1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Hi everyone, welcome to Pot Luck Food Talks. 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:09,920 Today we have a special guest, Rosana Toro. 3 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:14,560 She's living in Yucatan, Mexico and she's a product designer and now she became kind 4 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:18,520 of like a restaurant experience designer. 5 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:19,520 Something like that. 6 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:20,520 Yeah. 7 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:21,520 Could it be described like that? 8 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:23,520 I've been trying to figure out how to decipher that. 9 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:24,680 Like I don't describe what I do. 10 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:28,960 It's like branding consultancy and experience consultancy in hospitality. 11 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:30,200 I don't really know. 12 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:33,000 These are different words for the same thing, right? 13 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:34,000 Exactly. 14 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:38,720 So how was the transition from being a product designer to start designing experiences or 15 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:42,720 branding for restaurants, bars and hotels? 16 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:44,080 How did this happen? 17 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:49,160 It was very organic, but also basically it just happened because I didn't really know 18 00:00:49,160 --> 00:00:50,720 what to do with my life, right? 19 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:56,720 So I started studying product design and industrial design, but then my mom got sick back in Venezuela 20 00:00:56,720 --> 00:01:01,080 so I had to go back and industrial design there, product design was not a very good 21 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:02,080 career there. 22 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:06,200 So I started studying graphic design and I spent some time working in graphic design, 23 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:07,640 branding, UX and UI. 24 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:09,640 I hated it so much. 25 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:13,920 I had like anxiety attacks over my work and so I decided like it was time for a change 26 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:17,480 and I applied for a job at my current agency, V&L. 27 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:20,840 And while working there, like we realized like my boss actually goes like, you know 28 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:21,840 what? 29 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:25,480 You're very good at like coming up with ideas for things. 30 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:29,240 And like we started experimenting with me working in concept development and then that 31 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:33,960 just like evolved into the whole thing that I really love working with, with the scene, 32 00:01:33,960 --> 00:01:38,000 with hospitality and I love like pampering people, right? 33 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:43,320 So we just started organically like designing experiences for our clients and clients started 34 00:01:43,320 --> 00:01:47,000 coming to us for those experiences and they're like, wait, no, you're helping us develop 35 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:49,960 like an even more complete product when you do experiences. 36 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:51,200 Let's do this. 37 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:56,360 And just it organically became helping clients to design the experience for their restaurants 38 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:57,360 or the hotels. 39 00:01:57,360 --> 00:01:58,480 It was weird but fun. 40 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:06,440 Do you have like an interesting story of a project, like about the whole process of, 41 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:10,760 I don't know, like coming up with a concept for a new restaurant or how is it processed? 42 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:15,320 Do you get a briefing with some key ideas and then you develop the whole thing or do 43 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:17,320 the clients already know exactly what they want? 44 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:19,360 Yeah, it varies from client to client. 45 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:22,560 But usually what happens is like clients, they come to us and they're like, oh, we have 46 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:24,240 an idea for this restaurant. 47 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:25,640 We were like, oh, okay. 48 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:29,120 And we have this first meeting, which is sort of like the brief. 49 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:30,520 We call it the kickoff meeting, right? 50 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:32,400 But that's like a therapy session. 51 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:36,520 Usually we'll talk to clients for hours and we'll be like, okay, so what do you want to 52 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:37,520 do? 53 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:39,600 Okay, but then what do you really like? 54 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:41,000 Like what really are your dreams? 55 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:43,120 What do you really enjoy to get inspired by? 56 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:44,120 Tell me about your mother. 57 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:45,120 Yeah, yeah. 58 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:48,960 Like we've had clients talk to us about their dead siblings, you know, and how they've been 59 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:50,760 inspired to do what they really want. 60 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:53,040 It really does become a therapy session. 61 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,920 And it's very like clients have cried in our in our meetings, but it's so nice because 62 00:02:56,920 --> 00:03:01,080 it's like this very emotional process and you get to know people very deeply. 63 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:04,400 And when you know people very deeply and you know what really excites them, you can help 64 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:07,360 them develop like very authentic concepts. 65 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:13,100 So once we get to really know them, we'll be like, okay, the places that are most successful 66 00:03:13,100 --> 00:03:17,700 and like last through time are usually places that are a very honest reflection of what 67 00:03:17,700 --> 00:03:20,280 clients are and who the clients are. 68 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:21,280 Right. 69 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,480 And especially nowadays, people are looking for more authentic things, for more real things. 70 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:29,120 And so having a very honest reflection of who the person is helps the brand. 71 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:30,640 So we do that. 72 00:03:30,640 --> 00:03:35,920 We try to understand who they really are and create this whole concept that reflects them 73 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:37,880 and their passions and what they like. 74 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:40,320 So we do this first therapy session. 75 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:44,320 And from then we help like develop the concept and we'll do experiences, we'll do naming 76 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:48,920 design, like we develop the personality of the brand, the voice, and we try to use like 77 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,360 the client's words and the things that really inspire them to make something very real that 78 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:54,920 they feel personally represented by. 79 00:03:54,920 --> 00:04:00,240 Yeah, I guess like, well, I don't know if the restaurants that you work with are chef 80 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:06,800 oriented or not, but I guess restaurants where the chef has a strong personality, like the 81 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:12,440 chef becomes a character and the restaurant becomes his environment, right? 82 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:13,440 Yeah. 83 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:14,440 And yeah. 84 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:18,520 And then you build like this whole ecosystem around, yeah, like a story. 85 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:19,520 Exactly. 86 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:23,240 Well, what's the role that stories plays in this context? 87 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:27,200 Eric, this is like my favorite question because I have this obsession, right? 