During our last visit to Puerto Vallarta, for my sister’s wedding, we had a little free time, so we decided to do something a little different than our usual walking around and checking out the marketplaces and scenery. Jeff found a tour that included hanging out with our own private chef at his private home, showing us how to cook authentic Mexican cuisine. That sounded like a perfect way to spend an afternoon!
We were dropped off by our Uber driver at our chef’s house, which was a tiny, traditional little Mexican house on a cobblestone street in central Puerto Vallarta. We were warmly greeted by Chef Manuel Zuloaga, aka “Manu”. In getting to know Manu, we learned that after completing culinary school, he traveled abroad and lived in Canada, Spain, and Norway, where he worked in a series of professional kitchens. After being away for six years, Manu returned to Mexico where he could indulge in his love of food from home.
After our initial greeting, we headed back outside to walk a few blocks up the street to the Mercado Cinco de Diciembre, the open air market. On our walk, Manu asked each of us about our food preferences and if we had any restrictions or requests. Then, he started coming up with ideas in his head of what he would cook for us, which is an admirable skill! At the market, there were stalls upon stalls of fresh fruits and vegetables. Manu was so helpful when I kept picking things up, asking “What is this?” and “How do you cook this?”. In the back of the market, there was a tortilleria (tortilla factory), where we got to watch fresh tortillas being made. Manu picked up a bag of tortillas that were still hot off the tortilla press! There was also a butcher, which we passed up, and a fish market where Manu picked up some shrimp for Jeff, but I stayed outside since I don’t eat either of those. Everyone in the market knew Manu and said hello! Before heading back, we stopped at a small booth where I purchased some orange cookies to share for dessert. Unfortunately, though, they tasted more like a digestive biscuit and were very bland (Bleh!
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