ED
FOOD ORIGINS
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SPRING 2017
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W HE T S TONE M A G A Z I N E
CO N T R I B U TO R S
Peggy Markel For 25 years, Peggy Markel has been taking people on culinary adventures around the world to discover the soulful roots of food and culture mostly in Italy, Morocco, Spain and India. You can find
FOUNDER
Stephen Satterf ield
her at peggymarkel.com
Victoria Bouloubasis Victoria Bouloubasis is a journalist, documentary filmmaker and
EDITOR
Heleene Tambet
PHOTOGRAPHY
Au n d re L ar row, Beve l D avi d Brow n M olly D e C o ud re aux Pe t e r E ve r so l l Pe tr u s M al h e r be Il an a S t o n e S tep h e n S m i t h A le x an d r a L am p e r t S te p he n S at t e r f i e l d
folklorist based in the South. She explores the intersections of food, migration, labor and identity. More at: victoriabouloubasis. com, @thisfeedsme
Ilana Sharlin Stone Ilana Sharlin Stone is an American freelance writer and former chef who has lived in Cape Town, South Africa since 1994. She writes about food and drink people, culture and origins for US and South African publications and for her blog, www.findingumami.capetown. Follow Ilana on Facebook: Finding Umami in Cape Town, and Instagram: @findingumami_capetown
Alexandra Lampert Alexandra Lampert is a cook, writer, and cookbook editor with an MA in Food Studies from NYU. She currently serves as the pastry
I L L U S T R AT I O N S
D a n Br an sf i e l d Tim A n d e r so n RS W h i p p l e
chef at Kimball House in Decatur, GA.
Stephen Satterfield Stephen Satterfield is an Oakland-based food writer, speaker and multimedia producer with an extensive hospitality background, including more than a decade as a sommelier. He is a former man-
DESIGN
Rob Phillips
CO N TAC T
P : + 1 4 04 - 5 09- 2 864 E : wh e ts ton e m ag az i n e @g m ai l . c o m W : wh e tst o n e m agaz i n e . c o m
ager at San Francisco’s Nopa Restaurant, where he co-founded Nopalize, a multimedia chronicle of the Bay Area’s local food culture that was the predecessor to this publication. @isawstephen
Heleene Tambet Native to Estonia, Heleene Tambet currently lives and writes from San Francisco where she is doing her graduate studies. She is a tireless and passionate student of global crop diversity, preservation and the creation of linkages that allow small-scale food production to remain sustainable.
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INTRODUCTION Not that I seek them out, but when I encounter stories of people who have risen to great heights in business or art, I always pay attention to the bios. Since I generally have a short attention span, I sometimes surprise myself with how these stories - with their predictable arcs - vie for my attention at all. They’re basically all the same. Someone had an idea. They kept working on it, it seemed like that idea would never come to pass, but then it did. Lots of success ensued. I don’t think the release of this magazine is the makings of a media dynasty, but it does have that familiar sequence of person + idea + struggle = triumph. It’s been a long time coming. But perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that those stories of “beginnings” made such an impression on me. I am, after all, obsessed with stories of origin. I adhere firmly to the belief that it is impossible to understand something without understanding where it came from. This guiding belief is what led to the formation of this magazine. The more I wrote about food, the more agitated I became that these essential connecting threads of origin, were missing from conversations about dishes, regions, and cooking techniques. I’ve been lucky enough to travel around the world documenting these alluring culinary allegories, all while working with phenomenally talented creatives. I have been unspeakably grateful for the experiences and communities I’ve encountered along the way. Sharing these stories feels not just like a natural conclusion, rather a sacred obligation. The name Whetstone is a metaphorical ode to the stone that sharpens the chef’s knife. The imagery came to me as a counterpoint to the incessant coverage of chefs in food magazines. Lost in the fetishization of the final dish, is that beautiful, meditative ritual that greets each chef at each day before their work begins. Whetstone is about that first step. It is about understanding the indispensable value of knowing the entire story. From Oaxaca, the culinary capital of Mexico, to the Western Cape, the culinary capital of South Africa, Whetstone 001 is a global exploration of local food culture and origins. We hope you enjoy.
— Stephen Satterfield
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WHET S TONE PHOTOGRAPHER
David Brown
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Guadalupe Nos Cuenta CONTRIBUTOR
Victoria Bouloubasis PHOTOGRAPHER
Peter Eversoll
Victoria Bouloubasis is a journalist, docu-
G
uadalupe toasts peanuts, ses-
round head hits as high as Pete’s
ame seeds and pepitas in her
hip, which provides a sturdy base
home in eastern North Carolina on
for Pete to rest the hefty Canon
a summer Sunday afternoon. It’s
DSLR camera he’s been holding.
hot out, the way it always is in July in the South, when the mosquitos get
“Take a picture, man,” Pete says,
tangled up in the humid, stagnant
kneeling to meet Wilbur’s eye lev-
air before they reach your skin.
el and to show him how to cradle the camera in his pudgy hands.
mentary filmmaker and folklorist based in
In the trailer, the makeshift cur-
the South. She explores the intersections of
tains are drawn, keeping it dark
Wilbur grips the Canon with both
food, migration, labor and identity.
and cool enough for Guadalupe, in
hands, his finger barely reaching
a Lycra tank dress, to toil over a rich
the shutter. The smudgy lenses
mole for her guests, my friend Pe-
of his glasses poke the view-
ter and me. Guadalupe’s kitchen is
finder as he peers through a tiny,
modest. The limited décor includes
morphed rectangle to watch his
monsters drawn in crayon, by her
mother flip tortillas on the stove.
eight-year-old son Wilbur, all over
He bobs his head from side-to-
the walls and above the stove, and
side with the camera pressed
a photograph of her parents in a
firmly against his face, becom-
dusty frame on top of the refrigera-
ing comfortable with the view.
