The pleasure of being truly Mexican
By Lila Shaw Lash

Chef Roberto Santibañez in a friend’s kitchen in New York. Photo credit Marco Diaz.

Exploring the vast diversity of Mexican cuisine, the many regional variations and widely varied influences, it's easy to wonder—what is it to be truly Mexican? Chef Roberto Santibañez grew up with many of these varying influences. Born in Mexico City, educated at Cordon Bleu in Paris, a veteran of many well-respected kitchens in Europe, Santibañez returned to Mexico to explore his home culinary turf, and hasn’t looked back. After a well-received stint at Los Olivos in DF, Santibañez was tapped to run the kitchen at Austin establishment Fonda San Miguel, before being brought on board as the culinary director of Rosa’s Mexicano, a New York City institution serving contemporary Mexican cuisine. He’s written books, consulted, taught classes all over the world and earned the respect of Mexican food aficionados, both north and south of the border. He will be teaching and lecturing at the upcoming Festival Sabor San Miguel.

In an exclusive interview with Atención columnist “The Dinner Goddess,” Santibañez reflects on the pleasures of being truly Mexican, the food and flavors that he loves, and who continues to inspire his work.

LSL: Looking back, you graduated from Cordon Bleu in France, worked at various restaurants in Europe, but returned to Mexico to cook—the subject of your upcoming lecture at Festival Sabor is “The pleasure of being truly Mexican.” What does that mean to you?

RS: It really has to do with me insisting on keeping the flavors intense and strong, and choosing to not tone anything down when we serve a foreign palate. I believe that is exactly what a foreign population from America wants is the real thing. I can give you an example of what happens with my dear country—I was dining with a mixed group of chefs in Guanajuato and I asked the waiter for a salsa, because nothing was really spicy, so he brings the salsa and as he puts it on the table, says, “No pica, nada!” Spicy food was for the indigenous lower class; spicy, garlicky, boldly flavored foods were not for the aristocratic, educated class, and I find that absurd! So much of the Mexican food that is exported and prepared in the United States is lackluster and completely bland. I have very strong commitment to keeping the flavors as they were originally prepared. I want you to be able to sit down at a nice restaurant in Manhattan, maybe with white tablecloths and good service, and have a salsa that tastes like it  was made in the mountains of Oaxaca. My pleasure has been discovering what the people really want, and then provide it for them.

LSL: You’ve cooked at many high-profile Mexican restaurants in Mexico City, Austin, and now in New York City—what are the differences you observe being in the Mexican culinary world both inside and outside of Mexico?

RS: I think the message is different, because in Mexico, you definitely have to be a little more careful and more delicate with flavor profiles. There are plenty of Mexicans that embrace and enjoy spice, but a city like New York has so many clients with such adventurous flavor palates. Even when I worked in Austin (at Fonda San Miguel), I observed that Austin was an incredibly open and adventurous town full of well-traveled, widely-eaten people that embraced the flavors.

LSL: Roberto, who were your early inspirations and who continues to inspire you?

RS: I think the people of my country and the women of my country that cook what they cook and have produced what they have produced are always my source of inspiration.

LSL: You’ve spent some time in San Miguel and Guanajuato—what do you see as the potential impact of a food festival such as Festival Sabor coming to our town?

RS: I think it was a very smart choice to select that area. Not only do you have a developing part of the country with many locals that are able to attend and explore, you also have the American community that will also benefit. Everyone will make more noise and become more demanding, so I think it was a great decision to choose San Miguel.

LSL: What have been the high moments of your career in Mexican cuisine? Of all your projects, what have you enjoyed the most?

RS: The moment the cookbook came out was a pretty exciting moment (Rosa’s New Mexican Table). I also immensely enjoyed my time at Fonda San Miguel—I initially had a hard time because running a restaurant requires a great deal of work, and I had arrived in America for the first time. It was a challenge, adapting myself to a new life, but looking back, it stands out as one of the most productive, happy experiences in my career.

Lila Shaw Lash is the Dinner Goddess, a personal chef and catering service, and a regular columnist for Atención. She can be reached at lila@dinnergoddess.com.