Text: Nicholas Gilman
Photography: Sebastián Manterola

Millesime (officially Millesime GNP) the culinary event par excellence put forth for the past seven years, is an homage to the best foodie fabulousness that Mexico has to offer. The point is to tempt, tease and induce mouths to water, in the hopes that customers will be seduced into a love affair with the represented restaurants, wines, spirits and ‘gourmet’ products on display. Booths manned by chefs both stellar and emerging represent the country’s best-known dining venues. They offer bijou-like delicacies to cocktail and wine equipped visitors. The fiesta is set in the generically modern Banamex center, a corporate edifice designed to house promotional events of all sorts. The panoramic views of the neighboring race track are only to be imagined as nary a horse is in sight from the window-less ground floor space re-fashioned like a Hollywood soundstage.

Indeed, this year the theme was cinema. Several spaces were transformed into dining rooms, meant to recall iconic movies, to house meals prepared by visiting chefs as distinguished as Manish Mehotra of Indian Accent in New Delhi and Fran Agudo of Barcelona’s Tickets. ‘Interstellar’ was set amongst the stars and was breathtaking; the fictional Rick’s Café of Casablanca was humorously invoked. Hotel Budapest’s designers, however, failed to capture the glamor of the original, however made-up it might have been. A bevy of local star-chefs prepared film-themed dishes. Gabriela Ruíz of Carmela y Sal chose the most obvious: she lovingly recreated the dishes from Like Water for Chocolate, which were served as guests watched clips of the movie itself. Fortunately, her mole did not lead to the unpleasant scene that follows its consumption. The clever Miguel Hidalgo and Sandra Fortes of the Iberia-oriented Noso logically did a few dishes that appear in Almodovar’s films. Sommelier Andres Amor toasted Ratatouille.

All in all, 2019’s do was a bit scaled back compared to previous editions but it was by no means spartan. Oysters were in abundance—notably prepared with a bit of smoke by Baja’s Drew Deckman. Caviar was sparingly offered as a tasting – but less was more, in that case. And the impending decade of the ‘20’s charmingly invoked that of last century’s through music and decor. No one went home hungry. Or Sober.

Note: For those who wish to partake of a Millesime experience, the group currently presents Locura, an audiovisual/gastronomic experience in Tulum, now through February. See Millesime Locura for more information.

The Magic

The Chefs

The Food

The People