More at: victoriabouloubasis.com, @thisfeedsme
tor. She brings it down to show it to me; her father had died a cou-
Pete visits Guadalupe and her two
ple of weeks before. She has no le-
young sons at least monthly as
gal permission to travel, to mourn
an employee of North Carolina’s
at home. She is, in a sense, stuck.
migrant education program. His job is to ensure the boys, children
With a long, definitive swoop of
of a migrant worker, are getting
a pencil, Wilbur finishes the last
what they need from school. To-
problem set of his math home-
day he arrives with a bag filled
work at the kitchen table and
with notebooks, pencils and eras-
scurries out of his seat. He stands
ers, stories, and lastly, a carton
up next to Pete, who is nearly six
of Neapolitan ice cream — our
and a half feet tall. Wilbur is eight
contribution to Sunday supper.
years old, with a big belly and a shy smile. The spiky hair atop his
Guadalupe
chats
with
me
as
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she toasts her mole ingredients. Wilbur waits,
are undocumented, mistreated and underpaid, in-
as if he’s waiting for just the right light. He looks
cluding reports of injured employees with severed
both professional and miniature behind the lens,
fingers being deported back to Central America.
the camera resting on the curve of his protruding belly. I hear the prolonged click of the camera’s
Guadalupe tells me how her older daughter married
shutter over the sizzle of seeds popping on a pan.
very young, barely out of her teens. In telling me this story, I notice a departure from the way she normally
Wilbur makes straight A’s in math at school. He
speaks Spanish, which is pretty quickly and a bit jum-
speaks better English than Spanish. He also speaks
bled. There’s a rising lilt in inflection in a way that
better Mam than Spanish, the language indig-
perhaps Mam has. But when she speaks of her fam-
enous to his mother’s mountain village in Guate-
ily left behind — of the parents who no longer walk
mala. They’re here because here, there are jobs.
the hills of her village, of the daughters she talks with almost weekly, but hasn’t embraced in over a decade
Guadalupe works the overnight shift at a poul-
— Guadalupe slows down. She looks up, anguished,
try processing plant. She cuts chicken breasts
yet composed. It is a look that needs no words, no
off of the bone, by hand. Hundreds of them,
translation. That maternal gaze riddled with worry.
from 7pm-to-7am. She’s living in this small trailer home with her two boys and two friends.
Wilbur’s laugh snaps her out of it. His glasses and his big belly are pressed against the static of the tel-
In the United States, poultry is a $50 billion indus-
evision screen as he laughs along to an episode of
try. According to Oxfam, workers process chickens,
El Chavo Animado, a cartoon version of the classic
by hand, using the same motions at least 20,000
Mexican comedy series El Chavo del Ocho. At Gua-
times per day. Their research states that “the upper
dalupe’s urging, he gets up to help me clear the ta-
limit on line speed has increased from 70 birds per-
ble of his toys and math notebooks. We all sit and
minute in 1979, to 91 in 1999, to 140 today.” North
eat the decadent beef mole Guadalupe fixed for us
Carolina is ranked #3 in poultry production, with
and talk about fashion and homework and school.
hundreds of thousands of workers. Many of them
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cies and community prejudice. Our food system en-
blushes and smiles a lot, often staring down at his
courages families to cross borders and to work for
high-top sneakers. He has worked unofficially as a mi-
a dream that doesn’t necessarily exist as a reality.
grant farmworker for a couple of years, but is back in North Carolina now with the hopes of staying perma-
What does that mean, then, for our neighbors who
nently. He left his abusive father in Guatemala to be
live this way, but who are always spoken about in
with his mother. He, like his mother, is undocumented.
the context of labor? Why do we label Guadalupe as
He picks tobacco and harvests sweet potatoes. At the
a worker? Perhaps she identifies her worth and val-
time we meet, he’s 14-years-old and in deportation
ue more as an amazing cook, as an avid gardener,
proceedings. He still attends school while he waits
as a mother doing all she can to fight for her chil-
on his case, still trying to learn English — and better
dren’s education and well-being? It’s easy for me,
his Spanish — throughout. He slicks gel in his hair
for any scholar or journalist, to become entranced
every day and continues to make friends, while our
with the rhetoric attached to communities we docu-
government works equally diligently on his expulsion.
ment. But if we don’t check ourselves, we perpetu-
Last I heard, Guadalupe’s diabetes became too much
ate a sort of paternalism. Our society demands a
to bear. Absent health insurance in the States, she
lot from the underserved and underprivileged, that
moved back to Guatemala and took Wilbur with her.
they prove their existence and justify their struggle.
Here in North Carolina, a powerful, thriving, domi-
At the end of our meal, though I am considerably larg-
nant agricultural industry is tightly interwoven with,
er than her, Guadalupe tries to convince me to wear
and hugely dependent on, migrant labor.
Because
one of her traditional Guatemalan dresses. She chang-
we eat, because we consume, and because we are
es her clothes to show me the handmade fabrics so
fed, too many of us are comfortable (or comforted)
delicately woven together in her home village. She re-
in our ignorance about the interconnected realities.
quests a portrait with her two sons in front of the garden outside of their home. The corn stalks tower over
Seasonal, migratory labor to the rural South has be-
the family as they stand up straight in a regal gaze.
come the norm. The hands that feed us are hands
Wilbur grabs his mother’s hand and squeezes it tight-
tied to a cycle of repression and injustice. Support-
ly. The tips of the corn husks catch a breeze and wave
ing that is a variety of societal behaviors. Among
reverently.
them: consumer choices, discriminatory legal poli-
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A shot with...
Stephen Smith T
hat moment between the days, when the moon
sity of conditions in which grapes are grown — from
lingers, and gives way to the sun, these seem-
the aspect, to the soil type, to the direction the vine-
ingly tireless vineyard workers harvest the hillside
yard faces, or the proximity to water — these infi-
Cabernet Sauvignon in the Bear Canyon Vineyard
nite variables are what make every bottle of wine so
on Long Meadow Ranch in Napa Valley, California.
special. Through my time as an assistant winemak-
The crew picks these delicious berries during the
er, viticulture apprentice, and wine and spirits sales
dark hours as it is a bit more comfortable, and the
rep, I realize the more I know about wine, the less I
winery crew can receive the fruit at the beginning
know about wine, which only enhances my love and
of what will be a long day of winemaking. The diver-
curiosity.
Portrait by RS Whipple 12
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The Plight of the Cavendish Banana
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WHETS TO NE CONTRIBUTOR
Heleene Tambet ART
Tim Anderson Dan Bransf ield
W
Native to Estonia, Heleene Tambet currently lives and writes from San Francisco where she is doing her graduate studies. She is a tireless and passionate student of global crop diversity, preservation and the creation of linkages that allow small-scale food production to remain sustainable.
hile the number of breakfast cereals on super-
tains 100 times more vitamin A carotenoids, and Se-
market shelves is an uncountable entity, the
ñorita from Phillipines has found to be many times
singularity of our beloved banana may threaten its
sweeter than the Cavendish. So far, however, none
existence. On the edges of the store, fruit is stacked
of those varieties has sparked a commercial interest.
into a colorful, eye-catching cornucopia, but the contents of those fruit piles indicate the opposite trend.
