An Oaxacan Feast with Chef Pilar Cabrera Arroyo in Stratford

It’s no secret that I love Mexican food.  In fact, I pretty much always have an underlying craving for all things Mexican. Living in Toronto where there aren’t many (good, authentic) opportunities for Mexican food I find myself either making my own feasts using Rick Bayless’ recipes or I just plan on having a Mexican feast on my next trip to the U.S.

With that said, I was thrilled to be invited to a dinner prepared by Pilar Cabrera Arroyo and the students of the Stratford Chef School. Chef Pilar is the chef at La Olla restaurant in Oaxaca, Mexico.  Pilar grew up in Oaxaca, which is considered one of the food capitals of Mexico and even taught my beloved Rick Bayless about Oaxacan cooking.  Pilar was in Stratford as part of the “Celebrity Chef in Residence” program that allows students at the Stratford Chef School to learn from the masters.

After a snowy post-work drive to Stratford with Mardi and Joanne we arrived at the quaint and intimate setting of the Old Prune restaurant and were ready for our meal…

Quesadillas de champiñones y quesillo con salsa verde
Cheese and mushrooms quesadillas with Green salsa

First up were the cheese and mushroom quesadillas. These were nothing like what we’d typically call quesadillas.  No oodles and oodles of melted cheese here.  In fact, the cheese was barely perceptible.  The flavours were very subtle and were nicely accented by the green and red salsas that accompanied them.  I could have eaten a dozen of these.

Sopa caliente de aguacate
Hot avocado soup

I was fully prepared for the hot avocado soup to be bizarre.  Avocados just aren’t something that I’m used to consuming hot.  This was probably the most unexpected treat of the evening!  If I hadn’t read that this was an avocado soup I would have had a hard time guessing what it was. There was an almost olive taste to it.  The flavours were well-balanced with a great mix of spice and a divinely smooth texture.  For contrast the soup feature pomegranate, tortilla chips and a hint of cheese. The new-to-me ingredient here was avocado leave dust that was used as a garnish.  I can’t quite describe the flavour but I can tell you that it would probably be a great topping for popcorn (among other things). I totally wanted a vat of this soup when I hit the bottom of the boat.

Salpicón de res
Shredded flank steak salad

I’m not a huge salad fan but throw a pile of meat on top of it and I’m in.  I LOVE me some flank steak.  It has a lot of flavour and is used in a lot of my favourite Latin American dishes.  The meat was served cold on top of the salad but it didn’t dull the flavours.  The meat was well-marinated in what I imagine would be a versatile marinade.  It wasn’t too spicy but integrated a healthy dose of probably cumin and coriander among other things.  The salad was served with a few tortilla chips and grape tomatoes to add an interesting contrast in textures.

Mole amarillo de pollo
Yellow mole with chicken

And then it was onto our main.  I’ve always been intrigued by moles.  The long list of ingredients is always a deterrent to making my own mole so when i’m at a restaurant that does a good mole I’m often inclined to giving it a try.  This time around I had a yellow mole which I had never tried before.  The flavours were very complex and featured a lot of depth and interestingly enough had a surprising level of heat to it.  The texture of the chicken was lovely – for some reason the word “velvet” comes to mind.  The chicken was served with green beans, chayote and a cilantro-masa dumpling.  Like the quesadillas, I could have used a dozen or so of the dumplings.  I also wish that we were given a stack of tortillas to dip into the sauce.

Mousse de mango
Mango mousse

Then it was onto dessert.  It looks like a lemon bar but it’s really a mango mousse!  Having grown up on mangoes, I have a soft spot in my heart for any and everything mango.  The mousse was really smooth and not at all eggy and with a full blast of mango.  It actually wasn’t very “mousse-y” and instead reminded me of a flan when it came down to texture. The mousse was served with a mint sorbet and dried hibiscus flowers.  The mint sorbet was something totally new to me.  I loved the brightness of the sorbet and how refreshing it was.  The hibiscous flowers were a nice touch and added contrasting textures to the dessert.

After dessert we were presented with a plate of “Mexican petits-fours” (no pictures), which included a citrus tuille, shortbread and mini chocolates.  A lovely way to end a fabulous meal.

As you can probably tell, dinner was amazing. It was such a treat to be able to sample such authentic Mexican food and in Stratford nonetheless!  I always love learning about the diversity present in Mexican cooking since our opportunities to try truly authentic Mexican food is limited here in Toronto. A big thank you to The Stratford Chef School for accommodating us, Sizzling Communications for the invite, and to Chef Pilar Cabrera Arroyo for a fantastic meal.

Click here to see what other chefs will be cooking alongside the students at the Stratford Chef School over the next few weeks.