Anthony Bourdain A Cooks Tour Season 1 Episode 16: Puebla Where the Good Cooks Are From

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(gentle music) Welcome to my world. (upbeat music) Two escargot, pate, frisee. Two green salads. Okay, that is sauce here. Lamb chops, steak frites. Shouldn't you be doing something? Two smoked filet and a pepper steak. Come on, make the dessert. Chocolate tart, please. As a cook, tastes and smells are my memories. Now I'm in search of new ones. So I'm leaving New York City and hope to have a few epiphanies around the world and I'm willing to go to some lengths to do that. I am looking for extremes of emotion and experience. I'll try anything, I'll risk everything. I have nothing to lose. (donkey braying) Where do cooks come from? Why are so many great cooks in New York from Mexico and from Puebla in particular? Why are almost all of the cooks in my kitchen from this little village in Puebla? Why am I wearing a silly hat? The answer to this and other questions to follow. (upbeat Latin music) In the 25 years or so that I've been working as a chef, I've come to realize that no one in my kitchen crew understands and appreciates the American dream better than a non-American. Frisee, (speaking in foreign language) followed by two (speaking in foreign language), special fish, pepper steak. I need a rush steak frite, please. The Mexican cooks who work in my kitchen back in New York are some of the best in New York City. They work hard, cook brilliantly. They're really the engine behind our French brasserie. I wanted to see where these guys come from. I wanted to discover where they get their stuff. Especially Eddie Perez, my long time sous chef and the backbone of Les Halles. Great guy, hardest working cook on the planet, and a close confidant and associate, like all of my cooks from Puebla, Mexico. I want somebody's mother to cook for me in Mexico. I don't care whose mother. Your mother, his mother, somebody's mother. We're gonna have a good time. It's gonna be great. Yeah, no problem, I can ride a donkey. So I'm heading off to Izucar de Matamoros, a small town south of Puebla City to hook up with Eddie. He's gonna show me around his hometown, introduce me to has family, and show me how come he's such a good cook. Eddie, come on. Give me a hug, you big lug. Yeah (mumbling). How you doing? I suspect his mother here had something to do with it. Tell her I'm very happy to be here. My wife. What's everybody's names so I can remember them? [Eddie] (mumbling) this is my daughter. (Tony mumbling) Lupe. [Tony] Eddie saved up enough working as my sous chef to buy the house he grew up in and a small ranch nearby. He's got several days of festivities lined up for me. Tony, there's the little kitchen. Cocina, good. [Eddie] Cocina. [Tony] Eddie takes me outside to show me where all the women in has family are preparing the evening meal. Looking good, woo! [Eddie] Banana, look. Wow, it's beautiful. Hi. In Mexico, outdoor kitchens are where they make the really good stuff. (gentle music) Apparently, the women do all the cooking. His mom, his wife, friends, neighbors, assorted babysitters, all pitch in to make the big dinner. Looking good. I'm beginning to see where my guys back in New York get the relentless energy and technique. Hanging around these women all day, they must have learned everything through osmosis. I recognize my broiler man's face in a woman in Eddie's backyard. I say, wait a minute, is that Antonio's mom? And I'm right. It is his mom. I also learn that Isidoro's mom lives right across the street, and Eddie tells me that another cook's mom lives right next door. Geraldo's mom? Yeah (mumbling). While Antonio's mom makes tortillas until the cows come home, (cow mooing) others are making tamales, salsas, and God knows what else. (upbeat guitar music) Tortillas are like bread in Mexico. They will accompany tonight's big meal, mole poblanos served with turkey. Hey! That's for poblano. Oh, haven't killed a turkey yet. (dramatic Spanish guitar music) Unfortunately, I've been asked to kill the turkey. I'm sorry my friend, today is your day. (upbeat country guitar music) Now, I typically don't kill my own poultry, but I guess it's high time I at least do it once myself. Okay, drink it up. The tradition is, a jigger of mezcal before the deed offers more tender and flavorful turkey meat. And then down like this? [Wife] No, no. Eddie's wife has to step in and show me the proper technique. Oh, man okay. Proving that once again, women are really in charge here. Now I know what's for dinner. Never plucked anything before. This is a first for me. I haven't plucked so much as an eyebrow. The turkey's then cut up into pieces and simmered for several hours. Oh, yeah, I recognize him. (sizzling) While the turkey is stewing, Eddie's wife