While genetic diversity sounds like a happy concept, the purchasing habits of Western consumers says oth-
The deadly Panama disease, caused by Fusarium
erwise. We do not want to eat every banana. We hunt
oxysporum, is a soil borne pathogen that erodes
for sweetness, soft texture and long shelf-life. We asso-
the roots and vascular integrity of the plant, and it’s
ciate our bananas with creaminess and dessert. Seeds
destroying banana plantations across the globe.
are unwanted. Although most of us will not claim so
Thousands of hectares have already been wiped
individually, a slight deviation from what is seen as a
out in Philippines, Indonesia, China and Austral-
“regular” fruit results in a dramatic plunge in demand.
ia. Once the pandemic reaches Central America,
The corporate food companies responsible for the
the banana as we know it is in serious trouble.
global import and distribution of bananas reinforce this quandary by limiting options, and consumers,
While it is widely agreed that the fruit is native to
unaware of the environmental catastrophe of mono-
Southeast Asia, where bananas have been culti-
cropping, continue in their unwitting participation.
vated for more than 7,000 years, its single origin is still unresolved (though Papua New Guinea is the
Gros Michel, a sweet, bright yellow cultivar of ba-
most recognized source). After domestication in
nana, was the first one to take over commercial
the Philippines, the fruit quickly dispersed across
production and trade in the beginning of the 20th
the tropics, reached India, Oceania and Australia,
century. Meticulously developed by plant scien-
and arrived in Africa around 1,000 BCE, where it
tists, the variety perfectly fit the preferences of the
was quickly established as an irreplaceable staple.
daily consumer. It was seedless, non-acidic, and traveled well. In Latin America, thousands of hec-
The thirty pounds of bananas that the average Ameri-
tares of biodiverse tropical forests were taken
can annually consumes is all of a single variety. Aston-
down and turned into vast Gros Michel plantations.
ishingly, ninety-nine percent of what reaches the U.S. is a type of banana called Cavendish. It wasn’t until
Gros Michel was also the first one to become a vic-
the dawn of 20th century that banana was dominated
tim of its own success. Uniform genetic composi-
by a single-variety. On the contrary, there have been
tion and singular planting of the crop made it ex-
over a thousand banana species recorded in the wild.
tremely vulnerable to pests or disease. Gros Michel,
In Indonesia, locals love their Pisang Kepok, Kluthuk,
like many other monocrops, was sterile, and could
Susu, and Khabu Banana. In Uganda, it’s Kayinja, Ndi-
only be reproduced by propagation via cloning.
izi, and Nakitembe. Many Polynesian nations have historically relied on Hua Moa and Ele Ele bananas as
When Panama disease emerged in the 1950s, the en-
staple food. The orange Karat from Micronesia con-
tire global banana production was suddenly on the
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verge of disappearance. Panama disease, uncontrolla-
riety was named after one of the richest and
ble with chemical sprays, makes the leaves of a banana
most influential aristocratic families in England.
wilt and crumble, resulting in lack of photosynthesis and protection from the sun. The plant, no longer able
Back in the 19th century, the gardener of the Duke
to produce sugars, is left to die. Plantations of Gros
and Duchess of Devonshire was in constant search
Michel were wiped out across the globe, but fortunate-
of exotic fruits to earn the favor of the British royal
ly, plant scientists and growers were quick to react.
family. In 1830, one of his experiments resulted in a banana plant from the colony of Mauritius being
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In search of a banana resistant to the disease,
planted in the majestic Cavendish family garden. Sev-
they stumbled upon Cavendish. Most banana pro-
eral years later, an exemplar of the plant, then car-
duction takes place in the tropics, but the sto-
rying the name of the family, was taken as a gift to
ry of Cavendish is slightly more exotic. The va-
South Sea Islands, where its global conquers started.
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A map showing the spread of Panama disease as of 2017. It was first found in Thailand and hit the African coast for the first time in 2016. As of today, Central America remains in constant fear of the arrival of the disease.
Though shipping of Cavendish requires more care, and
ment for pests to thrive. Banana producers spend a
its sweetness level does not compare to Gros Michel,
third of their income on controlling these pests. On
its quality was found to be the highest among cultivars
average, chemicals to control worms, weeds and
resistant to Panama disease. The production of Caven-
funguses amounts to approximately one litre of ac-
dish was given a boost, and it quickly took over as a sin-
tive ingredients for every forty pound box of ba-
gle variety of most of the big scale plantations globally.
nanas exported to consumers in the global north.
The global banana industry relies almost entirely on
These are the conditions in which the fungus that
huge farms that exclusively practice monocropping,
caused Panama disease were adapted. A new
growing nothing but bananas, and no more than one
strain of it has emerged, Panama disease TR-4. It
variety. Favorable weather, redundant crops, and
was first found in Thailand, and
year-around food supply makes an ideal environ-
than 10,000 hectares of Cavendish have already
now, after more
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WHETS TO NE been wiped out in Southeast Asia, the outbreak has
While breeding a new variety could be a solution for the
spread to Australia and the Middle East. In 2016,
current problem, it doesn’t do much to alter the cause,
the first case was discovered in Tanzania, Africa. As
the design of the production system. As it stands, we
of now, the heart of banana production for US con-
just have to admit that its storage life, travel tolerance,
sumers — Central America — remains in constant
and compatibility with Chiquita’s color charts make
fear of Panama disease reaching the continent.
Cavendish irreplaceable in the current food system.
Among the limited ways to control the disease, con-
Nature might have 1,000 different bananas, but we
tainment and quarantine are perhaps the most
have not been able to use this diversity for our ben-
straightforward. But at the end of the day, Pana-
efit. Until our demands of what we are presented
ma disease is just a fungus living in soil. Who can
shifts, this will continue to be the case. If the world
guarantee that a well-intentioned traveller, com-
actually utilized the thousand nutritious, unique varie-
ing from the Philippines to an American port, isn’t
ties of banana, we’d spare scientists across the planet
carrying a bit of soil on the bottoms of their shoes?
working tirelessly to find us a solution — if they still can.
Even still, the most widely praised plan on table is the same as the old — simply find a new, resistant banana. Essentially we have two options. The first is the same way we’ve been building “resistance” in banana plants, by picking the varieties with preferred characteristics, and use them to breed new, stronger cultivars. This is something agronomists have always done, crisis or not. The process, however, takes many years. The second path — the faster and more modern one — is decoding banana genes. Often stigmatized for its environmental uncertainty, genetic engineering could be used to grow resistance in bananas with genetic material from other fruits or vegetables. Regardless of which option we choose, the inconvenient truth is that a global food system means people from all over the world are impacted by the potential demise of the banana. After all, 85% of the world’s banana production is used for local consumption in tropical regions. Americans might consume 30 pounds of bananas per year, but Ugandans, for instance, consume 550 pounds. All African nations considered, the livelihoods of more 100 million small-scale farmers would be affected if bananas were to go extinct. Those small-scale farmers also have a third solution to offer. Bananas for home-consumption are grown in a mixed system, along with cacao, avocado, mango, corn or citrus. These production systems rely on fewer (if any) pesticides, and have shown more resilience to a changing climate — a rather burning issue for tropical growing regions in coming decades.
