atop rocks. Unexpected dishes such as jicama and pecan nut foie gras and corn, sesame and whiskey King crab round out the menu. This is gastronomy at its finest.
Huerta Los Tamarindos was one of the first properties to offer a farm-to-table dining experience in the area and this popular local organic farm and restaurant is still one of the favourites. Located in a 19th-century stone farmhouse on 17 acres of former sugar cane farm along San Jose del Cabo’s estuary, Los Tamarindos is the real deal. Their authentic culinary journey begins with a stroll through the gardens with the chef to harvest ingredients such as sticky tamarind that will later be used as an appetizer and aromatic purple basil which will be infused into margaritas. Following a hands-on, four-course cooking class on the kitchen terrace, guests enjoys the fruits of their labour overlooking the farm, brushed by the breeze off the Sea of Cortez.
New on the block is Puerto Raiz where chef Plascencia of Jazamango and his partner, the event designer Marianna Idirin, have paired with brothers Adrian and Alejandro Vidal to bring the latest sustainable farm-to-table experience to the Cabo area. Set along a natural estuary on 32 acres (13 hectares) of preserved land not far from Los Tamarindos, the open-air concept promises to be the next big item on Cabo’s ever-expanding menu. With gardens for weddings and events, al fresco dining under a canopy of trees, and a bar offering distillery classes and workshops, the vision is for a unique venue offering bespoke experiences while keeping the property’s natural state intact. Plascencia and his team whip up hyper-local organic dishes in an outdoor kitchen, while bartender Dani Tatarin, who hails from Vancouver, pairs them with her signature mezcal cocktails at the property’s distillery project. Plans are already underway for chic onsite glamping units, featuring outdoor baths, hammocks and high-end amenities.
Sip
Tatarin also brings her cocktail game at Acre, the uber-lush jungle sanctuary from fellow Vancouverites Cameron Watt (who brought the city the Keefer Bar) and Stuart McPherson.
The 25-acre eco compound, set among mango groves and palm trees at the foothills of the Sierra de la Laguna mountains, boasts 12 treehouses nestled among the treetops with outdoor showers and suspended bridges, an organic farm, edible gardens, event spaces, a rammed-earth constructed restaurant and show-stopping long bar featuring Tatarin’s equally-extensive cocktail menu. Aromatic drinks are infused with Baja’s bounty. Citrus varieties, such as kumquat and kaffir limes from orchards just beyond the bar where peacocks roam freely, feature prominently, as does charred mezcal carefully selected from small-batch mezcaleros. Definitely your go-to for a pre-dinner aperitif.
The writer travelled as a guest of Los Cabos Tourism, who neither reviewed nor approved this article before publication.