Pass the Chipotle Podcast

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food history writer, cook and author. Episode 80 This year marks the 160th anniversary of the famous 5 de Mayo battle, but curiously this date means epic Mexican-themed celebrations in the USA, but why? In this epic episode, I explore the many events that lead to the famous battle of Puebla on that eventful day of May 5th, 1862 and the fascinating aftermath that change...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food anthropologist, culture & gastronomy educator. Episode 76 This episode explores the intersections between  art, music, painting and life in Mexico during the colonial period closing down with Mexican baking and pastry traditions. My guest: Eliceo Lara is a talented Mexican baker and accomplished singer with a deep interest in history and literature. We indulge...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food anthropologist, culture & gastronomy educator.  Episode 88 This episode features a fascianting conversation with Professor Iván Escamilla González, also known on Instagram as El Cronista Novohispano (The Novohispanic Chronicler). Together, we delve into a historical exploration of food, examining a range of contrasting aspects—from the lavish feasts of the upp...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food anthropologist, culture & gastronomy educator.   Episode 87   This episode features a conversation with Mexican anthropologist and PhD candidate Mario Macias Ayala @mario.maciasaa in which we discuss several intertwined projects that are at the core of his research: -Return migration within Mexican-American dynamics: Mario unravels the intricate tapestry of re...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food anthropologist, culture & gastronomy educator. Episode 86 This hybrid episode brings together of Hungry Books and Pass the Chipotle Podcast and I’m joined by Dr Deborah Toner editor of "Alcohol in the Age of Industry, Empire, and War," a ground-breaking volume that explores the intricate connections between alcohol and society from 1850 to 1950.  Through the e...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food anthropologist, culture & gastronomy educator. Episode 85 This episode features a conversation with Dr Caroline Dodds Pennock about her latest book: On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe combining a critical perspective that questions the historiography, narratives, and consequences of marginalizing the role of indigenous people in the c...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food anthropologist.  Episode 84 This refreshed version of the coffee special explores the origins of coffee and its journey from  Eritrea modern-day Ethiopia, Africa into the Americas and how in a short time became a highly profitable crop. In the second part, we explore some aspects of the cultural history of coffee consumption in Mexico and the fascinating journey c...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food anthropologist, culture & gastronomy educator. Episode 83 To wrap up the year I teamed up with my dear friend Mely Martínez to have a candid chat about our favourite Christmas and seasonal foods, drinks and treats. Since it is impossible to exhaust the wide variety of regional and local dishes from all across Mexico, we tried to present an overview of how Mexi...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food anthropologist, culture & gastronomy educator. Episode 82 Dr Pablo Sierra’s research contests that blackness is a decidedly foreign concept in the cultural history of the City of Puebla, an idealised urban centre whose narratives about Spanish baroque splendour have silenced the stories and presence of other ethnic groups, namely thousands of enslaved and free...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food anthropologist, culture & gastronomy educator. Episode 81 When Salvador packed his camera and got off to start a journey documenting traditional drinks of Mexico, he didn’t know that his life was about to change forever. This adventure became the beginning of a transformative experience for him and the many lives he has touched. In this candid, honest and rich...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food anthropologist, culture & gastronomy educator. Episode 79 Welcome to the season finale! In this episode, I discuss how early printed cookbooks in Mexico were tools of cultural propaganda. Through a form of culinary patriotism, cookbooks built the gastronomic identity of a newly independent nation promoting the adoption of behaviours, tastes and manners of the...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food anthropologist, culture & gastronomy educator. Episode 78 In this episode I discuss my guest’s new book: “The Last Emperor of Mexico: The Dramatic Story of the Habsburg Archduke Who Created a Kingdom in the New World.” This work is so much more than the story of Maximilian I, it really captures the zeitgeist of a bygone era that is fundamental in the history o...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food anthropologist, culture & gastronomy educator.   Episode 77 This episode explores the influence of the Andalusi culture that echoed deeply in every aspect of Spain’s society in the 16th century and the impact of the African slave trade in colonial Mexico. But to fully understand these stories from the beginning, I will go back to the complex medieval period of...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal food anthropologist, Mexican culture gastronomy educator. Episode 75 The Day of the Dead celebration is a cultural pillar of Mexico’s rituals of memory, conviviality and spirituality, this episode celebrates the history behind this vibrant tradition that is one of Mexico’s most joyous cultural export. It also offers an introduction to the Mayan ceremonies for the dead...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food history writer, cook and author. Episode 74 Mexican pastries or “pan dulce” have taken the world by storm with their delicious flavours and styles, but did you know that wheat was once a stranger in Mexico? This episode explores the remote origins of wheat in the Middle East and its voyage to the New World where it inspired one of the most important food industrie...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food history writer, cook and author. Episode 73 This episode explores different aspects of the cultural production of food in traditional indigenous cultures of Mexico, and some of them are related to preparation methods as explored by the“culinary triangle” of raw, cooked and rotten. And other aspects focus on the creation of meanings, practices, attitudes and uses o...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food history writer, cook and author. Episode 72 Located in central Mexico and framed by majestic volcanoes, the UNESCO listed city of Angels sits in a vast valley where beautiful colonial buildings tell the 500-year-old story of a metropolis envisioned as an aspiring model for all Spanish territories in the Americas. The famous 5 de mayo battle is one of the many hist...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food history writer, cook and author. Episode 71 Carnivals are synonymous with good times, mind-blowing choreographies, music and spectacular costumes. But under that shiny surface, there’s a long, complex and utterly fascinating history. Carnivals are a vehicle for the collective expression of a culture’s identity, history and creativity, which allows them to continue...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food history writer, cook and author. Episode 70 This year marks the 159th anniversary of the famous 5 de Mayo battle, but curiously this date means epic Mexican-themed celebrations in the USA, but why? In this epic episode, I explore the many events that lead to the famous battle of Puebla on that eventful day of May 5th, 1862 and the fascinating aftermath that change...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal, gastronomy educator, cook and author Episode 69 Pulque is one of the best known traditional fermented drinks from Mexico. Its origin goes back to pre-Columbian times and has over 25 centuries of history and tradition. Known as the “drink of the gods”, pulque has endured the test of time: from colonialism, revolutions, wars, crisis and many other transformations, it ha...

