Back to the Roots of Mexican Cuisine

Not so long ago the words ‘Mexican food in London’ are likely to have conjured up images of brightly painted cartoon eateries with sombrero-clad waiters serving up fajitas and jugs of cheap margarita to hen parties (ah, those were the days!). The food was hardly an exquisite dining experience but by the time you’d washed it down with another shot of tequila you were so plastered and your taste buds so numb you didn’t give a flying taco shell.

But things are changing.

As journalist Fleur Britten, author of ‘A Hedonist’s Guide to London’, puts it ‘A Mexican revolution is afoot – that is, authentic Mexican food that is made with free-range meats and seasonal vegetables from generations-old recipes, as opposed to Texas’ bastardisation which uses insipid cheese, watery sour cream and chillies the colour of bogeys.’. Quite.

This new wave of authentic Mexican restaurants such as Wahaca, founded by former Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers, is stirring our interest and taking us on a journey to the real Mexico without us having to leave London town. And we don’t even have to leave our homes if we don’t want to, as we can now discover this incredible cuisine through the exciting pages of Thomasina’s cookbook ‘Mexican Food Made Simple’. It will certainly liven up your kitchen. Now, where did I leave my sombrero?