Mexican food always pleases and is suited to summer.
When I decided to cook Mexican food, I asked Grace Ramirez to show me how. Ramirez took part in the first American series of MasterChef and, although she is Venezuelan. she says she is Mexican at heart because of the amount of time she's spent in that beautiful country. She is also gorgeous, gregarious and great fun.
Ramirez had spent more than a decade working in the TV industry before her participation in MasterChef, which in turn led to her being awarded a scholarship to the French Culinary Institute in New York.
She recently arrived in Auckland to live and, like me, has been hosting kitchen workshops at Cook the Books bookshop in Grey Lynn. All foodies love sharing their food experience, ideas and recipes, so I knew she wouldn't mind if I asked her about Mexican flavours (a small part of her food repertoire). She generously came over and made the food that we now share with you. Ramirez is the kind of chef who considers herself a passionate cook. She loves bringing people together and feeding them well. She is proud of her heritage and enjoys cooking Latin food and showing people that it can be made easily with local ingredients.
"Latin food and flavours remind me of home, food was what brought my family together," says Ramirez.