88 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:28,440 We're all made of stories. 89 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:30,880 There's this quotes that I love. 90 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:32,480 I can't remember who said it right now. 91 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:33,480 I will. 92 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:37,160 But basically it says like, some people think that we're made of atoms, but I think we're 93 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:38,160 made of stories. 94 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:40,960 I mean, I love that quote because I think that's very true. 95 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:42,680 We're all made of stories. 96 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:48,920 And when you create a deep story for a restaurant, people connect to that very deeply. 97 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:51,000 And that's why they get excited about brands. 98 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:54,240 When they find the story that they can connect with, that makes it very real. 99 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,160 That's why we connect to people more than we connect to things, right? 100 00:04:57,160 --> 00:04:59,080 Because there's a story behind it. 101 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:03,360 So creating a story means creating connection. 102 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:04,680 And I think that's very exciting. 103 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:05,680 Yeah. 104 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:10,000 Also going back to stories, for me, it's super interesting when you can tell a story through 105 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:12,560 a dish with very simple elements. 106 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:13,560 I love that so much. 107 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:14,560 I saw this dish. 108 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,720 It was from a Mexican chef. 109 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:23,760 I can't remember now exactly who it was, but it was just a two element dish. 110 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:30,400 You know, it was the plate and then you had like a cactus sorbet and volcanic salt. 111 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:31,400 That's it. 112 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:32,400 Wow. 113 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:36,400 You know, and just with two elements, you tell a story and you evoke an image, right? 114 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:37,960 This was like a palate cleanser. 115 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:42,080 Just one of these sorbets that you have between courses in a tasting menu. 116 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:46,400 And for me, this is so clever, you know, like just to combine these two elements and it's 117 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:48,840 almost poetic and just two words, right? 118 00:05:48,840 --> 00:05:51,240 Like volcano and cactus. 119 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:52,240 That's amazing. 120 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:53,240 Yeah. 121 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:54,240 I really want to try that. 122 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:56,920 You have to remember who the chef is because I really want to try that. 123 00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:57,920 Yeah. 124 00:05:57,920 --> 00:05:58,920 I'll have to check it out. 125 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:03,360 Like I give a lecture once a year about Latin America and Vanguard and cooking. 126 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:09,200 And this is one of the examples I show when I talk about new Mexican chefs. 127 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:12,400 So it will be easy to find the reference. 128 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:13,400 Please do. 129 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:17,880 There's actually this restaurant here that was just named like the best restaurant in 130 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:19,600 Media, the city where I'm living in. 131 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:25,800 It's called the Micaela and they have this, they have this dessert dish and it's all corn 132 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:29,160 because you know, corn is very important for like Mexican culture. 133 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:30,160 Of course. 134 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:31,160 Yes. 135 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:33,160 And specifically Mayans believe that we're made of corn. 136 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:34,560 Like corn is divine. 137 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:39,120 In Mayan heritage, like the gods didn't steal fire to give to people. 138 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:40,120 They stole corn. 139 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:41,400 Corn is very, very special. 140 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:45,680 So they have this corn dessert and it's all, it's just corn, but it's corn in different 141 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:46,680 presentations. 142 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:54,720 So it's corn, ice cream with caramel corn, with corn dust and a little like corn cookies. 143 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:58,120 And it's all like different presentations and different textures, but it's all corn 144 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:00,320 and it's so, so good. 145 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:02,240 You have to, if you ever do come, you have to try it. 146 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:07,080 I had this amazing dessert, Cosme, which is the Daniela Sotines restaurant in New York, 147 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:12,120 which is a little associated restaurant of Olvera. 148 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:17,200 And her signature dessert is this corn foam inside of a corn meringue. 149 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:23,440 And it also, it also has ashes of the corn external leaf, you know, like, it's again, 150 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:28,400 like, again, this is like a story, you know, you're putting different elements and, and 151 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:32,560 serving corn sweet, you know, and it's not that sweet that dessert actually. 152 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:34,000 But that makes it better, right? 153 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:35,000 Yeah, of course. 154 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:36,880 I like not so sweet dessert. 155 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:42,240 I even like savory desserts at some point, which is also something that you can get. 156 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:48,880 Do you have any examples of projects where you help a client completely change an initial 157 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:54,240 idea into something unique or different or perhaps something different from the initial 158 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:55,240 idea? 159 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:56,240 I do. 160 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:59,040 I'm not the client per se, but I can tell the story. 161 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:02,720 It was a hotel brand we were working with and we were developing a bunch of restaurants 162 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:04,100 and experiences for them. 163 00:08:04,100 --> 00:08:06,600 And they wanted to do like a kids restaurant, right? 164 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:09,100 And the initial idea was just that, kids restaurant. 165 00:08:09,100 --> 00:08:12,760 But when we were doing the research and trying to figure out the concept, we got really stuck 166 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:16,200 with the ice cream museum in Los Angeles and New York. 167 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:19,640 And we were like, you know what, why, why, why does it have to be just a restaurant? 168 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:21,440 If it's for kids, it has to be more than that. 169 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:24,140 Like it should be a very immersive experience. 170 00:08:24,140 --> 00:08:30,160 And so we changed the whole thing and we turned that into like house of possibilities. 171 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:34,640 And so this place, it became a fun house with food basically. 172 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:39,520 And so in every different branch of the hotel, the restaurant is different. 173 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:44,400 Like sometimes it's space themed, sometimes it's ice cream themed, sometimes it's candy 174 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:45,880 themed, it's dinosaur themed. 175 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:49,000 Because the whole idea that it's like an imaginary, right? 