Enrique Olvera, Traditional Mexican Techniques in a Fine Dining Context, 2008 

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“Mexican cuisine is probably the most widespread and misunderstood in the world,” Chef Enrique Olvera said at the 2008 StarChefs International Chefs Congress. Most major cities have a Mexican restaurant, he pointed out, but they rarely represent what Mexican food actually is. The chef of Pujol, which is currently ranked 12th in the world by The Restaurant Magazine, showed his interpretation of the cuisine through a video of a Mexico City market, spotlighting both ingredients traditionally connected with Mexico (peppers, tomatoes, beans) and others that the audience might not have associated with the country (asparagus, eggplant, dill). The two dishes that Olvera presented contained this same simple respect for Mexico’s bounty of ingredients instead of being weighed down with 30 components. A black bean tamale got a modern update with cubes made of sour cream and gelatin, and Olvera demoed a salad that paid homage to the nopal cactus, which even appears in the Mexican flag.