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Growing Wild Food in a South African Township CONTRIBUTOR
Ilana Stone PHOTOGRAPHER
Petrus Malherbe
U
nlike most white people in Cape Town, wild food
ban garden Moya we Khaya. We’re miles from Cape
advocate Loubie Rusch regularly drives the sand
Town’s colonial-era oaks and plein trees, and the
swept streets of Khayelitsha, the vast township on the
wealth of biodiverse plant life on Table Mountain.
city’s crime-ridden Cape Flats. She does it without fear. With Rusch at the wheel, we drive into Khayelitsha’s
Fynbos, or ‘fine bush’, is the colorful plant life that
Section A, passing corrugated tin and wood shacks oc-
most equate with the Cape Floral Kingdom, one of
cupied by families, hair salons and butchers. We’re just
the richest regions in the world for flora, yet, the
a few minutes from the coastline, yet I’m struggling
Cape Flats, with its ecologically sensitive sand dunes
to marry her claim that “we live in a bloody gastro-
areas (and poverty), also belongs to this Kingdom.
nomic landscape” with the immediate surroundings.
Here in Khayelitsha, where most see only weeds and sandy, infertile soil, Rusch sees a budding local
Rusch is a landscape designer and gifted networker turned activist. Our destination:
Food Garden, her pilot project at community ur-
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economy, on a landscape that was once well foraged.
The Cape Wild “The Cape Flats as terroir is both a new notion for us as
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foodies, as well as being as old as the hills”, Rusch says.
quiet on this cooperative farm, where a few farmers
“In modern terms we might well be stretching the con-
tend their plots and the calls of wild birds called dik-
ventional understanding of soil as terroir by suggest-
kop reverberate, as they protect their nearby eggs. Be-
ing the local sand as an example, but for foragers of old
hind neat rows of spinach, broad beans, lettuces and
they would have known precisely what juicy and fla-
other spring crops, is the Cape Wild Food Garden. In
vorful delicacies they would find there after the rains!”
contrast, its plants look much like weeds and shrubbery, but they are part of a controlled experiment to
We turn down Qandani Street, where homes are mod-
gauge the viability of cultivating indigenous plants.
est but permanent structures. A neighbor winks at us as we pull into Moya, next to Manyanani Peace
Rusch’s desire is to see wild foods brought into the
Park, Khayelitsha’s first community managed park.
Cape’s economy. She has a hand in wild food projects in vastly different landscapes of the Western
The sudden sight of emerald plots of vegetables spar-
Cape: from urban gardens to a coastal private na-
kling with irrigation droplets makes me blink twice. It’s
ture reserve to a project in the Cederberg moun-
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WHETS TO NE tains, working jointly with conservationists and
lar to another garden crop, kinkelbossie. Veldkool is a
archaeologists. She believes “that if we eat our bio-
plant whose young buds make a substantial vegetable
diversity it will help to protect our biodiversity.”
that can be cooked in many ways. Decades ago, culinary scholar Louis Leipoldt wrote about its potential as a
Here at Moya, she’s growing “resilient crops that be-
commercial crop, which remains untapped. Like sand-
long to this place.” She had the opportunity to estab-
kool, it produces asparagus-like buds with an earthy
lish this garden in the nearby Winelands, but Moya —
flavor that marry well with wild sage or rosemary.
an established farm already supplying restaurants and hotels as well as the community, and a frequent stop
There is sout slaai, which Rusch says is great in a
for township visitors — “felt right.” She is the only non-
green gazpacho, salsa or tempura, and dune cel-
community member to be farming here. Funding from
ery, also known as sea parsley, with a bold fla-
the Sustainability Institute will carry her through this
vour that does well in soups, stews or pickles.
initial growing phase, but she will need more for nutritional testing of the plants, an expensive process. Eight
These plants and their tastes will need acceptance,
plants have been selected for the “terroir.” They also
but Rusch, who is closely involved with the Slow Food
have what Rusch considers the most accessible flavors.
Youth Movement in South Africa, is an ardent believer in young people and their ability to just “get up and do
There is demand for “foraged” foods in Cape
things, as well as try new things.” It’s clear that com-
Town’s flourishing foodie scene, with high profile
mercialization of these plants could contribute towards
chefs among the biggest potential buyers, but key
creating more sustainable South African communities.
to the garden’s success is creating both sustainable crops and what Rusch calls a circular economy,
“I really hope that ordinary people like you and me will
which also connects with community members.
one day be dropping a bunch of locally grown wild vegetables into our shopping bags to serve to our family at
But while these plants were once eaten by Western
dinner,” she says. “It really isn’t too farfetched an idea, I
Cape ancestors, today’s Khayelitsha residents, who
don’t think. The climate for this kind of shift in habits is
mostly have Eastern Cape roots, are unaware of
right.”
them as food sources. The project will need to incorporate talks and cooking demonstrations within the community. It will take work to create a taste for the largely sour and salty flavors of these plants in an area where meat, sugar and fried food are prized.
Ilana Sharlin Stone is an American freelance writer and former chef who has lived in Cape Town, South Africa since 1994. She writes about food and drink people, culture and origins for US
In the garden, rows of wild plants are subjected to variables: composted,
irrigated, and
unirrigated,
combinations
composted, thereof.
un-
Around
www.f indingumami.capetown. Follow Ilana on Facebook:
them is a U-shape planted with a few other plants
Finding Umami in Cape Town, and Instagram:
with potential like spekboom, (a succulent ever-
@f indingumami_capetown
green shrub with juicy, sour leaves) sour figs and num num, a tangy fruit whose flavor reminds me of cranberries. All will remain unharvested this year to track their growth and the spread of their seed. Dune spinach is a favorite of Rusch’s, and one you see growing rampantly along the nearby coastline. Its leaves and soft stems can be used like spinach, in salads or stir-fried, or fermented and pickled, and is simi-
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and South African publications and for her blog,
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M A IZE M I G R AT I O N S CONTRIBUTOR
Stephen Satterf ield PHOTOGRAPHERS
Stephen Satterf ield & Stephen Smith
Stephen Satterf ield is an Oakland-based food writer, speaker and multimedia producer with an extensive hospitality background, including more than a decade as a sommelier. He is a former manager at San Francisco’s Nopa Restaurant, where he co-founded Nopalize, a multimedia chronicle of the Bay Area’s local food culture that was the predecessor to this publication. @isawstephen
M
24
y fascination with Mexican gastronomy can
of the two-thousands, with an ever-changing Caliter-
be attributed to Nopalito Restaurant. To be
ranean menu using very local and very seasonal ingre-
more precise, it can be attributed to Gonzalo Guz-
dients. It was also my place of employment from 2010-
man and Jose Ramos, the muses for the restaurant’s
2015. Just before I arrived, the two aforementioned
opening. For a publication dedicated to origin stories,
Mexican cooks, were preparing such extraordinary
Nopalito’s is worth sharing. It began at its sister res-
“family-meals” (restaurant speak for staff dinners),
taurant, Nopa, an exemplar San Francisco restaurant
that they’d sufficiently convinced the ownership that
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their skills warranted their own dedicated playground.