176 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:54,360 So the whole thing is a reflection of children's imagination with experiences reflecting this 177 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:56,840 imagination through food. 178 00:08:56,840 --> 00:08:59,520 But the whole thing is that it has to be more than food because it's for children. 179 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:02,120 And like kids are not really into just eating, right? 180 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,480 They have to like get excited about things, be entertained. 181 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:11,040 So like we made it a whole thing to be like food is part of the experience, but it's not 182 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:12,040 the whole experience. 183 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:14,800 Like imagination is the experience. 184 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:16,120 And they got so excited about that. 185 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:20,040 They just wanted like, you know, a kids restaurant that served like fish sticks. 186 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:27,080 And we're like, no, it has to be imagination and exploding and be like a fun house. 187 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:29,160 And they did turn it into that. 188 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:32,880 It's been amazing actually to see it like become a reality and how they've applied it. 189 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:33,880 They've done it very well. 190 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:35,720 And they build their minds, right? 191 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:36,720 Because yeah, that's crazy. 192 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:37,720 It was fun. 193 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:42,880 During this process, what are the key elements that you consider when you're coming up with 194 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:44,720 the solutions? 195 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:47,320 So how do you get there? 196 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:48,640 Which are the criteria as you apply? 197 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:50,240 It's like a whole thing, right? 198 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:54,360 Because one of the first criteria, like I said, it has to be a very authentic reflection 199 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:59,080 of like the clients who's doing it, but also like it has to be enjoyable for their clients. 200 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:05,360 But it's just like the one thing we always come back to is that it has to be like exciting, 201 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:08,760 maybe not exciting, like sentimentally motivated. 202 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:10,840 Like it has to arouse your feeling. 203 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:15,000 Like emotional, like something that moves your emotions. 204 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:16,400 Yeah, exactly. 205 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:20,640 And that can be positive, it can be peaceful, it can be whatever, whatever. 206 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:23,080 There has to be like an emotional aspect to it. 207 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:26,200 Again, to create this connection to get people excited. 208 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:30,920 And I mean, yes, of course we have to consider like trends, even though it's cool to ignore 209 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:32,600 trends, but we do have to consider them. 210 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:36,120 We have to consider things that practical applications, how it can be done. 211 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:37,600 Because sometimes we get very excited. 212 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:39,960 We're like, oh yeah, it's a, I don't know. 213 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:44,080 We sometimes want to do like restaurants inside, I don't know, bounces, but we can't do that 214 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:45,080 all the time, right? 215 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:50,360 So we have to consider how it can actually be a bite and be real and just how we can 216 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:57,060 do things that can be maintained throughout time and still always like get people motivated 217 00:10:57,060 --> 00:10:58,200 to want to come back. 218 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:02,200 One of the things that happens at restaurants, right, is that if you have like a fixed venue 219 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:05,520 and that's it, maybe clients will only go a few times, they'll get bored and want to 220 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:07,040 try something else. 221 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:11,000 So we also have to consider things that make people want to come back. 222 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:15,140 Things like, you know, an evolving manual events, things that happen. 223 00:11:15,140 --> 00:11:17,280 We want restaurants to be more than restaurants, right? 224 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:21,600 We want them to be this whole experience so that people get excited and always want to 225 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:24,640 return and always want to recommend a place. 226 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:26,800 A good place is always reinventing itself. 227 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:27,800 It's always evolving. 228 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:28,800 Like a person, right? 229 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:31,960 If you're a person and you say exactly the same thing for your whole life, it's a boring 230 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:32,960 thing ever. 231 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:35,040 The same thing applies to restaurants. 232 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:38,160 They don't evolve like people naturally do, they'll die. 233 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:40,000 Like movement and evolution is very important. 234 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:44,840 Yeah, I've seen many restaurants completely change throughout their history, like having 235 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:48,400 like different epochs, different faces. 236 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:53,680 This whole conversation reminds me a lot of El Barri group in Barcelona, Albert Adrias 237 00:11:53,680 --> 00:11:54,680 group before COVID. 238 00:11:54,680 --> 00:11:58,000 He closed most of his restaurants after COVID. 239 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:03,000 But I mean, this was like a constellation of, I don't know, five or six different restaurants, 240 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:08,560 each one with a complete clear identity, each one different from each other. 241 00:12:08,560 --> 00:12:14,040 And each one, I think that they had their story, their visual identity. 242 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:18,560 Perhaps I would say the most transversal aspect would be photography. 243 00:12:18,560 --> 00:12:23,440 I think the photography was equal for all of them, but the content was different. 244 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:25,640 But I think all of these elements, like the style- 245 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:28,200 Yeah, you would see El Mori and you would see the other ones. 246 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:34,040 The style of the videos, the style of the pictures, even the dishware and everything, 247 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:38,360 I think that this builds to the identity of our restaurant. 248 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:39,360 Totally, totally. 249 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:43,920 And you have to consider those like small details, like the details make the whole place, 250 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:44,920 right? 251 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:47,080 I don't know, do you know, of course, Central Peru? 252 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:48,080 Yes, of course. 253 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:49,080 I've been there. 254 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:50,080 So good. 255 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:54,800 I'm obsessed with their plateware, you know, their dishware. 256 00:12:54,800 --> 00:13:00,680 Sometimes like those that he found while foraging in the woods and it's broken plates and it's 257 00:13:00,680 --> 00:13:01,680 things like that. 258 00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:02,840 Like that tells the story too. 259 00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:07,840 That tells the story of discovery, of like actually showing the place where you live. 260 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:12,400 Like the whole thing in Central is reflecting like different heights in Peru, right? 261 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:13,400 Exactly. 