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Chef in Residence - Agustin Gaytan
Agustin leads regular cultural-culinary tours of San Francisco's famous Mission District and once a year he orchestrates a very impressive culinary journey for small groups to his hometown in Mexico. Agustin and I have worked as a team at special events in Mexico and the United States and I must say he's a joy to work with. He's high-energy, very charismatic, and a great chef! If you have wanted to experience the culinary treasures of Mexico in a welcoming atmosphere, I highly recommend you attend one of Agustin's tours. He manages every detail to perfection, including having fresh fruit, flowers and baked goods brought to your room each morning. Agustin uses Mexican vanilla beans and extracts in his cooking. He likes Mexican vanilla's unique flavor and the way that its creamy, spicy taste blends so well with the foods he prepares. He has a lot of fans in Mexico, which just may influence his choices. But, it's true; Mexican vanilla is made for Mexican food and the foods of the Americas. The following recipes offer us a taste of both ancient and contemporary Mexico. The infamous Chocolatl served to Hernan Cortes by Moctezuma in 1519 is updated here as a more acceptable drink to our modern palates. However, to give us a sense of what is involved in preparing Chcolatl, Agustin has given us a traditional version as well as a quicker adaptation for making this Mesoamerican drink. He also has given us a recipe for Ponche Navidena a wonderful Mexican beverage served during the Christmas holidays.* Finally, as an elegant example of Mexico's contemporary culinary fusion, we have a knock-out recipe for lobster crepes with a hazelnut vanilla cream sauce. For more information on Agustin's tours of the Mission and Mexico, his cooking classes, and more, you may contact him at: Voice Mail/Fax: 510.465.4907 * You will have to wait for the Ponche Navidena until December when I promise to share it with you. And here are some recipes from Agustin: |
In celebration of vanilla's important place in Mexico's history, I have invited Agustin Gaytan as the first chef-in-residence at the Vanilla.Company. Agustin is a native of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico. He is a food historian and specialist in the foods of both Mesoamerica and contemporary Mexico. He learned the secrets of ancient and regional cuisine as a boy in the kitchen with his grandmother and mother. He now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where he is a chef, an international cooking school instructor, and corporate culinary consultant. His articles and recipes have appeared in several magazines and newspapers, including The San Francisco Chronicle, Sunset Magazine, and El Andar.
