Cancun, Mexico, Apr 5 (EFE).– Michelin 3-star chef Joan Roca has partnered with Spanish bank BBVA Bancomer to bring the haute cuisine of his restaurant El Celler de Can Roca to the Mayan Riviera, delivering an exclusive culinary tribute to Mexican fare.
The proceeds of the May 8-9 banquets – which will be limited to 200 guests and hosted by Cancun’s Moon Palace Hotel – will go to rebuilding schools affected by the earthquakes that shook parts of Mexico on Sept. 7 and 19, 2017.
“We are doing this because we have a very deep loving relationship with Mexico,” Roca told EFE, adding that his fondness for the country stems, in part, from the fact that his brother Jordi’s wife is Mexican.
Although the menu has not yet been established, he said that he will be using products local to the Cancun region – such as Oaxacan cheese and corn, green salad with avocado, hot peppers, tequila sweets, glazed cactus and sweet lime – as a “tribute to Mexican cuisine.”
“It will be an interpretation of Mexican cuisine (using) our cooking style at El Celler,” he added.
The fare will also feature lobster and “mole,” a sauce used in traditional Mexican cuisine which may include peppers, almonds, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, chocolate, green tomatoes, sesame seeds, corn and other ingredients, depending upon the variety.
Desserts will be based on vanilla and different varieties of chocolate – of which Mexico is the prime producer and exporter – as well as pulque, a fermented beverage regarded as the “drink of the gods” by the ancient Aztecs.
El Celler de Can Roca, located in the northeastern Spanish city of Gerona, is regarded as one of the world’s top five restaurants.