Laura and her team of mole specialists are making the classic mole poblano. Essentially, a mixture of dried chiles, chocolate, bread fried in oil. Also bananas, vanilla, seeds from the roasted peppers and some other spices ground up in a hand mill. Then everything gets put in a bucket and taken to the molino, the community mill to get ground up into a smooth paste. The mole paste is added to broth from the turkey and simmers for several hours. These ladies rock. These are the mole poblano. I have maybe a hundred different kind mole but this is the really, really, mole poblano. This is nice color. (gentle guitar music) Eddie's really carved out a little bit of heaven here as far as I'm concerned. Kids running around the yard, great smells coming from the kitchen. He's got the right idea. At sunset, our big dinner of mole poblano is served. Wow, look at this. It's beautiful. Aw, man. Look at that. Mole poblano, a classic. A relay team of five, six, seven, nine women. I almost feel guilty that all these people have been slaving away all day while I just sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor. This is an incredible sauce. The mole poblano is fabulous. A subtle mixture of bananas, peppers, chocolates, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. [Woman] Enchiladas. These enchiladas. Mm, as if the mole poblano wasn't a meal in itself, out comes a platter of turkey enchiladas made with fresh corn tortillas, a little cheese, some mole, topped with some crunchy onions and radishes. Well, the enchiladas are great. Oh, really good. Now it's all becoming clear to me where Eddie gets his chops. With family like this, cooking is in his blood. Well, this was am amazing effort that everyone did. Fantastic. (applauding) (gentle guitar music) (upbeat Latin music) I'm really digging my stay in Puebla. The people are warm and friendly and the food is hearty. Eddie decides to show me around town where we'll hook up with his buddy, Martin, a man who's determined to show us a few Mexican delicacies that even Eddie hasn't tried. (dramatic Spanish guitar) Worms and ant eggs. Martin has arranged this meal at one of the town's biggest hotel restaurants. You know what I need? I'm at a big, fancy hotel. I need a big, fancy hotel margarita. That's what I need. (upbeat Latin music) And Martin has had worms before and remembers them fondly. Eddie's never had them which unnerves me a bit. So what do they taste like? They taste like, at the beginning, a little bit like pork skin because they are very, well done, fried. [Tony] Okay, I like pork skin. Okay, so they're crispy at the beginning and then they have a special flavor I cannot describe it because it's so, so special. I hear the word special, I get very nervous. (laughing) So, how do you prepare ant eggs, you ask? Well, you saute some chopped onions and butter, add some jalapenos and chopped, fresh bay leaf and then mix in the fresh ant eggs. It's that simple. A perfect quick dish for those late nights home from work when the husband and kids are yapping for their dinner. And for the worms, first get some fresh, maguey worms. Make sure they're fresh and give them a quick fry. I'm told that we're lucky because even though it's not quite worm season, they were able to pull some strings and wrangle some up. Remember, presentation is half the battle, so carve something pretty to put on top. (bright music) [Cameraman] Are you nervous? I can do this. Ever eat a Twinkie? You know, a Twinkie, it's crunchy on the outside (mimicking squishing) and soft in the middle. Ugh. [Tony] Ugh. Disgusting. Disgusting. It's good, man. I'm gonna like this, I know it. I'm like, Eddie, you eat this all the time, right? He says, oh no, I've never had this, it looks disgusting. [Martin] Okay, you get some worms. Okay, now, get some guacamole, green salsa for me, a little salt, drops of lime. I'm gonna let him lead. So what do you think, Eddie, verde or chipotle? [Eddie] Chipotle, for me, I like chipotle. Okay, I gotta listen to my sous chef. Eddie, come man, you're scaring me. Where's the lime at? (mumbling) Mm, mm. This is good. - It's good, huh? - Yeah. I told you. It's like pork skin. Pork skin, right. Right, you get that same kind of crispy, crunchy. Now, moving on to the ant eggs. Now here's what I want to know, how come the ant eggs are bigger than the ant? [Martin] This is (speaking in foreign language). - Alright. - They know how to cook it. Don't tell me to (mumbling). - It smell good, huh? - Yeah, I like this. This is perfectly good. [Eddie] Yeah. Yeah, worms, I like the worms better. Okay. [Tony] You were right, they're good. Okay, now we're talking. The ant eggs themselves, have this slightly woody, almost fungal aftertaste, meaning, you know, mushroom-like. These on the other hand, it's all about texture and not much