"It was an amazing experience."
Wanloe Konyak, Nobu Restaurants NYC
Dough - Flatiron
A lucky girl is the first to try Fany's first 'PueblaYork' doughnut
"The Café de Olla doughnut is the first of many inspired by my trip".
Fany Gerson, Chef and Founder
Fany Gerson is the author of several cook books including My Sweet Mexico. She is also the founder of La New Yorkina - the Highline's iconic ice lollypops as well as her newest outpost, Dough, which prepares handcrafted doughnuts out of Brooklyn and Flatiron. Fanny was invited to the trip due to her undisputed love of Mexican food and her amazing ability to reinterpret it with a New York twist. Read The New Yorker article that recounts the beginning of Dough.
Her masterpiece: "café de olla doughnut"
La Esquina - Soho
Zarape de Pato, a best selling dish inspired by the workshop with Chef Lizette García
"I can write pages and pages of this excellent experience, but I want to summarize to say that I learned a lot and my goal is to bring the real cuisine of Mexico to La Esquina Restaurants."
Adrian Ramírez, Chef
Ten years ago, Adrian Ramírez took his son for tacos at La Esquina. He told him one day he would be the chef of his beloved restaurant. Now responsible for all La Esquina restaurants, Adrian has had the opportunity to cook at the White House and is soon to compete in Chopped. He was invited to Chefs on a Plane because he takes good food very seriously - and he is a seriously good chef.
Adrian's creation: Zarape de pato - duck cooked Michoacán carnitas style, covered in pipián sauce, garnished with coriander sprouts.
Mayahuel - Lower East Side
Phil shares the "Puebla Drink With No Name" with his friend from Death & Co - she liked it.
"Adding mash potatoes to a taco is a work of genius."
Phil Ward, Bartender and Founder
Phil is great fun. He is also recognized amongst mezcaleros as the gringo that knows what he is talking about. Him and Justin Shapiro have made of Mayahuel a must for all agave spirits lovers. Mayahuel is a work of love and has done a great job at educating New Yorkers about good tequila and mezcal with their carefully crafted menus, and for that... we love you guys!
Phil's drink: the Puebla Drink With No Name: moscatel sherry infused with home made mole and mezcal (it's pretty much mole in a glass, with a kick).
The Standard Grill - Meatpacking
Rabbit with Pipián, a fusion chic recipe featured spring/summer 2015
"I loved living Puebla. My dish is based on the ‘cerdo en salsa verde’ that we tried at the mezcal palenque and the pipián prepared during our cooking workshop."
Sean Heller, Chef de Cuisine
Sean Heller likes to skateboard, he is also an amazing chef, head of The Standard Grill - one of the busiest restaurants in the New York City. Inviting Sean was fantastic idea, he has experimented with mole and all types of game as specials and he also created a popular dish that remains in the menu as the vegetarian entree: baby carrots with mole vinagrette. Because he is formerly of Momofuku Noodle bar, he brings an Asian twist to his creations.
His top recipe: rabbit sui vit with pipián sauce and a touch of dashi (which resembles hoja santa). To die for.
Other dishes featured at The Standard Grill include a mezcal shaved ice dessert, by Frederick Aquino (featured SS2015), as well as a variety of great cocktails created by Réamonn Byrne such as the Careless Whisper, a mezcal aviation cocktail. Both joined us on the March 2015 trip.
Rosie's - East Village
This lady was the first to try the Poblano Punch - a cocktail using Bruxo mezcal infused with chile poblano
"For me, the 'Poblano Punch' incorporates everything I most loved about Puebla; it combines flavors and ingredients from different parts of the world."
Tess Rose Lampert, Beverage Director
Tess is knowledgeable about mezcal, to the point of having been an agave professor at Astor Wines. A writer and journalist, she is also very interested in mezcal from Puebla. Here's how she explains her fusion cocktail: 'at it's core, punch is a drink that combines flavors and ingredients from different parts of the world into a delicious beverage that everyone enjoys. The gastronomy and much of the culture of Puebla combines elements and ingredients from the indigenous roots of Mexico with European and North American influences that add up to more than a sum of their parts'.
