Guanajuato, Mexico
It’s nice to know where things come from.

I drink the wine, but how did it get in the bottle? I enjoy fresh bread and great cheeses but they just don’t appear on the table. There’s some type of process all of the things we enjoy go through before they end up in your belly.
I don’t know about you, but when I’m able to see the hard work and planning that goes into making the things I love most, it gives me an added appreciation.

This was my first trip to the Avoro Avocado Oil Plant in Guanajuato, Mexico, with my friend Fernando as the new CEO. I firmly stand behind Avoro as a chef and as a minority owner – but more so, because of its attention to detail and the integrity of the operation.

From the fruit being brought in containers and later being shuffled around using forklifts to the careful selection and initial stages, I got a chance to go step-by-step through the filtration process.
Wow! What a job. After each step of the process, a sample is taken and tested in a lab with biochemists who ensure the consistent production of perfection.

Try a bottle. Avoro Olive Oil

What a great experience.

I couldn’t have asked for anything more from this experience. Traveling is something I’m blessed to have the opportunity to do on a regular basis. To me, travel provides an abundance of possibilities outside of just changing location – to me, traveling has the power to teach me as much about myself as the people I meet.

There may be nothing I enjoy more than mingling with regular hardworking people as I try to understand the world we live in and define my place in it. Regardless of race, class, even language barriers – generally speaking, we all yearn for the same things: truthful relationships, the ability to both feel loved and love, and the opportunity to earn an honest living and provide for our families. Those are the human elements that I believe connect all of us and when you’re cognizant of those things, no land, no people, no thing can be foreign.

This is one of the oldest markets in the Americas and all of its history just oozes from the pores – a local market that’s liable to give you anything and everything around the next corner. I felt like a kid in a candy shop.

She’s a healthy healer

…Of course I asked for help...

I know this wouldn’t fly in many areas of the world, but it does here in Mexico. It has for some time – and it seems to work. This is the way it has been done for years in many Latin American destinations. No meat lockers, no coolers – just open-air.

That’s a Piñata factory across from where they’re selling fruit. And to tell you the truth, this fruit is mostly purchased as an offering to saints and temples. I mean, they eat the fruit, but they also bring it as an offering. And across from there, as I mentioned, is a Piñata factory. It reminded me so much of my childhood and gave me such excitement and joy inside to see that. I wanted to get one and have a celebration. It has been such a long time since I have been somewhere like this. I was beside myself searching for the necessary timing and appropriate excuse to buy one. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, but I had to stop and stare.

Tourists are often forced by a number of different constraints to do tourist types of things. There’s nothing more frustrating to me than being in a new location and, because of other obligations or time constraints, not having the ability to get off the beaten path and see how real people live— but here I most definitely did.

Now, I probably did some touristy things, but I also got a chance to work, play and really mesh with the local people. So, by the time I left I had a good feel for the culture and the way of life.

Fernando Posada, my old roommate from college at Le Cordon Bleu in Ontario, Canada, was there--- so we checked out the city and strolled around a little bit.

It was the first time that I had been in the Guanajuato area about 3-hours north of Mexico City. A metropolitan city built by the Europeans, it is truly one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to.

Years ago, the area was a popular destination because of its silver mining – because of this, during colonization it was one of the richest cities in the world. But, when the silver ran out, so did many of the people— but the beautiful architecture and culture stayed.

Now there are a number of universities that make up the new Guanajuato with a strong inland Mexican culture and young-vibrant pulse.

This is the Alimentaria Food Convention.

It’s pretty much a food fair in which a lot of people from Latin America have the opportunity to head to Mexico City once a year to display their products.

We were there for a total of three days, giving demonstrations on how to use the oil, giving samples away and teaching people how to imitate the dishes that I was making.

We won first place in the ‘innovation’ category with our new product Avoro Avocado Oil by gaining great acceptance from the public. After judges notified us that we had won first place, they asked us to make a display of the product in the entrance announcing that we had won. It felt so good and was a great accomplishment for everyone.

We went into the market early that day to do provisions. We had a big day planned and it definitely included some fresh groceries, and what better place to come than this market— they had everything and the best of it!

The quality of the original product is something that I think often gets overlooked. The dishes I make are a direct reflection of the original ingredients I have to work with. The best tailor in the world can’t get you an Armani suit fit with $200 fabric, and I can’t put a five-star meal on the table with scraps – I’ll try, but fresh and high-quality make a world of difference and allow me to be more creative.

And this was an extra-special occasion so I wanted to leave chance to rest. I was doing a cooking segment, a promotional video for television on how to use the Avoro Avocado oil. So this is me, just buying the basics to make a couple of dishes. And then part of the deal was at the end of the filming we would invite the crew to eat with us.

So, I had to make my preparations and I was assisted by Tay-Tay – well, we call her “Tay-Tay” but that’s not really her name. She’s in charge of marketing and public relations for Avoro and is our connect in France and North America… She travels a lot to France and does a lot for the company. Tay-Tay decided to give me a hand doing the prep work for what I was making. It was like a party/filming. It was a great occasion all the way around. To work, to visit and to catch up with Fernando and his family— it had been ages and ages since the time I saw him, so it was really enjoyable.