Elena Reygadas, one of the world’s best: “It took me a while to understand that cooking could be my way of life”

Mexican Elena Reygadas is one of them The most outstanding person On site Gourmet world.

He won the award in 2023 World’s Best Female Chefa recognition that puts his influence and creativity in the kitchen on the table. Reygadas is behind Rosetta, a restaurant located in his home. Mexico City This unit, which is an international reference.

The chef also runs other businesses such as a bakery, focusing on local and seasonal ingredients. Rosetta has won various awards in recent years and has been featured in such Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants o The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Reygadas is one of the most recognized chefs in the world, but her culinary journey was not an easy one. With a background in English literature, he gourmet food It started in his childhood.

“I grew up in a very Mexican family, and everything revolved around food. The parties, the get-togethers, everything important always included food,” he recalls.

Although he had always loved cooking, he initially did not consider it as a career. “There weren’t many options for training at the time. There was a small cookery school, but I decided to go to university to study English literature, which I was also passionate about,” he said. However, his love for cooking did not fade away. While doing catering work for a film, he realized he wanted to devote himself to it full time. gourmet food“It took me a while to understand that cooking could become my lifestyle,” he admits.

Rosetta was his first restaurant, and over time he branched out into other businesses, including a very successful bakery. “We started making bread for the restaurant, but people wanted to buy it after they ate. So we opened a bakery that made Mexican and European sweet breads, among other things,” Reygadas explains.

Her training in literature remains latent, and the chef finds parallels between her studies and cooking. “Observation, analysis, reflection are processes that I apply in literature and cooking. You see an ingredient, you observe it, you understand where it comes from, and from there you manage it. They are similar processes,” he reflects.

Reygadas’ kitchen was inspired by Raw materials from Mexicowhere seasonality and regional diversity play a crucial role. “The seasons in Mexico are specific, they are not the four seasons in Europe. We pay a lot of attention to Seasonality of ingredientsit’s very broad and varies from region to region,” he explained.

His cooking focuses on vegetablenot only for personal taste, but also because he believes that Mexican vegetables, fruits and herbs are excellent. “The global trend of reducing meat consumption and increasing the use of vegetables is a necessity, not just a fashion,” he said.

Regarding the place of women in the kitchen, Reygadas acknowledged that despite the close relationship between women and the kitchen in Mexico and throughout Latin America, there is a lack of visibility.

“Recognized as The best female chefs in the world It allowed me to see so many women of different generations taking it on as their own. It’s great to see recognition like this inspire other generations,” she said, adding that she also serves as a mentor to other chefs.

Due to the pandemic, she has set up a scholarship to support young women who want to study gastronomy. “For many women, support remains an obstacle, as families often prioritize men for different reasons. These scholarships are designed to give them the opportunity to study,” he explains. The school currently offers 20 scholarships, and is already in its third generation.

When cooking in other countries, Reygadas combines local flavors with Mexican influences. Local ingredients From where I’ve been, but I also bring flavor and Raw materials from Mexico“, explain.

During a visit to Uruguay, he cooked with his team at the Manzanar restaurant and brought back some Rosetta, which received several recognitions, including inclusion in the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants yes World’s 50 Best Restaurantscurrently ranked 34th.

For example, the menu he shared with Montevideo diners last week featured dishes like crab and shrimp chili con carne, kale tacos or sweet potato tamales.

Despite her busy schedule, Reygadas enjoys trying local cuisine wherever she goes. “I tried dulce de leche (lamb and rice), and I was surprised by the quality of Uruguayan wines such as Albariño,” she says. A stay in Uruguay is not only about sharing good food, but also about recharging your batteries. “These escapes from everyday life give us a lot of oxygen,” he concludes.