the case at Nopalito too. But nothing could’ve prepared me for the heaping lumps of sweet West Coast
I don’t think I’ll ever quite get over the fact that I missed
crab that floated on a heady and transcendental to-
out on these formative staff meals, but I did my best
mato broth. It was one of the most impactful dishes
to amend things by eating at Nopalito as regularly as
I’d ever eaten. It still is. I had to know more. The dish,
possible. It remains one of my favorite places to dine
it turns out, was from Vera Cruz — just like Gonzalo.
in the Bay Area. I always enjoyed the food there, but one day, I distinctly recall having a dish unlike any
I felt foolish. I knew Mexican food could be profound.
other I’d had. It was the Arroz a la tumbada, a tomato-
I was hip to Diana Kennedy cookbooks and all, but
based seafood stew. It was crab season in San Fran-
I’d never actually tasted that profundity. From then
cisco, and restaurants everywhere effusively reflected
on, I started following Gonzalo and Ramos. I don’t
the bounty of the beloved Dungeness crab. That was
mean like on social media, either. I mean, I literally
25
WHETS TO NE started following them around the kitchen at No-
variety of questioning about the quality of the worms
palito, watching them turn chiles into salsas, maize
at the bottom of the bottle. Of course, mezcal is none
into masa and masa into the world’s best dumplings,
of that. What it is, is a perfect spirit: pure, complex
also known as, tamales. There was a particularly res-
and easily enjoyable on its own. You can read more
onant version with puréed sweet potatoes, and per-
about its origins in the final story of this publication.
haps some butternut squash, melding seamlessly into a thick masa dough. It was then wrapped in banana
I’m using that mezcal interlude for two reasons.
leaves and steamed. Like the Arroz a la tumbada,
The first is that my first career was as a sommelier,
these dishes helped me understand that Mexican cui-
a wine professional. But to say that I was a profes-
sine warranted my full attention. I happily obliged.
sional drinker would be equally accurate. So even in retirement, it’s a cause I’ve remained committed to.
In the fall of 2015, I made my exploratory visit to
The second reason is that, for sommeliers, the way we
the country. The week before Dia de los Muer-
are taught to think about wine is organized around
tos, I arrived in the state of Oaxaca, the culinary
principles of terroir, a French concept that contends
capital of Mexico. It was meant to be an observa-
that the character of an agricultural product is the
tional period, but also, to formalize the first edi-
sum of its (physical) place in the world. It considers
tion of this magazine. It wasn’t just the “cuisine”
climate, altitude, soil and just about every other en-
that I was there for. I’d also come to drink mezcal.
vironmental concern in the assessment. Notably, it’s not just a concept; it’s also done in the name of law.
A quick word on mezcal. If it’s not on the radar, I’ve no-
There is a government entity, that, at least in theory,
ticed that when someone hears — mezcal — the sub-
protects the value of the place, but not the proprietor.
sequent conversation deviates into commentary about
26
hallucinogens. Sometimes people understand that it
I am relating this because, as a beverage professional,
is in fact a distilled spirit. However, that still doesn’t
it was entirely predictable that deep encounters with
preclude the conversation from devolving into some
Mexican food history would also include a detour
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down mezcal alley. So that’s what this first trip ended
was in Mexico, that really sunk in. Then I heard the
up being about. The thing is, once you get to Mexico,
even more universal saying, that drives home the point
it’s immediately clear that while it is possible to drink
even more emphatically, sin maíz no hay país. “With-
mezcal with each meal, eating corn for each meal is
out corn, there is no country.” It’s a powerful idea,
certain. It’s really that simple. From October 2015 until
and not least of all, because it’s entirely true. From
this moment, I’ve not stopped thinking about maize.
ornate cave hieroglyphics, to fanciful pottery, public art, and first-hand accounts of the priests and nobility
Evidence from the valleys of Oaxaca, and in particu-
accompanying Columbus on his colonizing voyages,
lar the Tlacolula, have led archeologists to conclude
the story of maize has been chronicled throughout.
that human settlement in Oaxaca dates back to 10,000
These stories capture the nuance and rapid evolution
BCE. In the cave, Guila Naquitz (the preferred shelter
of the foodways before and after the conquistadors.
of these early populations), walnuts, acorns, beans, prickly pear and avocado were all accounted for. So too
Maize (or corn by another name) is a cereal plant in
were the requisite carving tools to access the food. Also
the Gramineae family of grasses. Though it is one
found was the pollen from teosinte, a wild grass widely
of the most studied crops on earth, its origin is still
thought to be the ancestral genetic precursor to maize.
subject to debate. What is certain is that it was cultivated over many millennia, the result of both a
28
I recall Enrique Olvera, likely Mexico’s most famous
natural proclivity for thriving wild populations mixed
chef, once remarking, “Without a good tortilla, you
with the heavy-handed encounters
can’t have a good restaurant. It’s everything.” Once I
tivation. To what degree nature and humans played
of human cul-
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a role in this diffusion seems to be the point of
BCE. But again, whether it was the physical movement
greatest contention, but it is an inherently adaptive
of people or diffusion of seeds along trade networks
grain that was equally susceptible to manipulation.
is unclear. Temperate maize spread further north and east across North America, while tropical maize spread
Unlike other grains such as rice, buckwheat or mil-
south. The temperate-tropical division endures among
let, the genetic lineage of maize is unclear — there
races today. Those differences are mostly character-
are no definitive parents. In their place are compet-
ized by disease susceptibility and photosensitivity.
ing or adjoining stories about its origin. From the 10,000 year old corncobs in the caves of Oaxaca to
In the early phases of the 17th-century, maize had
the shift from hunter-gatherer populations to more
already made the rounds to Africa, China, India and
stable agrarian ones was a process many genera-
beyond. In Europe, its rapid development left many
tions in the making, Maize spread to Central America,
ambivalent about its value. Wheat was more common
along the eastern Andes, to South America and be-
and thought to be a healthier substitute. It became
yond. Movement among Guatemalans is attributed
the food of the peasants, and in Northern Italy in par-
as the source of this diffusion into Peru, where the
ticular, the corn porridge, polenta, would become one
earliest evidence of maize goes back 8,000 years.
of the dishes most closely associated with the region.