262 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:17,800 Yeah, like the menu, just for the audience that doesn't know, like the menu, you will 263 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:21,920 get a tasting menu and each course will have a different altitude. 264 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:25,520 So it could be minus five meters under the sea level. 265 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:31,400 Then you have 2000 meters above sea level and each course represents like a microclimate 266 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:36,480 and a microcosm just, you know, expressed through ingredients in a dish. 267 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:42,720 And also, as you say, each dish looks like this unique landscape that represents a microclimate 268 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:43,720 of Peru. 269 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:48,720 So it's like a journey through the whole country in a tasting menu, which in itself is amazing. 270 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:54,920 It's a super clear storyline that anyone can identify with. 271 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:59,280 And sometimes like the dishes, like they're artisanal dishes from the locations where 272 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:02,000 the food is from, right? 273 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,920 And then other times it's rocks from where the food was from and things like, well, there's 274 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:09,760 this one dish I'm obsessed with that is like frozen piranha heads. 275 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:10,760 Ah, piranhas. 276 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:13,800 Ah, you mean the dishware from Central? 277 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:14,800 Yes, I know. 278 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:15,800 I know that piece of plate. 279 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:16,800 Yeah. 280 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:21,080 And they're like screaming, you know, like the piranhas are like opening them up. 281 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:22,080 Yeah. 282 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:23,080 Yeah. 283 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:26,880 Like I'm a good friend of the Valderrama brothers who are the two head chefs. 284 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:30,720 I think they're now in Mule, not anymore in Central. 285 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:32,440 They were actually the ones. 286 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:34,520 Actually one of them came to work in Mexico. 287 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:38,240 He's starting to develop a restaurant with Iscared, the Votelchi. 288 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:39,240 Oh, okay. 289 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:40,240 Nice. 290 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:41,240 Nice. 291 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:45,800 Well, I was like, how to say, we were on the same exchange program. 292 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:51,000 One of them, well, while I was, I first came to the Basque Country doing an exchange at 293 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:52,000 the Basque Culinary Center. 294 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:53,000 So we were on the same program. 295 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:54,000 Oh, that's so cool. 296 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:55,600 And that's where I met him. 297 00:14:55,600 --> 00:15:00,960 Actually the time I went to Central, they invited me the whole menu and it was just 298 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:04,680 like a waiting time between flights. 299 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:08,120 I had like five hours waiting time in Peru. 300 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:12,320 So I went to Central, had a tasty menu and went back to the airport. 301 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,320 I am very jealous of you. 302 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:18,600 That's a great time to spend that wait. 303 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:19,600 Yeah. 304 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:20,600 Yeah. 305 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:21,600 It was a nice waiting time. 306 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:22,600 No, no, I have a super nice memory. 307 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:25,120 This was actually the old Central, not the new building. 308 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:30,200 I don't know how the new one looks like, but that was a really nice one for sure. 309 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:31,200 That's amazing. 310 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:35,120 Actually, I've only seen pictures of the new one also, so I can't say. 311 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:41,080 So what would you say that are emerging trends and themes that you're noticing in the restaurant 312 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:42,080 branding world? 313 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:43,720 There are a few things, right? 314 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:48,640 Like in general, hospitality, obviously being sustainable, I love that it's becoming a trend. 315 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:52,480 Yeah, it becomes, it means that a lot of people are green washing what they do. 316 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:57,120 But in general, like trying to be sustainable is actually becoming like the new luxury, 317 00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:58,120 right? 318 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:00,080 Like things are good if they're sustainable. 319 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:02,840 People who want to go to an expensive place, if it's not sustainable, they'll be like, 320 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:03,840 no, it's not good. 321 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:06,760 And I think that's actually amazing to be a trend. 322 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:11,280 I really do hope that becomes a standard rather than just a trend. 323 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:15,080 And the other thing I see like more and more is authenticity. 324 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:18,880 In restaurants specifically, people are looking more and more for places that are either like 325 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:24,480 an authentic reflection of the cuisine of a place or of the chef. 326 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:25,480 Yep. 327 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:28,760 Like restaurants that tell stories are becoming very, very trendy. 328 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:32,360 Like recently Tatiana in New York has won a lot of awards. 329 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:36,560 And the whole thing with Tatiana is that it's an autobiographical menu. 330 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:42,240 So the chef, he has Latino parents, but he also has African, his father's African, his 331 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:43,240 mom is Latina. 332 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:46,400 She's from Jamaica, I believe, but he grew up in New York. 333 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:51,160 So the menu at the restaurant is a mixture of Nigerian food. 334 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:56,400 I think it's Nigerian, Jamaican food, Dinidad and Tobago food and food from New York. 335 00:16:56,400 --> 00:16:58,920 A lot of like Bronx and Fleses. 336 00:16:58,920 --> 00:16:59,920 And so it's amazing. 337 00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:01,720 Like it's very Caribbean. 338 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:04,600 It's very like, it has a lot of flavor, right? 339 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:06,000 Sounds amazing for sure. 340 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:07,000 Yeah. 341 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:08,320 Like you can't get to Tatiana for months. 342 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:09,320 It's so full. 343 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:11,880 It's like the most trendy restaurant in New York right now. 344 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:15,880 But the whole thing it has is because it's a very unique menu because he's telling his 345 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:16,880 own story. 346 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:20,880 The restaurant is actually named after the chef's sister because he said like, Oh, my 347 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:25,760 sister, she, like my, he tells his mom was she had a catering business. 348 00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:27,380 And so like she was always working. 