Preview: Baja California Culinary Festival

It’s time to head south of the border for the third annual Baja California Culinary Festival. Happening October 24 through October 27, the fest brings together chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers, brewers, foodies, and gourmands to learn about and celebrate the food, wine and locally made products of Baja California. This year, the award-winning fest will bring together 25 celebrated chefs (including Miguel Angel Guerrero, Javier Plascencia, Marcela Valladolid, Ricardo Zarate, Chad White, Josefina Santacruz, Chef LaLa, and Drew Deckman) for demos, classes, seminars, dinners and, most likely, a whole lot of mezcal. 

The BCCF took form when Baja culinarians, continually invited to various Mexican food festivals to promote their cuisine, decided to hold court in their own backyard. Javier Gonzalez from the Tijuana Culinary Art School, with help from local chefs Miguel Angel Guerrero and Javier Plascencia, as well as marketing guru Marina Perez, and Secretary of Tourism Juan Tintos Funke got together with other interested parties to spotlight the bounty of the region to the world. As Plascencia explained, “We thought, why not have our own festival and showcase what we are doing here in Baja?” In the past few years, the festival has grown in both popularity and importance, mirroring a global interest about the food and drink coming out of Mexico’s next gastronomic frontier. 

“This year will be amazing,” says Plascencia referencing some new events organizers have added to the schedule. For one, a gastro-film series featuring documentaries like the well-received Jiro Dreams of Sushi, followed by a food and wine (in this case, sake) tasting. To further enhance such a program, a pre-screening demo will showcase Chef Ken Namba (of Kiriko in Los Angeles) demostrating how to filet a whole blue fin tuna. Bringing the kiddies? No sweat. Ratatouille will be screened on Saturday. Another dramatic addition to the schedule is a theatrical interpretation chronicling the origins of the Caesars salad, which hails from Tijuana. Tasting to follow.

Kicking off the weekend on Thursday night will be the Marcela Valladolid hosted Cena con Ellas. Fourteen cocineras from Baja and Mexico City will pay homage to female chefs and winemakers while simultaneously honoring Chavela Vargas. Of course, the Feria Gastronomica, being held all day on both Friday and Saturday, will feature local restaurants selling signature dishes, street food vendors pushing goodies like tacos, Valle de Guadalupe wineries promoting the season’s harvest, on-site mezcaleros, and a craft beer pavillion highlighting Baja’s best producers. “This will be an oportunity for people to meet, greet and talk to chefs, winemakers, mezcaleros, coffee roasters, and craft beer masters,” says Plascencia. Other highlights include a discussion of Mexican wine with regional legend Hugo D’Acosta and Friday night’s collaborative tasting dinners at various Tijuana venues including Plascencia’s own Mision 19.

Don’t speak Spanish?  No problem. Most of the demos will have an English translator.  What are you waiting for? Get online and book into some of these great events.

Next, our choices for the perfect BCCF schedule…

October 24

Mexican Cuisine: Symbolism and Science with Eduardo Plascensia, $10

Craft Beer Tasting with Jose Miguel Garcia and Javier Albarran, $10

Cena con Ellas, the BCCF Inaugural Dinner hosted by Marcela Valladolid, a dinner by Mexico’s top female chefs and winemakers, $65

October 25

Club Tengo Hambre Presents: Tijuana Curbside and Craft Beer Outing, $60

Culinary Expo (an all day event featuring food, drink, and craft products from local vendors), Free Admission

Chef Dinners: Check out a crew of chefs collaborating on one meal. At Mision 19, check out Javier Plascensia with Jorge Vallejo, Israel Montero, Deckman, Zarate, and more. For a list of restaurants and chefs, click here. Prices vary by location.

October 26

Club Tengo Hambre Presents: A Tale of Two Seas, A Tijuana Seafood and Craft Beer Outing, $60

Making Wine in Both Californias with Hugo D’Acosta & Aldo Santini, $10

Santini & Caridinia: Una Historia con Sabor, a theater production on the origins of the Caesar Salad, $10

Culinary Expo (an all day event featuring food, drink, and craft products from local vendors), Free Admission

October 27

Culinary Tour of the Guadalupe Valley, check out Malva with Roberto Alcocer, Almazara with Alejandro Alvarez, Latitud 32 with Ryan Steyn, and Finca Altozano with Javier Plascencia, $75.

What are you most excited about? Get your tickets here!