Her fusion cocktail: Poblano Punch, a yummy three day poblano infused mezcal cocktail with fresh pineapple juice.
The Dutch - Soho
Chefs on a Plane girlfriends eat the seasonal dish at The Dutch, featured the last two days of September 2015
"Chiles en nogada is a dish I plan on making every year in September to celebrate the wonderful people and culture of Puebla, Mexico"
Jason Hua, Chef de Cuisine, The Dutch NYC
Sean Heller recommended inviting Jason to Chefs on a plane, and it was a fabulous recommendation. Not only did Jason perfectly replicate the complex Chile en Nogada dish, he also made a point of buying the talavera plates so it would be served comme il faux at the restaurant. Talavera is denomination of origin so it is hard to find outside of Puebla. We are huge fans of Jason's and welcome his enthusiasm to give the cuisine of Puebla continuity at this classic New York restaurant.
His dish: the classic 'Chile en nogada'.
The Black Ant - East Village
"We had a nogada ice cream and I thought nogada would be perfect for a cocktail"
"'We learnt a lot about the history of traditional mexican dishes"
Gustavo Ortega-Oyarzún, Beverage Director
The Black Ant is transforming the way Mexican food is enjoyed in the city and Gustavo is at the forefront of the creation of a series of cocktails that challenge the senses. He was invited because he is at the helm of the influential Jorge Guzmán Hospitality Group which has Black Ant, Ofrenda, Temerario and Gardenia all of which influence New Yorker's perception of Mexican food.
His work: La Hormiga Nogada, a Chile en nogada cocktail with Dragones tequila, a true winner.
Highlands - West Village
Matt created the Cock-A-Leekey Soup with Mexican Chicken as well as chicken livers with mole sauce
"It was Puebla, it was Mexico, it was the best trip of my life"
Matt Hardner, Chef
Glady's Caribbean - Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Shannon playing with Ancho Reyes for the first time ever
"The cocktails I have worked on have a quality and show an attention to finer details that no doubt spring from the experience."
Shannon Mustipher, Beverage Director
Glady's is a neighborhood spot that takes all things Caribbean very seriously - they are the only restaurant to import their jerk sauce directly from Jamaica. Shannon was invited because she is a super talented mixologist. Her philosophy is that all spirits at her bar ought to be 'stand alone' quality - she has an amazing collection of rums, an now mezcal that she navigates using a librarian's ladder.
Her creation: Flor de Puebla - a white tepache and Bruxo mezcal negroni. She kept it classic and simple, with a twist.
June - Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
Jesse and Gaba talk about 'Absolutely Cookoo', their complex aquavit and mezcal cocktail
"Going to the ancestral market was an absolute highlight of the trip."
Jesse Cason, Founder and Mixologist
Jesse has been experimenting with Mexican food under the umbrella of seasonal food for a very long time, at June and at Farm on Adderly. He was invited because of his passion for creative experimentation. Gabriella Vallone, his star mixologist, attended Chefs on a plane in March and Jesse joined us in September.
Together Gaba and Jesse invented Absolutely Cookoo for June in BK - a mezcal and aquavit cocktail that embodies the blend old world with new world.
La Brasa - Sommervile, Boston
A couple tasting the "Tlayoyos" inspired by the workshop with chef Margarita González
"I enjoyed cooking with my hands again - making masa was like having fun with playdough."
Daniel Bojórquez, Chef and Founder
La Brasa is our expansion into Boston. Daniel was invited to Chefs on a plane because he is innovating in terms of Mexican cuisine in the city, and he also happened to study at the Culinary Institute in Puebla. He makes cooking look easy. His restaurant continues to go up the charts, now at number 5 in Boston's Eater review.
Daniel's dish: a classic take on Tlayoyos, Puebla's answer to Tlacoyos.
"This trip was INCREDIBLE! Honestly, everything was planned to perfection. Did I even mention, how much fun I had!"
Ann Marie del Bello, Spirits Manager ABC Cocina
"Best carnitas taco I’ve ever tried in my life."
Noah Small, Beverage Manager, Empellón
See one our cocktails featured in Liquor.com
Find us on instagram #pueblanyc #chefsonaplane