Sabor Round-up

Oh, what a weekend it was! By Lila Shaw Lash March 14, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Photo credit Alejandro Zarate, 2008

Thousands of attendees ate, drank and cooked their way through a slice of complete foodie heaven—Festival Sabor San Miguel 2008 blew into town this past weekend. Rodolfo Rubio, editor and publisher of Sabor, completely outdid himself, and created an event that promises to raise the bar and level of discourse for the industry in San Miguel.

The set-up was ideal, with Coates/Dolan hosting the event on top of the hill at Vista Antigua, overlooking all of downtown San Miguel. Viking built out fantastic kitchen spaces on both sides of the festival grounds, with state-of-the-art ranges and appliances for the chefs to use for their demonstrations. The main tent was hopping with local entertainment, while the tasting tents were tempting festival goers with plenty of wines and delicious food.

Rick Bayless and his extremely accomplished sommelier, Jill Gubesch, chatted about Bayless’s path of passion through Mexico and the challenges of pairing complex Mexican dishes with wines, which Gubesch does superbly at both Topolobampo and Frontera Grill. Rubio interviewed legendary culinary writer Diana Kennedy in a rare informal setting, with a question & answer session that was opened up to the public. She was able to expound upon her great passion for environmental conservation and her thoughts on the current state of Mexican cuisine. Roberto Santibañez walked his audience through the pleasure of being truly Mexican, which was accompanied by a salsa demonstration and discussion. Don Miller, from Adobe Guadalupe, chatted about his passionate love affair with winemaking in Mexico, including his wife’s pursuit of her personal interest in breeding rare Mexican horses at their property outside of Ensenada, Baja California.

The buzz around the tents was deafening. This being the first year for the Sabor Festival, the expectations were high, but based on discussions I had with several participants and attendees, all expectations were beyond surpassed. By the end of the event, tears of joy were flowing and overused vocal chords were hoarse. I think I speak for all sanmiguelenses in expressing gratitude and excitement for many years to come. Buen provecho!