In the U.S., it spread north and northeastward from
A flourishing global population of maize meant the
its native tropical lands. There are radiocarbon dates
same for humans. On a more coarse note, the ease
that establish maize in the southwest as early as 4,300
with which it was propagated enabled the proliferation
29
WHETS TO NE of slavery. Sub-Saharan Africans destined for Europe,
(As a side note, after the Nopalito tamal experience,
the Middle East and the Americas would not have been
I find the origins of this latter tradition easy to grasp.)
economically viable without maize. For the enslaved and animals alike, it was simply seen as the cheapest
The process for preparing the corn has also funda-
available feed to keep the living stock alive. From the
mentally remained the same. During nixtamaliza-
tiny steamed rice balls in the Ghanaian festival dish,
tion, fully mature kernels were boiled in an alkaline
Kpokpoi ( “shame on hunger”) to the cornbread of the
solution, usually from burned and ground limestone
United States South, the influence of maize on the
or ash. The metate, a flat grinding stone, was then
Motherland has been vital in the economic and cul-
used to grind the corn into what would eventually be-
tural development of the continent and its diaspora.
come the dough, or masa, that was flattened into a tortilla, then cooked on the comal, a ceramic griddle.
Three-hundred
years
before
Columbus,
maize
was growing in upstate New York and throughout
This process, nixtamalization (phonetically, nix-ta-ma-
New England. In the South, the Southern Dent vari-
lization), not only made corn easier to work with by
ety was also evolving. The arrival of the Spaniards
softening its kernels, but also bolstered the grain’s
meant new varieties. By the 1800’s, the crossing of
nutritional value. Commonly served with beans, the
the Northern Flint (variety) with the Southern Dent,
ubiquitous tortilla now constituted a staple meal
helped shape the indispensable food crop of today.
with a complete nutritional package. It is hard to imagine that the diets from so many thousands of
The diversity of indigenous varieties have led some sci-
years ago could so closely resemble that of today.
entists to theorize that multiple, independent origins
But that is precisely the case. The tortilla endures as
of maize may have been possible. In the fall of 2016,
a vessel for beans and salsa as it has for millennia.
I went to Texcoco, a town just north of Mexico City to learn about these races, their origins and their diffu-
Corn’s adaptability and vigor have made it the most
sion over time. I was fortunate enough to be shepherd-
important crop in the world. Today it’s grown for
ed by Martha Wilcox of The International Maize and
food, but, for the most part, that feed is grown
Wheat Improvement Center (or CIMMYT as it’s called,
for
sounding more like, “cement.”) At her core, Martha is a
ogy and corresponding industrial agriculture have
preservationist. She works directly with farmers, pro-
radically changed corn and our relationship to it.
livestock
and
not
human
beings.
Technol-
tecting and promoting indigenous varieties of maize. The nutritional staple of the Americas has metamorShe kindly instructed me on the respective proper-
phosed into crop fuel and animal feed. These days, it
ties of a few dozen varieties. The most penetrating
seems beef and pork (livestock from post-Columbian
lesson of the day, and likely the trip, was that cent-
contact) are now the new staple crop. The same can
ers of origin are also the places that contain the
be said of the staggering omnipresence of corn syr-
greatest diversity among a given species. Whether
up. If your food has been unwrapped before it’s been
the Pacific coast highlands of the states of Micho-
eaten, that pretty much assures that you’re consum-
acán and Guerrero or the valleys below, their biodi-
ing hyper-processed corn. That also goes for baked
versity screams loudly, this is the home of maize!
goods (cornstarch), automotive fuels (ethanol) and even our beloved staple beverage of the American
As rice is to Asia and wheat is to Europe, maize is to
South, bourbon whiskey. There is also the somber
Mesoamerica. Remarkably, it’s been a staple crop
loss of culture, in which urbanization and processed
for 10,000 years. Its presence is felt in gastronomy,
foods from the U.S. have made it more likely that, on
but also, in religion and society, where, for instance,
a daily basis, many Mexicans are more likely to con-
at the birth of child, the umbilical cord was cut over
sume corn from a soft drink than a tamale. Native, lan-
a maize cob. On the other hand, a piece of maize
drace corn and its accompanying traditions are at risk.
dough is inserted into the mouth of the deceased.
30
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Genetically modified corn continues to erode the in-
ing to order them at their world-class restaurants.
tegrity of the crop and the soil. It’s hard to imagine just how much more humans can manipulate maize,
From impassioned restaurateurs, to the work of pres-
but after 10,000 years of meddling and mutation, con-
ervationists like Martha and like her colleague, Fla-
tinuance seems inevitable. What should not be taken
vio Aragon Cuevas, (milpa expert and prolific saver
as inevitable however, is the implicit role of corn in
of Oaxacan seeds), the potential for terroir-focused
the escalating crisis of global climate change. Methane
maize to upend corporatized corn is immense and ex-
emitted from livestock and, to a lesser degree, fuel-re-
citing. Even more compelling is the potential for chefs
liant distribution systems, are all complicit in this dra-
all over the world to incorporate the varieties of corn
matic shift. There is also the degradation of healthy
that have inevitably adapted to their region. There’s
soil from monocropping and chemical supplements.
the potential for an entirely new vocabulary of flavors. Maize has been generous with us. It is responsive and
What
we
natives
communicative. We don’t have to listen hard to know
grains and grasses help promote healthy soil.
what it wants. Our stewardship of this ancient, mythical
Chefs
grain should be commensurate with all that it’s given
like
also the
know
is
that
aforementioned
restoring Enrique
Olvera
help sustain landrace corn by simply continu-
us.
31
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A shot with...
Monica Semergiu I
recently got a tattoo on my arm of the word “rewild-
The land of Oz has been worked communally since the
ing.” It has two meanings in the dictionary; one re-
back to the land movement of the 1970s. It has also
fers to reintroducing extinct species in a habitat (e.g.
been completely off the grid since then. In the early
wolves in Yellowstone). The other refers to humans
90s an organic apple orchard was planted, containing
living more connected to the natural world, and giv-
some rare varieties of apples that are not grown com-
ing up some of the comforts of modern life as a way
mercially. They now have 50 heirloom varieties pruned
to make life more sustainable. I got the tattoo as a
in french espalier style. Oz Farm apples can be pur-
reminder to myself of the latter meaning, how I want
chased at various small grocery stores, such as Bi-Rite.
it to shape my decisions in the type of life I lead, the type of consumer I am, and the type of work I do.
