Culinary Stage: Chef Luis Valenzuela | A Morning in Mexico
Today we were enjoying the last morning of our stay in Whistler for Cornucopia. And instead of having the regular grab and go breakfast we were attending an event at the Culinary Stage that is essentially a live cooking show, where we get go eat what they make.
This was hosted by Chef Luis Valenzuela, showcasing his traditional Mexican cuisine, alongside Cornucopia’s sommelier Samantha. They hosted a Mexican breakfast, taking us from course to course and each dish’s wine pairing. This was a tour that was sprinkled with personal anecdotes, their recommendations, and conversations with the room.
The theme was to begin the day with one of Mexico’s most beloved breakfasts, as Chef Luis Valenzuela brings Chilaquiles Divorciados to the Culinary Stage.
The event description stated that ticket holders were “learn how simple cooking foundations can take on entirely different personalities depending on the above salsa”. “That guests will learn how dried guajillo chiles build warmth, depth and gentle sweetness, while roasted poblanos offer an earthy flavour with a fresh green character”. And promised that “Chef Luis would explore roasting, blending, seasoning and balancing each salsa, sharing practical techniques that home cooks can confidently recreate”.
However this event was more like a conversation. A causal, gathered dining of breakfast together in a banquet setting. I would not classify this as a cooking seminar, especially as much of what we had was prepared a head of time. There was no use of the stove top to heat the soup. No boiling of water for the perfectly poached eggs. No cooking of the rice pudding. Everything was simply assembled and then served. And our hosts entertained with stories when the team of serves did so. This was not quite what I expected, but not unenjoyable.
We didn’t learn “helpful tips for keeping tortillas crisp, adjusting spice levels and assembling each plate so both salsas retain their colour and character beautifully”; as the even description read. Our chef instructor did not reveal “why salsa is so essential to Mexican cuisine”. There was no mention of how “texture, acidity, heat and richness coming together, and how the final additions of crema, queso fresco, onion and egg create balance in every bite”. Like the website stated he would.
Each of our three courses came with a pour am Off the Grid wine and an explanation of the pairing and what it hoped to achieve.
The first course was a Black Bean Soup made with Crema and Chile. Each serving came to the table as a bowl of Queso Fresco cubes and Crispy Corn Tortilla shards. Then the soup was slowly poured over it, drowning the above in a sea of chalky maroon-brown.
This was a comforting start for many, that spent the evening drinking like we did. I would have liked the soup hotter, to be able to warm me inside and out. This was a flavour that grew on you the more you drank. So rich and thick that I found it almost like a dip alongside the cheese and chips. The latter was like croutons adding a much need crunch to the otherwise grainy slurry.
The pairing with this was Off the Grid’s Pinot Noir. We would be having our wines in a reverse order, starting with red before ending in sparkling. Described as breakfast wine the acidity of the Noir helped to cut into the soup, adding layers to it.
The second and main course was the above mentioned feature of Chilaquiles Divorciados with Guajillo Salsa, Roasted Poblano Salsa, Egg, Crema, Queso Fresco, and Onion.
The name and split of red and green colour salsas reminded me of Chinese style honey moon fried rice. Where two flavours with different colours come together to offer two tastes, and then together they merge as one in a homogenous union. Except the Mexican version emphasizes the difference to the point of divorce. In their “divorced” version, two distinct salsas share the plate while remaining deliciously separate. A rich, smoky guajillo salsa and a vibrant roasted poblano salsa.
For me this was basically breakfast nachoes especially as they topped the large serving with two pre-poached eggs. Each with a thick gummy centre that didn’t run, and was more solid. It became a third dip for the already soggy chips. Normally this dish comes with fried sunny side up eggs. I loved the flavour of the tortilla, but by the time we got it, the dish was room temperature and on the soggy side. The chips easily and readily soaked up the excess liquid of the watery salsa. There was plenty of flavour where the spice grew and tingled the more we ate.
There was the challenge of pairing eggs with wine, but our sommelier went with 2025 Riesling saying it was the answer for easy or challenging pairings. The sweet peachy flavours of the Riesling helped to temper the heat. I personally found it too sweet for my tastes, like cotton candy.
Our final course was more like dessert. Arroz con Leche, which is Mexican Rice Pudding flavoured with Cinnamon and Orange. The rice was cooked first, while the milk is infused with the desired seasonings, and then the sugars are added at the end.
Unfortunately due to the need to constantly share and shift workspaces during its cooking, the texture of this isn’t as originally intended by our chef.
In this context it ate like sweet oatmeal. I was not a fan of the harder grains of rice and would have liked them softer, to more closely resemble porridge or pudding. The bites were tougher sitting in a pool of cream that I skim off the top. This drank like cereal milk, refreshing with orange zest and heavily sweetened by the plumped up raisins.
I was also not a fan of this wine pairing of orange organic wine. For those unfamiliar, orange wine is white wine made like red. And the colour comes from skin contact. I found the wine musky and funky like kombucha and that it fought against the milky dessert. Surprisingly this was a drier wine, and not sweet despite in being Gewürztraminer.
“Put simply, the Culinary Stage Series is like being in the audience of a live cooking show, and you get to enjoy the food creations – complete with drink pairings. The series features local and national chefs, producers and beverage professionals to provide attendees the chance to learn their cooking tips and tricks, and enjoy multi-course, drink-paired menus.”
Having been to culinary stage events in years previous, I could tell that they have switched up the format. The workshop were now streamed lined to help production and ensure no delays. There was little to no cooking, which ensure that the guests were fed in a timely manner and that we actually finished ahead of schedule. Although this did not deliver on the expectations promised by the event description and resulted in lukewarm to cold plates.