349 00:17:27,380 --> 00:17:31,080 So his sister basically was the one who would take care of him and she was the one who taught 350 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:32,260 him how to cook. 351 00:17:32,260 --> 00:17:37,040 So he says this restaurant is also like a gift for my sister and it's the story of the 352 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:39,440 food that we grew up eating. 353 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:42,160 And that's why the menu is so particular, right? 354 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:43,160 Yeah. 355 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:48,040 I think like through this whole conversation, I think the storytelling and stories is a 356 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:50,120 concept that comes back and back again. 357 00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:51,120 Yeah. 358 00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:56,680 And for sure, I think like, um, I had an experience in a restaurant. 359 00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:00,800 This was actually in Mugaritz in 2017. 360 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:05,760 So Mugaritz is known for being intellectually challenging. 361 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:09,520 But this dish for me, um, so this is the experience I had. 362 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:16,560 They bring us the dish and it was like a lobster tweezer and a broth, right? 363 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:20,240 And I think it was actually only the lobster tweezer. 364 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:25,480 So when I was about to eat it, you had to take it with your hand and I had one bite 365 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:27,000 and the thing was frozen. 366 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:32,160 So it felt like, I don't know, like, like you come completely drunk at home and 3am 367 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:36,200 and you take a frozen piece of fish and you don't care and you eat it anyway, something 368 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:37,200 like that. 369 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:41,560 So you had to let it melt in your mouth and it was awkward. 370 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:43,360 You know, it was like not cool. 371 00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:44,360 It sounds awkward. 372 00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:47,360 I mean, it's an experience for sure. 373 00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:50,480 It was like, you have to force yourself to enjoy it. 374 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:52,400 And I was like, why would you do that? 375 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:56,720 You know, like with a nice piece of lobster, you know? 376 00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:01,320 And then the next day I was talking with a guy who was like a Mugaritz freak. 377 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:07,160 He had been there like 10 times a year and he told me like, did it do it like that? 378 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:11,640 Because when I went there, it was with a hot, with a warm broth and then you would have 379 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:15,000 like the combination of the broth and there was like an explanation. 380 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:17,520 I don't remember the whole explanation to it. 381 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:23,520 And I was like, the dish lost so much without the right context, explanation, the story 382 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:24,520 and a lot of things. 383 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:25,520 Yeah. 384 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:32,320 I think their book, Mugaritz books, his name is the flavor of stories or something like 385 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:33,320 that. 386 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:34,320 Oh, that's so nice. 387 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:35,320 Ironically, they have a book with that name. 388 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:37,320 But then they forgot to tell you the story. 389 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:39,320 Yeah, but that's the experience I had. 390 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:40,320 Yeah. 391 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:41,320 That's the whole thing, right? 392 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:45,080 Because then like if you force things to watch, it's very hard to enjoy them. 393 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:49,600 Like experiences have, I feel like they have to be very, you have to help people enjoy 394 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:50,600 things, right? 395 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:53,800 Like if you make it too challenging, then it's not really enjoyable. 396 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:54,800 Yeah. 397 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:58,160 I think that's also, it's also a principle in design. 398 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:03,920 You know, like when we talk, there's this book of Norman something, it's called the 399 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:05,520 design of everyday things. 400 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:06,520 Yeah. 401 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:07,520 Foster, right? 402 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:08,520 Norman Foster, right? 403 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:09,520 Yeah, Norman Foster. 404 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:10,520 Yeah. 405 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:13,760 And you know, like the whole principle that you get from this is that things have to be 406 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:14,760 self-explanatory. 407 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:15,760 Exactly. 408 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:16,760 Right. 409 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:21,000 For them to work and they have to be part of like a whole conceptual system and the 410 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:27,240 user and the thing, the product, the design product have to interact and understand each 411 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:31,160 other, which is not at all what happened in this case I just mentioned, you know? 412 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:32,160 Exactly. 413 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:35,200 And when you do things that are so challenging, it's like, okay, yeah, it's an experience. 414 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:38,480 Like you'll go once, you know, to like live through it and know what it's like, but you 415 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:39,480 won't go back. 416 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:40,480 Why would you go back? 417 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:41,680 You didn't really enjoy it. 418 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:43,600 I haven't been back since then. 419 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:44,600 This was like six years ago. 420 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:45,600 Right. 421 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:46,600 Why would you? 422 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:47,600 You had an uncomfortable experience. 423 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:50,600 Like, yeah, it was a story, but did you really enjoy yourself? 424 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:51,600 Exactly. 425 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:56,600 Like, not for the money I paid. 426 00:20:56,600 --> 00:21:01,880 And two days later I ate for free at Central and I enjoyed that much more, you know? 427 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:03,600 I mean, of course it was for free. 428 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:04,600 So yeah, that was better. 429 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:05,600 Yeah. 430 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:09,880 That was always an extra, that always makes the story better, you know? 431 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:10,880 Yeah. 432 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:11,880 But that's the whole thing, right? 433 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:17,320 Like food, food is so close to like our most basic animal instincts. 434 00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:20,440 Like food is a very hedonistic experience. 435 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:22,520 It's all about enjoying sensations. 436 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:24,040 It's about enjoying your body. 437 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:28,280 It's a very sensual experience, not in like a sexy way, but like a sensory way. 438 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:29,280 Yeah. 439 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:31,840 And the whole thing is about enjoying yourself. 440 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:34,160 Food like brings us back to our memories. 