José Luis Díaz Creator of the El Teatro Culinario concept, this chef has created a new way to present Oaxacan cuisine, mixing culture, art, tradition and avant garde techniques. His deep respect of tradition has been a driving force in preserving, and rescuing, local ingredients in his dishes, while simultaneously searching for new ingredients and flavors. His unique perspective has led to his being named one of Mexico’s rising chef’s José Luis Diaz has presented his creations and concepts at conferences and workshops all over Mexico. Background 2005/ 2006 Basic culinary studies at Casa Oaxaca with Chef Alejandro Ruiz and his team in Oaxaca, Mexico and with Chef Enrique Olvera at Pujol Restaurant in Mexico City. 2006 Travels trough Europe, Asia, and Latin America to study flavors and ingredients, and immersing himself in avant garde cuisine. This leads to the creation of El Teatro Culinario. 2007 Opens El Teatro Culinario club at Casa Crespo Hotel, serving 9 course tasting menus and creating new dishes promoting local ingredients only. The menu evolves and is no longer traditional recipes but traditional ingredients worked in more subtle ways, enhancing the distinctive flavor and quality of each. 2009/2010 Opens El Teatro Culinario Comedor, serving both tasting menus and a la carte menu to the public. The Comedor also introduces its series of contemporary and traditional cooking classes and culinary tours to the local markets www.elteatroculinario.co 2010 Creates the culinary project Cocina Azul (restaurant, gastrobar, catering and cooking classes) for Hotel Azul in Oaxaca www.hotelazuloaxaca.com, where all recipes are created using, local and prehispanic ingredients, in a mix of avant garde, traditional and prehispanic cuisine.
Our cooking classes have been developed to enable you to learn in a hands-on manner, whilst teaching about traditional Oaxacan cooking. We will meticulously guide you through every detail of the cooking process and help you understand the intrícate details that define our cuisine. Oaxacan dishes can be complex at times, but our classes will explain the inherent logic in traditional cooking styles, enabling you to better appreciate the fantasticmeals that you will learn to create. Upon arrival, we start with a round table discussion about local, traditional cuisine, followed by a tour to a local market where we will purchase the ingredients needed for the class. Although some ingredients are endemic to Oaxaca, we will make sure to show you how to recreate every recipe back home. Of course, the cooking class will be followed by a sit down ´comida´where you eat what you have cooked. During the meal you will be treated to a short introductory talk about Oaxaca, its rich history and some of the places of interest that you might like to visit.
This tour is not available for booking
