admin
Posts 164
|
“We sell more than food, we create experiences here”
1 It’s not unusual to see the staff at El Arrayán teaching their foreign customers how to roll a taco – from handling the tortilla and placing the meat, to folding it, and even how to bite into it. The majority of customers arrives due to word of mouth comments about this establishment and discovers a fusion of traditional Mexican cuisine with more innovative complements.
2. The person responsible for preserving these traditions is executive chef Mariano Valdes Ruiz, born in Tabasco, he holds a culinary school degree. Having arrived in Puerto Vallarta eight months ago, he brings experience acquired in hotels and prestigious restaurants. He met owner and chef Carmen Porras, who convinced him to come to this city. Now, El Arrayán has been named the best Mexican restaurant for the past three years and is on the must-do list of several city guides.
3. His first schooling occurred in the family kitchen: “My grandmother would prepare grilled fish and chicken soup with vegetables.” Mariano feels proud of promoting Mexican cuisine: “I have lots of interest in continuing the country’s traditional recipes.”
4. El Arrayán has a concept defined as slow food, a culinary trend dedicated to the preparation of unique dishes from each region. Marino defines the slow food concept as the rescue of traditional recipes and the long procedure required to prepare traditional food.
5. With regard to the menu, he explains that he has created a fusion of traditional Mexican cooking with high quality international food. As an example, he offers homemade duck pâté, which he serves with marmalade of habanero pepper and a chili sauce he calls “mojo de morita.” Another offering are the pig foot tacos in pibil sauce, which are served with a pineapple, anise and jalapeño mixture.
6. The main dish at El Arrayán are the duck carnitas. “This is an innovative offering, with meat that is tender yet firm, soft with a crunchy skin, full or aromas and texture, and served with a moreliana sauce made from a base of mild dried peppers.” A chef’s job is to be innovative, to “take the ingredients that already exist and use them to make new things.”
7. For a few months now, chef Marino has been teaching classes at the Tecnolólogico de Estudios Superiores de Puerto Vallarta, where he shares his knowledge with a new generation of cooking professionals.
8. He has received many satisfactory comments from diners who have left pleased with his work, but one regular customer stated, “After having eaten at El Arrayán, I will never classify Mexican food as greasy and spicy.” Other positive comments are wordless: After learning how to roll a taco, foreign customers instantly learn how to wipe up their plates using a piece of tortilla.
By Rodrigo López Becerril
|