441 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:39,880 Like it's something that gets very ingrained in your memory when you actually do it well. 442 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:44,600 So when you create an experience that just makes people feel good, just that it's just 443 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:46,960 supposed to make you feel good. 444 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:48,380 That's a little thing. 445 00:21:48,380 --> 00:21:53,400 So food that manages that, that's the, that's successful, right? 446 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:57,160 The whole story with a challenging thing, that's not a bit restaurants, that's like 447 00:21:57,160 --> 00:21:58,160 a theme park. 448 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:04,240 You just mentioned the word sensory and the place where I work, I work closely with sensory 449 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:05,240 analysis scientists. 450 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:06,240 That's so cool. 451 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:09,040 And I've learned so much in the last years. 452 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:14,760 There's this book from an Oxford researcher called Charles Spence and his book is called 453 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:15,760 Gastro Physics. 454 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:16,760 I love that. 455 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:24,640 And this is like the vulgatory science to understand principles of sensory analysis 456 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:25,640 actually. 457 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:32,520 And the way I would wrap it up is a flavor is pretty much as much produced by the brain 458 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:34,800 as it is by the tongue and your senses. 459 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:35,800 Yeah. 460 00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:40,920 And there are very clear proofs of this, like putting the same piece of food in two different 461 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:44,240 dishwares will generate two different flavors. 462 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:45,240 It really does. 463 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:49,280 And like the sound you're hearing, the type of music you have, if the music is too loud, 464 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:52,840 then like your senses are very focused on the music instead on the food. 465 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:55,440 No, he made like a lot of experiments with this. 466 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:58,200 Like imagine you're drinking a wine, right? 467 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:02,840 And now you're hearing only buzz sounds like boom. 468 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:08,520 And now you're hearing only super high pitch sound like, like with one or the other, like 469 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:14,320 usually people say that with buzz sounds you will feel like more body to the wine. 470 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:15,320 Yeah. 471 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:19,040 And where high pitch more sour notes, you know, but this is absolutely psychological. 472 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:20,040 The wine is the same. 473 00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:21,960 There's this whole thing with synesthesia there, right? 474 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:24,880 Like how senses get mixed up and for sure, for sure. 475 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:27,440 Like high pitch sounds are for sure acidic. 476 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:28,440 Like there's no. 477 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:29,440 Yeah, exactly. 478 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:30,440 There is another experiment called, I think it's Kiki Boo Boo. 479 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:31,440 I love the Kiki Boo Boo experiment. 480 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:32,440 I talk about it all the time. 481 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:33,440 I think it's so cool because it's so obvious, right? 482 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:34,440 Like, honestly, honestly, Boo Boo is right. 483 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:35,440 Yeah. 484 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:36,440 Okay. 485 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:37,440 Yeah. 486 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:38,440 Could you explain it to the audience? 487 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:51,240 I know this experiment was, uh, was done by a neuro neuroscientist and what he did was 488 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:53,280 then he cut out two shapes, right? 489 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:56,280 One shape was sort of out shape, very round like that. 490 00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:57,280 And the other was pointy. 491 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:03,480 Uh, and he went to people and he went, okay, there are two sounds, Boo Boo and Kiki. 492 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:06,820 Which sounds do you relate to which shape? 493 00:24:06,820 --> 00:24:12,040 And almost 100% of the people said that Boo Boo was the round cloud shaped one and Kiki 494 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:13,040 was the pointed one. 495 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:14,040 And like, obviously, right? 496 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:15,040 Obviously. 497 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:16,040 Yeah, exactly. 498 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:18,040 But it's not obvious, but it is. 499 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:19,040 Yeah. 500 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:24,040 If you like think about it, it's obvious, but everyone said it because that's just how 501 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:25,040 it feels. 502 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:26,040 And that's the thing. 503 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:31,000 That's where you realize that senses are connected and the way help them interact like helps 504 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:33,040 elevate or degrade them. 505 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:34,040 Yeah. 506 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:37,120 And I think the experiment that was, you know, super straightforward and this is something 507 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:38,120 done in supermarkets. 508 00:24:38,120 --> 00:24:39,720 It's very, very easy. 509 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:42,680 Like you put French music, people buy French wine. 510 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:44,960 You put Italian music, people buy Italian wine. 511 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:46,920 You know, it worked like that. 512 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:47,920 Yeah, we have a connection. 513 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:53,440 Like in the wine section and they just proved to work, you know, like millions of times. 514 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:55,760 I know that I didn't know about that experiment. 515 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:57,720 I, I'm going to look it up. 516 00:24:57,720 --> 00:24:58,720 I like that. 517 00:24:58,720 --> 00:24:59,720 That's the whole thing. 518 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:03,480 Like we don't realize that's what I always, I'll get in fights with restaurant managers 519 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:07,560 or something because they want to have like the music super loud and be like, music is 520 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:08,560 super loud. 521 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:12,720 People won't really enjoy your food is because they won't be able to taste it. 522 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:14,400 And we'll let know, but we have to set the ambience. 523 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:17,440 It's like, yeah, but if you could cat talk, they can't listen to each other. 524 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:21,920 Like very loud music is good for a party, but not for enjoying a good meal. 525 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:22,920 Yeah, exactly. 526 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:27,960 And also the, the, the, the type of music, if it's too fast, it also doesn't work. 527 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:28,960 Yeah. 528 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:35,080 Or, or, uh, uh, people from, from the service stuff, having a super strong perfume. 529 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:36,080 Yeah. 530 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:37,080 That's also annoying. 531 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:38,920 You know, like what you're eating is like, well, what's going on? 532 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:43,160 You know, like, yeah, well the real, you have to like be aware of every single sense, not 533 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:45,160 just the plate of the dish. 534 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:46,160 Absolutely. 