I had the opportunity to visit Puebla in the last weeks. I always drive past it when I go to Mexico City but I’ve never had the time to actually go and spend some time there. I spent three days visiting a friend I haven’t seen in a long time. I was excited for the food, the churches and the cultural part but mainly for the famous Chile en Nogada.

Last Sunday we visited the Navarro family in their home. As a family of generational artisans where craft runs through their veins, they were so kind to welcome me and two guests from a private tour and jump right into the weaving demonstration.

During the Chef’s Intensive, we cooked mole verde and that brought a lot memories about the particular mole. I’ll start at the beginning… in Oaxaca, we have many moles, one of the seven classical moles is mole verde. It is a mole where all ingredients are fresh, it is a vibrant, tangy flavor that is very easy to eat more then once a week.

Thirty minutes north of the city, on the way to our cooking school in the Etla valley, my father started a tomato ranch twenty-five years ago.

In 2022, the year my dad got sick, my brother Jesse and I took it over.

My first time visiting Japan. I had a suitcase full of dry chiles, four moles, heirloom corn, Seasons of my heart chocolate, mezcal and herbs from Mexico. The first thing that crossed my mind is customs and I was extremely nervous. But a good old "how are you" to the customs official and next thing you know I am in the cab on the way to the hotel with no issues.

Last month I was in Mexico City with my best friend Pedro to scout and try new restaurants. Two places made the cut.

Mole coloradito is one of the seven classic moles in Oaxaca. After mole negro, I’d say it’s Oaxaca’s most popular mole. It is tradition that when one cooks mole during this time, the first serving goes to the altar, along with the favorite foods our loved ones who are no longer with us enjoyed.

From my time as a Chef de Cuisine at La Calenda, I saw how they grew fresh herbs from The French Laundry Garden. I was lucky to be able to cook with the best herbs and I could use a little bit of everything, from the purslane, watercress to other heirloom herbs.

Cooking underground in Pomuch, Campeche: Relleno Blanco Yucateco

I never know what we're going to cook at Diego's.

That's part of why I love going. Our Yucatán tour always passes through Campeche, the colonial city with a vibrant market, before we drive 40 minutes north to Pomuch, a small Mayan village.

I spend plenty of my mornings in the biggest market in Oaxaca. Whether, it’s bright and early to buy produce for the cooking school or a tour of the market on Wednesdays with guests. And out of all the food options in the market, nothing hits home like memelas.

A milpa is the biggest expression of Mexico’s food chain: Corn, squash, chiles and beans. A milpa as an agriculture practice that to this day –not only in Oaxaca, but in most states of Mexico and also in South America– goes beyond a productive food growing system, it involves the many people who grow but also eat what is grown from the milpa.

To my fortune, my neighbor and good friend Lider has been growing marigolds in his field besides corn and other heirloom seeds. Three years ago, during the Día de Muertos tour we pay a visit to his fields. We cut our own marigolds for the altar we do all together at the cooking school.

The first time I encountered Chorizo Verde or its preparation, it was when I was working in Houston, getting ready to open the acclaimed restaurant Caracol with my good friend Chef Hugo Ortega.