Event review: The Mexican Food Festival with Chef Eduardo Perez at Taj Bengal, Kolkata

The Mexican Food Festival is going on till 2nd March'14. Three Kolkata Food Bloggers covered the press meet. Following are the snippets with the Read More links. 

"There is no denying the fact that Kolkata has always been the hub of good food. Now all the more with Kolkatans opening up to world food and truly enjoying it. When KFB got an invite to preview the Mexican Food Festival at The Hub @ Taj Bengal, Kolkata I was very excited. We all have had a taste of Mexican cuisine at some point in time or the other. Be it the Nachos or the Tacos we have all enjoyed it. This was going to be a one of a kind opportunity to sample authentic Mexican food since Chef Eduardo Perez has specially flown in from Merida, Yucatan , Mexico to enchant us with his exquisite "Mexica" and "Maya" seasoning using authentic Mexican ingredient.

Kamalika , Amrita and myself landed up at The Hub dot on time to be greeted by Sreyashi of Edelman/ Rediffusion. It was sheer pleasure meeting Chef Eduardo as he briefed us about his thoughts on Mexican cuisine and how he has tried to create dishes keeping in mind the Indian palate.He takes great pride in the wide varieties of chilli's used in the cuisine and has deftly incorporated the same in the dishes he has created....."

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From Left to Right: Amrita Gill, Chef Eduardo Perez, Kamalika C & Archita Ray

"Let me begin on a honest note and confront that my understanding of Mexican cuisine is limited to Tacos, Nachos and Burritos and I only have the Fast food culture to blame on my lame knowledge. When Kolkata Food Bloggers received an invitation from Taj Bengal to attend their ongoing Mexican Food Festival with chef Eduardo Perez, I was pleasantly surprised to go back home with a whole new understanding of this vibrant cuisine. 

We had the privilege of  having the Chef himself take us through a beautiful journey of understanding the Mexican cuisine. The important pillars of this cuisine are Corn, Black beans and Chilly pepper. There are about 100 varieties of chillies, with heat levels ranging from mild to very hot, used in this cuisine and Chef Eduardo cited it as a main ingredient in his creations. Tortillas, a staple in Mexican cooking is made with a special kind of corn flour called Masa. We also learned  that their basic medium of cooking is in Corn oil. Mexican cuisine can also be very complex with a simple dish such as Mole sauce(a traditional sauce) which can have more than 30 ingredients which includes chocolate and chillies....."

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The Mexican Food Spread

"After Delhi, Mumbai, It is quite exhilarating for the foodies of Kolkata to assay the authentic Mexican Cuisine. Taj Bengal Kolkata proudly invited Chef Eduardo Perez to host the Mexican Food Festival for a week and to share his culinary magic with us. Ensuring the fact that now a day eating out has changed our palates to such an extent that our minds and bodies crave for changes and expect lots of verities in the flavours to whet the insatiable appetites. This kind of food festival not only is an eye opener for the people who have never tasted the respective cuisine but also for them who love scaling and experimenting their taste buds often. Being a part of Kolkata Food Bloggers(KFB), the invitation for the Food preview of the Mexican Food Festival and meeting the Chef in person did open a plethora of knowledge about this particular cuisine. The tables got decked up with the twinkles of the cutleries,  myths got unfolded, tasting and learning session started - two hours moved in a mesmerizing trance where we had a short tour to the Mexican kitchen and traveled back to our own city to enjoy the dishes on our own way......."

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