From Hungry Books Podcast @hungrybookspodcast Presented by: Rocio Carvajal Food history writer, cook and author. This episode reviews: “ Eggs or Anarchy, The remarkable story of the man tasked with the impossible: to feed a nation at war” By William Sitwell The setting is Britain at war: WWII looms over Europe and Churchill is at the brink of becoming the world’s most admired Prime Minister. And y...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal, gastronomy educator, cook and author. Episode 68 In this conversation we explore the little-known world of religious institutions in the colonial period, and the ways in which friars, priests and nuns impacted the culture and life of Mexico. We talk about how the kitchens of female convents became a cultural catalyst where the food traditions, ingredients and techniqu...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal, gastronomy educator, cook and author Episode 67 Together with corn, tomatoes and chillies, beans are part of the holy quartet of Mexico’s gastronomy. Their enduring popularity as a delicious and versatile food synonymous of Mexican cuisine, no wonder they are present in some form in 60% of all traditional dishes. This episode explores the botanical aspects, culinary u...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal, gastronomy educator, cook and author Episode 66 This episode presents some reflections about the impact of 10 years since Mexican cuisine was inscribed into UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage. I offer a balance of this remarkable event and explore the origin, purpose and uses of food to generate cultural development. The second part of the episode is packed...

Presented by: Rocio Carvajal, gastronomy educator, cook and author Episode 65 Mely Martinez is a household name in the food blogging world, she is the founder of “Mexico in My Kitchen” one of the most loved and trusted references of traditional Mexican food on the internet. Mely returns to the show after three years to celebrate the publication of her debut cookbook: “The Mexican Home Kitchen: Tra...