Eleven cooks at Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center in National City earned international recognition as certified Cocineras Tradicionales, or experts who preserve ancestral Mexican recipes and techniques.
'Real heroines'
Patty Corona is one of them. She works at Olivewood Gardens and spearheaded the certification process for the 11 women.
The effort began last year, when Corona discovered that the Mexican government offers a certificate program to traditional cooks. She was conducting research to find new opportunities for Kitchenistas, graduates of Olivewood Gardens’ Cooking for Salud program.
Corona worked with organizations within the Mexican government in charge of certification to sign the Kitchenistas up. Through the program, she learned to see Cocineras Tradicionales as culture "guardians" that recover, preserve and practice old cooking techniques.
“They continue preparing the dishes that their grandmothers, mothers, or aunts taught them," she said. "That’s why we call them the guardians of the kitchen. Right now, in this world where we’re in contact with so much processed food, they’re becoming real heroines.”
In 2010, UNESCO declared Mexican cuisine an “intangible cultural heritage of humanity.” Corona said this further elevates the role of Cocineras Tradicionales. She said knowing the origin of the ingredients is part of the knowledge passed down from generation to generation, and for those who have lived outside those communities, it’s difficult to have that knowledge.
“A cook who is not local or who has moved to another country or away from her community tends to substitute highly processed and refined products such as mayonnaise, ketchup, soy sauce, sugars, flours,” Corona explained.
Because of this, Corona said all 11 women took a course to learn about the history of Mexican cuisine, including how people ate before the Spanish colonization — and which foods came with them.
“Learning how our cuisine merged and transformed because our ancestral cooking comes from what the earth gives us — from lakes, mountains, the sea — not from what industry provides,” Corona added.
'Tacos ancestrales'
An evening in September this year, three of the 11 Cocineras hosted their first class to the community at Olivewood Gardens.
And what did they teach in their very first class?
How to make tacos, but not just any tacos. These were “tacos ancestrales,” from a family recipe passed down from Tepechitlán, Zacatecas, Mexico, and shared by Delia Yolanda Ríos Macías, one of the 11 certified Cocineras Tradicionales.
“Well, for me it means so much. It’s the memories, the history, the legacy of my family — because in every flavor, in every ingredient of the taco, there’s a memory, there’s the essence of a member of my family,” Ríos Macías explained.
For these women, cooking is more than following a recipe, Freida Lynn Casas said it's a connection to culture.
“When I’m cooking my dishes, I think about my family. I also think back to the times when I was little, at my grandmother’s house, and she would cook for us," Casas explained. "When I’m cooking, I’m transported back to that time, that era — especially when it’s something filled with feeling.”
During the class, Rocina Lizárraga led a metate demonstration, showing how to make handmade tortillas. She is also a Cocinera Tradicional. When she started the certification process she wasn’t sure what to expect.
“And surprisingly, it turned out to be about valuing yourself as a cook,” Lizárraga said, and including the family when cooking traditional Mexican dishes, even if they take time.
“You can show that Mexican food is flavorful and nutritious, you can do it as a family, giving them tasks like my grandmother used to do,” Lizárraga added.
She said becoming a Cocinera Tradicional has also provided emotional strength.
“When you migrate to a country, it’s a migration trauma,” Lizárraga said. “That trauma goes away, when you become a Cocinera Tradicional, because now you return to your country, through the food,” she added.
If you missed the class, these women are just getting started, on a mission to keep these traditions alive. Lookout for upcoming events on the Olivewood Gardens website.