flavor. There is sort of a slightly smoky background, but basically, the salsas and the guacamole override the worm. Both of them are good. I'm gonna tell you, you could serve this as a party dip. As long as no one knew what it was, people would say, oh, it's fabulous. If it was just between you and me, cook to cook, don't tell anybody, but I'll tell you something. The worms were the best part of that meal. Yeah. At the time, the worms weren't so bad, but to be honest, I would not revisit the experience. Our jaunt through town continues well into the evening. Martin steers us all towards what is commonly known as a pulqueria, a kind of makeshift dive bar where one can sample the local poison. In one of my favorite books, Under the Volcano, the alcoholic hero spends a lot of time in pulquerias drinking the local brew. It sounded atmospheric and wonderful and a little bit scary. Just the sort of thing I wanted to do while in Mexico. That's the stuff, huh? That's the stuff. [Tony] Pulque is the sap from the maguey cactus fermented in a bathtub someplace til it gets alcoholic. It's a classic, low-rent daytime drink for poor Mexicans and it goes back to the Aztecs. And you can put salt and soda in it or natural, whatever. I think let's go natural. You know, I'm famous for being (mumbling). Cheers, guys. (glasses clanking) Pulque tastes good, but it goes down hard. And consistency is tricky, tricky, tricky. It's like drinking a bucket of snot. Yeah, let's take our little pail over. The plastic bucket, by the way, does not add to the appetizing nature of the mucus. - You see. - Right. Kind of sticky. Martin keeps dipping his finger in it and then pulling it out and explaining how it's got to be gooey like this. I was not ready to see that. Everybody, it has to go all the way like a chain. Yeah, disgusting. (laughing) I expected you know, a couple guys with some bandoleros, maybe some dogs, some chickens, but pulque's good and it is suitably low rent. It's at on alley, I'm enjoying this. The taste hangs with you, so all the way back into town I'm keeping in mind, that you know, underneath the pulque, I have a nice solid base of ant eggs and worms. I puked like a hero all night long. (upbeat instrumental music) (upbeat music) (crowd murmuring) Eddie has really kept our agenda full here in Puebla. Okay, we're at (speaking in foreign language) market. Yeah, this a (speaking in foreign language) market. What are we doing? We're shopping for the party. Yeah, we're shopping for the party. Eddie's throwing a big blast at his ranch tonight. Yes. Everybody's coming. We're here to shop. First up, ingredients for a fruit salad. Papaya. Now who made this list. You made this list? Yeah, I make this list. [Tony] The sous chef makes the order list. Yeah, (mumbling). At the restaurant, and in life. It's just like Les Halles. My sous chef and me, side by side, foraging for the day's ingredients. You can't ask for much more than this. That's really pretty. (gentle music) The zucchini blossom quesadillas just too good to pass up. Well, let's have one of those. They start with a ball of raw tortilla dough pressed flat. Zucchini blossoms. What looks like just a little bit of pork fat. Oy, flavor, sabor. It's (speaking in foreign language), fresh cheese. That is beautiful in a quesadilla. That just makes it so cool. This is my idea of a market. Great stuff to buy, great stuff to eat. That's my idea of breakfast. So our shopping's done. Yeah, the shopping's done. Alright, next we prep for the party. But before we leave, Eddie tells me, no trip to the ranch is complete without the proper attire. (upbeat country music) Hey. Oh yeah, feels right. You find your hat, I found, looking good, looking good. He's styling now. I'm ready for the ranch. Eddie has a house and ranch near Izucar de Matamoros and he visits one or two times a year. So you live in that house? You're in the center. Here you're (mumbling). Alright, Tony. Already home. It's a pretty big spread. I think he's got almost a whole mountain. The number of animals he has, turkeys, goats, chickens, roosters, horses. (goat braying) It's a veritable zoo. Still reeling from the after effects of the pulqueria, Eddie and I ease into a supervisory role, overseeing a height of activity, prepping for tonight's fiesta. We have saute setting up right over there, And we have the grill and roast station over there on the (speaking in foreign language), making rice. Eddie's in-house mole expert and resident tortilla maker, are busy preparing arroz. Rice, the mixture of tomato, puree, chicken stock and fresh cilantro. And of course, tortillas hot off the comal. (Western music) I volunteered. I mean, any time, I'm ready to start working. What? Yeah, you want me to cut food? You know, potatoes, dig a hole. Eddie takes me up on my offer and we get to work