Today, Oz Farm focuses educating farmers, providing organic produce to the local community, and offering
In this spirit, one of my favorite projects to pho-
guests the opportunity to unplug in a completely off-
tograph last year was a sustainable farming work-
the-grid environment. Through their workshops, they
shop organized by Hipcamp (a company that helps
are trying to engage the public through immersive
people book campsites on private land) at Oz Farm
education in sustainable food systems and holistic life
on the Mendocino coast. It consisted of a work-
practices. They are the living embodiment of a counter
shop in beekeeping, another one on apple press-
culture solution to the Earth’s greatest obstacles with
ing and cider making, and a third one on soil
the intention of creating ripples of discord in the status
and proper digging techniques before planting.
quo.
Portrait by RS Whipple 32
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33
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CONTRIBUTOR
Peggy Markel PHOTOGRAPHER
Stephen Smith
34
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Medinas, Markets and Marrakech For 25 years, Peggy Markel has been taking people on culinary adventures around the world to discover the soulful roots of food and culture mostly in Italy, Morocco, Spain and India. You can f ind her at peggymarkel.com
A
n old wooden cart being pulled by a donkey is filled with yellow melons. It dips through an arched gateway deep in the narrow streets of Marrakech. The old man in the wide-brimmed straw hat holds the ropes in his hands knowingly. He may know where he’s going, but I don’t. My curiosity piqued. Maybe he’s headed to the market? I keep walking trying to make a note of where I am. Take a left at the olive market next to the mint stall. Remember the spice shop. The one with the chameleons is your landmark! Following a map in the medina is impossible. Besides,
who wants to look so conspicuous? Walking in the medina (old city) is mesmerizing. Once inside, life as it was 1,000 years ago unfolds before my eyes. I can hardly walk without dodging a food cart of some sort: there’s a pushcart of sesame nougat, a cart of brilliantly-colored green grapes, a traveling pot of salty lupini beans steeped in broth that you eat from a paper cone… Cart dodging, one soon learns, is an art. As I continue on, a man pops out of a dried fruit stall offering a taste of many varieties of dates.
35
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Conquered over the years by various dynasties, Mar-
charmers
and
monkeys
also
vie
for
attention.
rakech endures as a place of many influences — especially its food. After all these centuries, Marrakech
In the evening, smoke billows strong and high from
maintains flashes of exotica grounded in the indig-
the more than 60 stalls that serve everything from
enous Berber culture. Family, food and hospitality
cumin-dipped boiled eggs to goat head stew. A hand-
are intricately woven into everyday life and it shows.
ful of stalls are selling bowls of snails steeped in a broth of Ras el hanout (a North African spice mix).
36
Out on the big square, the Place Jemaa el-Fnaa,
Using a toothpick, I pick the snails out of their spiral
large-wheeled wagons piled high with oranges line
shells like I’m fishing for a compliment. In this case,
up next to each other. Passersbys are offered fresh-
the compliment goes to the master blender who found
ly squeezed orange juice, while colorfully adorned,
just the right spice mixture to compliment the earthy,
swinging acrobats, costumed water bearers, snake
delicate little land mollusks. It’s lively and cheap.
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At dusk, people gather, practically in the dark, to lis-
whole city is a bustling, living bazaar by day and night.
ten to storytellers tell their tales with only a flashlight to their faces. Some are locals, others have
The marketplace lifts our spirits and begs us to relate.
come from the mountains. The square draws from
It’s a visceral, not just intellectual, way to understand
all directions. They’ve all come to hear their fa-
a new place. Books help us navigate a new culture,
vorite old stories. The music escalates and eyes
but there is nothing more enlivening than first hand
widen. Undoubtedly this is why UNESCO ( United
sensory experience. I am reminded of the Rumi poem,
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organi-
“there are a million ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”
zation) calls Place Jemaa el-Fnaa a masterpiece of
I love taking people from the markets to kitchens. I’ve
the “Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”.
been doing so for more than twenty-five years. I al-
Walking around that first day, I realize that there is
ways find that the best stories are ones told by the
not only one market, but there are many markets. The
hands. Today we’re watching Bahija fluff the couscous
37
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38
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39
WHETS TO NE and Omar rub just-toasted saffron between his palms.
I’m drawn to experiences that take me elsewhere. I
It will later be sprinkled on a lamb tagine. When it’s
have fallen in love with someone I’ve never met be-
time to take our seats at the table, everyone is now
cause of what I’ve tasted on my plate. A terracotta tag-
more relaxed, having engaged with, or perhaps shared
ine, placed right in front of me, has its conical top lifted
in a laugh with, the cook. We enter the true taste
like a cloche. I close my eyes. The aromatic steam fills
of place. I am again reminded that food is the best
the air. With a pinch of bread, I soak up saffron gravy,
way to get to know a culture and relate to its people.
which melts in my mouth. Licking it from my fingers, I think, now I have a story to tell. It all started with fol-
I design hand-crafted journeys for my guests, drop-
lowing a donkey cart filled with yellow melons in the
ping them into one tantalizing experience after
medina...
another. From the places we stay, to the landscapes and people that we greet, my guests realize that the unfamiliar is not to be feared. I find that desire to scratch the would be itch of “otherness” is unmet. There is no “them.” The deeper we go into this world, the less frightening it becomes.
40
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A shot with...
Molly DeCoudreaux Where was this photo taken? Sakai, Japan. I was shooting for Bernal Cutlery — visiting many of the makers whose knives they carry at the shop. Surely it takes you back. Can you give us a sense of what your sensory experience was at that time? The forge area was dark, hot, and filled with tools for blacksmithing that I have come to be familiar with but at the time had never seen before. It was beautiful, sooty, and looked like very hard work.
What’s your philosophy when you’re shooting? My philosophy when I am shooting is to respond to what’s happening as much as possible. I like to
Portrait by RS Whipple
watch someone’s work for a few minutes, track their motions and try to determine what is the most important and beautiful elements to feature when I’m shooting. I want to honor both the work and workers that I am photographing and learn as much as I can on the job. Nuance and gesture are what I live for photographically, and in general I guess; that and an old pair of hardworking hands. So, shooting with knife makers was pretty heavenly.
What’s your heaven on earth look like? My toes in the sand for 3-5 days after a week’s shoot somewhere warm and interesting.
What surprised you in Japan? Just how different Japan was from the culture of the US continually surprised me. Interpersonal communications, navigating social norms, and just generally fitting my (too long) legs under the table for dinner were all sites of embarrassment/confusion/mild humiliation/awe. I loved Japan and can’t wait to go back.
You’re buying a shot. What is it? Like a shot to drink? A good blanco tequila like Fortaleza or a bourbon, depends on my mood and the weather.
What is the creative process? Same as philosophy I think.
43
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An Award-Winning, Morning Cup of Obsession and Capitalism CONTRIBUTOR
B
ack in 2015, on what would
men, that was reason enough for
have been a bitterly cold, mid-
an invite to the farm in Colombia.