535 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:47,880 That's the reason people go to restaurants. 536 00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:52,720 That's the reason when I love, when people say like, Oh, and I found this way to replicate 537 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,640 this dish from Mugaritz and I had it at home without delivery services. 538 00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:59,400 And I said, you're not understanding anything. 539 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:00,400 Exactly. 540 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:08,440 So before we, we finished, I wanted to ask you about the region you're living right now. 541 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:12,920 You're in the middle of Yucatan, which is like, you mentioned is kind of trendy right 542 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:14,440 now with its food scene. 543 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:15,440 It is. 544 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:16,440 Yeah. 545 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:17,440 What can you tell about that? 546 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:20,720 Not only about the contemporary food scene, but also about the traditional Mexican food, 547 00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:22,080 which has to be amazing, I guess. 548 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:23,080 It's amazing. 549 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:24,840 I want to give a little bit of context about Yucatan. 550 00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:27,960 Like I'm very passionate about this place. 551 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:31,400 Right now where I'm living media, it's like at the top of the Yucatan peninsula. 552 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:38,120 This is where the, the meteor that killed the dinosaurs crashed inside the crater from 553 00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:40,000 the meteor that killed the dinosaurs. 554 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:41,000 That's amazing. 555 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:42,000 It's so cool. 556 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:43,180 Like I'm very obsessed with dinosaurs, right? 557 00:26:43,180 --> 00:26:46,820 So when I realized that I was moving to this place, it's like, Oh my God. 558 00:26:46,820 --> 00:26:51,100 So there's a lot of like history to this place, like variation history. 559 00:26:51,100 --> 00:26:56,300 This is then where the Mayan culture had a lot of a scene, right? 560 00:26:56,300 --> 00:26:59,040 So this is where you find Chichen Itza, Uxmad. 561 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:01,120 It's so full of Mayan ruins. 562 00:27:01,120 --> 00:27:03,480 Mayan culture is very alive here still. 563 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:05,480 People talk about Mayan culture disappearing. 564 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:07,060 It didn't disappear at all. 565 00:27:07,060 --> 00:27:08,320 People still speak Mayan here. 566 00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:10,120 Mayan food is still available, right? 567 00:27:10,120 --> 00:27:12,200 And Mayan food is very unique. 568 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:15,720 People talk about Mexican food and the lesson you get like, Oh, you're eating so much, so 569 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:16,720 many tacos for sure. 570 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:19,600 I'm like, no, no, Mayan food isn't many tacos. 571 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:20,960 It's very different. 572 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:23,480 Mayan food is so good. 573 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:24,480 So good. 574 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,080 Like most food here, it's a lot of pork because they would have javelis. 575 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:29,400 How do you say javelis in English? 576 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:30,400 Boar. 577 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:31,400 Yeah, boar. 578 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:35,240 And they have this tiny, these tiny pigs that are from this area. 579 00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:38,720 They also eat a lot of deer and ceviche, a lot of ceviche. 580 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:39,720 That's crazy. 581 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:40,720 Yeah, it's so good. 582 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:41,720 Yeah. 583 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,440 Like I wouldn't relate that kind of food like from Yucatan. 584 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:45,440 I know, right? 585 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:48,480 People don't think like that's traditional Mexican food, but Yucatan food is very much 586 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:49,480 like this. 587 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:53,520 And traditional Mayan food, a lot of it is cooked by burying it, right? 588 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:54,520 They call it pibil. 589 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:55,520 Yeah. 590 00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:56,520 That I've seen a lot. 591 00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:57,520 Yeah. 592 00:27:57,520 --> 00:27:58,520 Like these burried ovens. 593 00:27:58,520 --> 00:27:59,520 Exactly. 594 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:07,400 Like the traditional, like famous Yucatan dish is cochinita pibil, which is a pork dish. 595 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:13,080 And so they bury the pork with bitter orange, which is from the region, a lot of like different 596 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:17,200 leaves and aromatics and like red onion. 597 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:19,360 And they'll leave it buried for hours and hours. 598 00:28:19,360 --> 00:28:21,880 Like it's got to be buried for at least eight hours. 599 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:26,360 And then when they take it out, it's filled with its juices and it's so tasty. 600 00:28:26,360 --> 00:28:30,680 Like it's a very complex taste because it's sweet, but it's savory, but it's got a touch 601 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:32,480 of bitter. 602 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:35,240 And then people will eat that with their tortilla, right? 603 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:39,240 It's a nice taquito and it's so tasty, but it's such a unique flavor. 604 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:43,360 And then this, it's also mixed with newer cuisine that has been developing. 605 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:50,120 So Yucatan around the 17th, 18th century was a very rich place because of the Inequén 606 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:53,560 here, because of the Inequén, they started making ropes, right? 607 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:56,900 So this is where ropes for most boats were developed. 608 00:28:56,900 --> 00:28:57,900 What is exactly Inequén? 609 00:28:57,900 --> 00:28:58,900 Like a plant? 610 00:28:58,900 --> 00:29:04,000 Yeah, Inequén is like an agave plant. 611 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:09,600 And so from this path, they make boat ropes from 17th, 19th century were made from the 612 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:10,780 Inequén plant. 613 00:29:10,780 --> 00:29:14,420 So this place was the place for millionaires. 614 00:29:14,420 --> 00:29:22,040 So a lot of French people moved here, a lot of people from, a lot of people from many 615 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:23,040 places. 616 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:32,240 So the cuisines and the love people from Lebanon also started coming during the migration from 617 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:34,640 Lebanon to America. 618 00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:39,320 So because of this, all the migration then came here, food started evolving, right? 619 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:44,600 So another of the traditional dishes that evolved is the quesadillas, the round cheese 620 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:46,040 from the Netherlands. 621 00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:51,160 They empty it out and they fill it with pork and then they cover it with turkey sauce. 622 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:53,480 Turkey is something that they also eat a lot of here. 623 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:54,480 It's called quesadilla. 624 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:55,480 It's so good. 625 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:56,480 It's so good. 626 00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:59,880 You have to fall asleep after eating it, right? 627 00:29:59,880 --> 00:30:01,480 Because it's so heavy, but it's amazing. 