on a fruit salad. [Man] Yeah, it's just like Les Halles, right Eddie? I feel like I'm working prep. (upbeat music) Alright, I've worked enough. I think it's time to check on our good friend, Mr. Barbecue Goat. Aw, that's it right here. Oh, nice. Here's some cooking the men actually do. They're grilling. Eddie's ranch hands begin preparation for tonight's main entree. Goat's head soup. [Eddie] Oh, have some of this. - Bay leaf? - Bay leaf. Tripes, and a head. Goat's head soup. That's gonna be cooked on the open fire, right? In the pit there. Actually, Eddie's made this at the restaurant for the family, it's really good, really good. Not a single piece of this animal goes to waste. To cook the goat, they dig a pit, they fill it with wood, stones, and charcoal. That's hot, that's real hot. I want one of these for Les Halles. (laughing) Throw the bus boys in. They put in the goat's head soup on the bottom, right on the coals, with a layer of avocado leaves. Oh, the heads go right in without the leaves. I've never seen this before. This is really cool. They also put in a stuffed stomach with assorted blood and spice and herb stuffing with a little onion and garlic. I'm liking this, man, this is very cool. It's not like my barbecue. And on top, go the goats. Whole, still on the bone, butterflied for even cooking. This is really cool. I feel privileged to see this. A wet mat goes on top and the whole thing is covered up with sand and dirt and left there for about three and a half to four hours. This is like a scene in Goodfellas. When I die, do that to me. No actually, I'd be no good, I'd be tough. Eddie tells me we're gonna have ice cream at the party. Somehow, I don't think this means a trip to Baskin Robbins. His uncle sends someone along to the party to make a lime sorbet, the old way. An old man shows up with a wooden bucket, fresh fruit sugar, some ice, some salt, and goes to work, had-cranking nonstop for a solid hour. That's how they do it at Ben and Jerry's, right? Maybe not. Oh, man that's good. Number one. It's spectacular. I never thought I'd be sitting in a mountain in Mexico, a ranch, wearing cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, drinking Mexican beer with my good friend, Eddie. Four hours later, Eddie and I return to the pit. (instrumental country music) Delicioso, perfecto. The goat meat is good. I'd been told to expect tough and stringy. It isn't. It's actually very tender and really, really tasty. [Eddie] See, there's the consomme, look at the consomme. Next, they pull out the goat's head soup, stomach and heads cooked to perfection and ready to eat. It's gonna be great and a a lot of liquor. A lot of beer, a lot of everything. (Spanish guitar music) The party has officially begun and we're about to be served this long awaited meal. We're eating, man, huh? First course, goat's head soup. Oh, yeah. I've been waiting for this. (mumbling) goat's head soup. Goat's head soup, yeah. - Good, right? - Aw. The soup is fantastic, just great. A little bit of tripe, a little about of meat, a little bit of head, a little bit of tongue, a little bit of this and that. It's superb. One of the best things I've eaten in all of Mexico. Off the record, on the record, this soup is incredible. All that goat juice running into it. It don't get more magic than this. (upbeat Latin music) Great music. Great company. What else is there? (applauding and cheering) (upbeat Latin music) So I'm having a grand, old time, kicking back with my cerveza, enjoying the live entertainment. And then everything comes to a grinding halt. (record scratching) [Man] Come out here, come out here. (laughing) [Tony] After shoveling down several portions of goat innards, I'm asked to jump on top of Trigger here and prance around in front of all of Eddie's family and friends. I feel like an idiot and this can't be good for my digestion. In fact, I think Trigger here has gas. So aside from the fact that I just made a complete ass of myself, I have only gratitude and admiration for Eddie and his family who work like Trojans for days feeding me. I'm eternally in their debt. (gentle Latin music) Puebla, Mexico where the good cooks are from. (energetic music) (moody lounge music)
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Channel: GoTraveler
Views: 752,056
Rating: undefined out of 5
Keywords: travel, culture, CNN TV, Anthony Bourdain, GoTraveler, Anthnony Bourdain Parts Unkonwn, Anthony Bourdain No Reservations, Anthony Bouradin TV Shows Netflix, A Cook's Tour, the layover tv series, a cook's tour season 1 episode 1, anthony bourdain top chef episodes, cnn anthony bourdain, travel off the beaten path
Id: ib8-ufe67HA
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 21min 25sec (1285 seconds)
Published: Sat Jul 11 2020
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