To help hospitality and food and beverage professionals understand more about Mexican cuisine, the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) together with the Consulate General of the Mexico in Hong Kong and Macao SAR, and the Macao Association for the Promotion of Exchange between Asia-Pacific and Latin America (MAPEAL) hosted the Mexican Cuisine Cooking Demonstration Workshop on 19 June. Chef Juan Miguel Prada was invited to share the concepts of Mexican cuisine and demonstrate several recipes.
Born in Mexico, Chef Juan Miguel Prada is the founder of Prada Consulting, one of the most renowned food and beverage consulting companies in Mexico. With his broad experience, Chef Prada has acquired international recognition and has represented Mexican cuisine in several high-profile events in Europe and North America. Specialised in Mexican Haute Cuisine, Mexican traditional food, fusion and contemporary cuisine, Chef Prada is a multifaceted cook who has collaborated with very important restaurants in Mexico, and has worked as Executive Chef for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico.
Chef Prada has much experience representing Mexico in international culinary fairs and exhibitions, with the support of the Mexican Embassies and Consulates in many countries, including Canada, Germany, India, Spain and Sweden. He has been chef collaborator in writing award-winning cookbooks such as “La Vainilla Mexicana Cookbook” and “Mezcal Cookbook”, as well as a columnist and food critic in several specialised culinary magazines.
The workshop was composed of five sessions: introduction to Mexican culinary and its ingredients, recipe and mise-en-place of the demo Mexican culinary, key issues of the production process, demonstration, food tasting and Q&A. Three dishes were demonstrated at the workshop: shrimp aguachile with avocado and mango, chicken skewer with peanut adobo and pastor style fish tacos. The workshop attracted a total of 30 chefs from hotels and restaurants. Participants not only gained basic knowledge about Mexican cuisine through the demonstration, but also experienced the whole production process, and tasted the Mexican gastronomy.
In 2010, Mexican traditional cuisine was inscribed to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This inscription was based on the acknowledgement of the Mexican cuisine’s role in the cultural identity of the Mexican people, which has been transmitted from generation to generation.
IFT has always been dedicated to organise promotions of different ethnic cuisines for local industry and the public. At the same time, it arouses the interests of food service industry in Macao to explore more ideas in cooking. Through “Master Chef Cooking Demo Series” IFT forms a communication platform for local and overseas chefs. The institute will make more efforts to offer more training programmes to help enhance the knowledge and skills of industry professionals.