628 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:04,840 But it's basically a Gouda cheese filled with pork. 629 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:05,840 That's what it is. 630 00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:06,840 Yeah. 631 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:09,040 Covered with turkey sauce, with turkey gravy. 632 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:14,400 And then they also have, and they think like, they call it quesadillas. 633 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:17,400 They call it like cheese from the Netherlands, but they say that it's from here. 634 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:22,200 And it's like, but in the name you have the other country. 635 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:25,480 You know that there is like a taco variation here in the Basque country. 636 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:26,480 It's called Talos. 637 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:27,480 Okay. 638 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:28,480 It's not tortillas. 639 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:32,000 It's like, well, there are tortillas, but it's different. 640 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:37,020 They're thicker, but it's also with a nixtamalized corn and the whole thing. 641 00:30:37,020 --> 00:30:42,760 And of course you will ask Basque people and they say that's Basque for sure. 642 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:43,760 Super Basque. 643 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:44,760 I love that. 644 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:48,560 Cause it becomes part of the day to day food, right? 645 00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:51,000 Like this stuffed cheese is a traditional. 646 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:52,000 Yeah. 647 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:54,000 Well, this is like a celebration thing. 648 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:56,960 This is eaten once a year in Santo Domas, I think. 649 00:30:56,960 --> 00:30:57,960 Okay. 650 00:30:57,960 --> 00:30:58,960 And like that it's become so special. 651 00:30:58,960 --> 00:30:59,960 Like it's become ritualized. 652 00:30:59,960 --> 00:31:00,960 That's very nice. 653 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:06,960 Now here, like the stuffed cheese, just they like it's a very traditional food, like you 654 00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:09,200 might have it on the weekend with your graph. 655 00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:13,760 And then they also like, they have the kiwis and the kiwis are like, like Lebanese kiw, 656 00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:14,760 right? 657 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:16,640 You know, the meatballs, the fried meatballs. 658 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:20,080 They just, they just assumed it as part of their like traditional food. 659 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:22,080 You'll be like, oh, what's traditional Yucatecan food? 660 00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:25,080 And they'll be like, kiwi? 661 00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:26,080 That's so ridiculous. 662 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:30,480 And my favorite thing, like my favorite Yucatecan meal, it's this thing. 663 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:34,800 It's just sort of like a hummus, but it's green tomato, like tree tomato, green tomato 664 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:37,040 with pumpkin seeds. 665 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:38,440 And it's all mashed together. 666 00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:45,040 I had that, my friend's Ensenada, there's a restaurant called Ensenada in Brooklyn. 667 00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:46,400 And I had exactly that. 668 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:47,400 That was amazing. 669 00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:48,400 It's so good. 670 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:49,400 It's called Siquil Pac. 671 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:50,400 Like a salsa, right? 672 00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:51,400 Yeah. 673 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:52,400 Sort of like a dipping sauce. 674 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:53,400 It's called Siquil Pac. 675 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:55,840 And I know that's a traditional Mayan meal too. 676 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:57,200 And it's so good. 677 00:31:57,200 --> 00:31:58,400 That's like my favorite thing here. 678 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:03,520 Yeah, he makes like a degustation of, I don't know, eight different types of tortillas and 679 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:06,080 also like 12 different dips. 680 00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:09,040 And that's one like a starter he sends in his restaurant. 681 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:10,040 Super nice. 682 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:13,960 That's one of the best food inventions in Mexico, Siquil Pac. 683 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:14,960 It's so good. 684 00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:16,800 And it's such a unique flavor, right? 685 00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:19,800 Like I've never tasted anything that tastes like that, but it's amazing. 686 00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:22,640 Every time I try it, it just goes, I need more of this. 687 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:23,640 It's very good. 688 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:27,040 And again, it's so different from everything else that you have in Mexico. 689 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:32,120 There was like a hurricane in Yucatan relatively recently or some kind of... 690 00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:34,120 That hurricane's all the time. 691 00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:39,520 Because I remember I had this idea of, I made this amazing habanero sauce with anchovies 692 00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:43,800 and I was flirting with the idea of skating it up. 693 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:47,120 And so I had to go to the source of habanero, which is Yucatan. 694 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:52,960 So I actually had brought some emails with some habanero producers and they were all 695 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:56,160 like, no, all our crops are destroyed because of the hurricane. 696 00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:59,200 So like two years ago, something like that. 697 00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:00,400 It was I think three years ago. 698 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:06,520 It's like during the beginning of the whole epidemic, there was a strong hurricane pass 699 00:33:06,520 --> 00:33:07,520 through. 700 00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:09,520 And there are hurricanes all the time. 701 00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:12,760 This is a very hurricane region. 702 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:16,560 Actually, the name Hurricane Huracán comes from a Mayan god. 703 00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:17,560 No way. 704 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:18,560 Yeah. 705 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:22,160 I thought you were going to say it comes from Yucatan and I was like, no way. 706 00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:23,160 It does. 707 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:24,160 It does. 708 00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:25,160 It's a Mayan god. 709 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:27,680 It's one of the creator gods from Mayan culture. 710 00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:31,160 Like there are three creator gods and one of them is Huracán. 711 00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:34,400 And that's where the word comes from because there are so many hurricanes here all the 712 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:35,400 time. 713 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:36,400 Yucatan, of course. 714 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:38,520 This is a place of aerogenetic. 715 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:40,400 So much things have begun here. 716 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:41,400 I love it so much. 717 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:42,400 I get very excited about that. 718 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:43,400 It's a crater. 719 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:49,800 I'm so excited about living in the crater. 720 00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:52,880 That's it for this week's episode of Potluck Food Talks. 721 00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:56,740 If you like what we're doing, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss 722 00:33:56,740 --> 00:33:58,000 an episode. 723 00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:02,000 You can also find us on Instagram and TikTok as Potluck Food Talks. 724 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:23,680 The show airs every Monday.