Cooking Class in San Miguel
At Local Guide, we like to recommend what we’ve actually experienced. This time, Myrna Camacho, creator of Local Guide, along with Mango, Itzy, and Dani, put on our aprons to discover one of those experiences that brings together everything we love about San Miguel: history, the market, cooking, and long after-meal conversations.
Our host was Chef Rubén Yáñez, proudly from San Miguel, who welcomed us to Sazón, the cooking school at Casa de Sierra Nevada, A Belmond Hotel, with a very September-like mission: to learn how to make chiles en nogada from scratch.
And the experience didn’t begin in the kitchen.
Bag in hand, we headed out with Chef Rubén to Mercado Ignacio Ramírez to personally look for the ingredients we would use in our recipe.
We walked among the stalls while choosing the chiles, fruits, vegetables, fresh cheese, cream, and meat. Along the way, Rubén told us the story behind the ingredients, how to select them, and why each one plays a special role in one of the most iconic dishes in Mexican cuisine.
More than just shopping, it was a small immersion into everyday life in San Miguel.
And yes, Mango came too.
One of the things we loved discovering most is that the experience is pet friendly.
If you’re traveling around San Miguel with your dog, you can bring them with you to the class; and if you live here, you don’t have to leave them at home to enjoy it either.
Mango joined us throughout the experience and, for us, who often discover San Miguel with our Local Pug by our side, this detail made everything even more special.
Back at Sazón, the fun began.
Mexican music blasting, ingredients on the table, and tasks divided up. Some of us chopped, others washed fruits and vegetables, someone took charge of seasoning the meat, and another small team started preparing the nogada.
Meanwhile, Paty and Edgar were behind the scenes, documenting everything: from the very professional moments to our little organized chaos.
And since a good afternoon of cooking also deserves something delicious to drink, during the class we enjoyed water, Allende beer made in San Miguel, and a serrano chile margarita that appeared at just the right moment.
Little by little, our chile en nogada began to take shape.
At the end, Chef Rubén also shared his vision for the plating, paying attention to every element until everything we had prepared became the dish we had been waiting several hours to try.
And yes, it tasted even better.
Maybe because a few hours earlier we had walked to the market for its ingredients. Because we had learned a bit of the history behind them. Because everyone had prepared one part. Or simply because cooking together always makes things taste different.
That was exactly what we loved most about Sazón: you’re not just coming to take a cooking class. You’re coming to experience a little piece of San Miguel.
You go out into its streets, shop at its market, get to know its ingredients, cook alongside a chef from San Miguel, and finally sit down at the table to taste everything that, just a few hours earlier, you were carrying in a bag.
Because San Miguel is also discovered by cooking it.
And we’re already thinking about coming back.
Stay tuned to @belmondcasadesierranevada, because their seasonal classes for pan de muerto, gingerbread houses… are coming up.
We experienced this: Myrna Camacho, Mango, Itzy & Dani
Behind the scenes: Paty & EdgarLocal Guide
