Chef Cristina Martinez on Being a Big Fish in a Small Pond at Taos’ Di La Tierra By Mary Farah
S
ome resorts are hard to forget. I’ve been fortunate to stay at several yet none have left the impact that New Mexico’s El Monte Sagrado has. Located in the beautiful artistic ski town of Taos, El Monte Sagrado is the state’s most elaborate resort built to date. From the moment you step onto the grounds, built on sacred land, you know it’s something special. From their various rooms and casitas to cocoon away to and spa treatments and meditation hours, a highlight for me was without a doubt, the fine dining. El Monte Sagrado’s Di La Tierra offers an exquisite menu of classic New Mexican fare that will leave you drooling. Curated by state native, Chef Cristina Martinez, I was thrilled to catch up with her to learn more about the passion that drives her to create works of art on plates. You’re a New Mexico native, studied at Le Cordon Bleu in California, then returned home. What drew you back to your roots? I was very homesick in Los Angeles. There was always something missing food- wise, family, peace. It was not a place for me to grow, for me, it was just a place to learn and get out. An instructor told me when I was thinking of moving back that sometimes it’s better to be a big fish in a small pond. That stuck with me and gave me that little push. New Mexico is known for food you can’t find anywhere else. Does this make your job more exciting than when you’ve worked in other states? To me it means home, recipes and flavors passed down and cherished. What sums up our cuisine here is tradition and its simplicity that comes from all around us with the cultures and the terroir. It’s most certainly a comfortable place
61
Chef Cristina. ©Merriam018
cooking it now; it’s just second nature, that I’m constantly trying to perfect. Did you know from a young age that the culinary arts were your calling? Oh yes, very much so. I would help my mom cook for large groups at home, and people took notice that I was good at cooking. I fell in love with that feeling of pleasing people with food. That is still my number one drive with cooking. Was there a “turning point” in your career? There have been many. I’ve had extremely terrible, hard times, and some really good ones in this industry. What keeps me from burning out is