February afternoon in NYC, I found myself standing atop a mountain
Regarding its “rediscovery,” the
on a balmy 75 degree day in west-
story goes that the Gesha plant
ern Colombia. I made it to Cerro
was first found in Gesha, Ethiopia
Azul, a plot of land owned by Café
in 1931. From there, it was tak-
Granja la Esperanza, an award-win-
en to a research center in Costa
ning Colombian coffee farm and
Rica. In 1965, Francisco Serreancín
mountain, named for the patch
brought seeds to his hometown in
of bright blue sky that graces its
Panama and distributed them. The
top. I was visiting with the farm’s
variety (technically a “mutation”),
pastry chef at Kimball House in Decatur,
president, Rigoberto, and their di-
was ignored in favor of more pro-
GA.
rector of sales, Felipe, talking and
ductive Panamanian seeds, and
tasting Gesha, the highly-prized,
nearly forgotten until 2002, when
and trending, coffee varietal grow-
a (different) farm called, La Esmer-
ing densely among the 16 hec-
alda tasted an impressive cup of
tares that stretched out before us.
coffee that they’d grown on their
Alexandra Lampert PHOTOGRAPHER
Alexandra Lampert Alexandra Lampert is a cook, writer, and cookbook editor with an MA in Food Studies from NYU. She currently serves as the
plantation, but was distinct from Gesha has been gaining popular-
their repertoire. They identified
ity since its recent “rediscovery”
the cup’s origin on their grounds,
in 2002, with momentum perhaps
and found the Gesha plant. This
only fettered by its cost. It ain’t
farm happened to be adjacent
cheap, but it is undeniably delicious
to a plot that Rigoberto was leas-
and, as far as complexity in a cup
ing. After tasting the Gesha from
of coffee, it’s unparalleled in this
La Esmeralda, he knew he had to
writer’s experience. Which, is how
try his own hand at growing it.
I came to be the lucky one stand-
44
ing there and not in the desolate
For their endeavor with the crop,
tundra that my beloved city had
Granja la Esperanza made out with
become. I met Felipe a few months
an award for “Best of Panama” in
earlier, when he came up for a pro-
2008 from the Specialty Coffee As-
motional event at Blue Bottle —
sociation of Panama. But, this was
whose pastry kitchen I was manag-
towards the end of their lease on
ing at the time. I was heading south
the Panama plot, and the own-
for a few weeks over the winter,
ers chose not to renew. Granja la
and, for these hospitable gentle-
Esperanza, however, had already
W HET STON E
45
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identified a plot of land in Colombia — this one — that
bia to “taking a caveman from its cave and putting
mimicked the environmental conditions in Panama.
it in the city.” The plant has a tall habitat, with widespread, shallow roots; read: not ideal for growing on
A hot breeze regularly travels up the flank of Cer-
a windy mountainside. And as a stranger in a strange
ro Azul from the town of Trujillo in the valley be-
land, this crop is incredibly demanding, requiring
low. It meets the cold winds from the Pacific on
heavy fertilization and intensive research. Even its ge-
top, creating a cloud cover that quickly crosses the
netics are unstable. Any given Gesha seed can yield
horizon. While this may have been the best pos-
5 different results. Much time is spent determin-
sible locale for growing the crop in Colombia,
ing the ideal yields for flavor profile and working to
their efforts have not been met without difficulty.
clone those plants in a research laboratory. Thus, we can begin to see how the cost of a bag of the stuff
Felipe likens the adaptation from Panama to Colom-
46
outprices the average consumer. So much work goes
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into this pursuit of flavor that the result is only ac-
mountainsides. As we walked, we picked the ripe, red
cessible for coffee-industry nerds or the wealthy. The
fruit to chew on. I took one and pinched it enough to
product is elusive and exclusive; think of it like you
break the skin and smell the interior. There it was, a
would other high-end ingredients like, black truffles.
stunning sweetness that smelled of honey and tropical fruit. We know this aroma through the mangos and
From where I stood, though, I wasn’t able to see all of
papayas and passion fruit we’ve tried. But, it’s much
the challenges they faced. Before me were rolling hills
more prevalent in the local fruits I tried in Colombia: in
of vibrantly green plants, whose fruits grew in thick,
the sweetness after the puckering acidity of lulo, or in a
clustered masses along the plants’ branches, stud-
spoonful of crunchy granadilla seeds (a cousin of pas-
ded with gem-like greens and reds. Thickets of tall
sion fruit), covered in their slippery, translucent flesh.
eucalyptus trees gracefully bent as they blocked the wind that flocked through the ample valleys along the
Fresh off the stem, those beans taste quite different
47
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While it’s easy to see why these passionate pro-
is picked, processed, dried, roasted, and ultimately
ducers would want to create the highest quality
brewed, it grows within a small fruit, sometimes re-
product, it would be naive to assume that buying a
ferred to as a cherry. There’s a thin layer of what’s called
pound of perfectly roasted Gesha for $100 is some-
mucilage between the leathery skin of the cherry and
how directly responsible for saving any person,
the bean itself. In this layer, I could taste white peach
place, or thing. Direct trade can mean a better qual-
and green pepper. The tannins from the skin lingered,
ity of life for laborers of a company working with
tingling on the tip of my tongue. In the cherries of the
pricey premiums. Felipe and Rigoberto assured me
next plant, I tasted what they call a limoncello tree here:
that their workers were compensated better than
a citrus variety whose lumpy, round, yellow fruits are
many other farms. Relative terms aside, a worth-
mostly skin and pith that have no bitterness, but rath-
while Gesha harvest requires educated pickers, and
er a sweet, boozy, lemony taste just like the liqueur.
skill suggests competitive pay and upward mobility.
The flavor profile on these coffees is truly unique.
However, conscious consumerism is not activism; it’s
The Gesha from Cerro Azul is bright, indeed, but bal-
capitalism. We buy products according to our income
anced. It’s a far cry from the familiar nutty and cocoa-
and preferences, choosing which companies earn rev-
driven profile that often introduces people to coffee,
enue from our purchases. If you prefer to spend your
or the more esoteric and prized red fruit and winey
money on coffee that comes directly from a farm with
characteristics that come from natural-processed
quality assurance instead of a company that owns
coffees in this region in Colombia. The fruity sugars
massive warehouses full of old beans of anonymous
and acids of Gesha don’t knock you out, but rather,
origin, that’s your prerogative as a consumer. If you
serve as an amiable precursor, a gateway into the
want to buy one of the most delicious cups of coffee
delicately floral and sweetly herbal notes that are
out there today, then treat yourself to some excep-
what sets this apart from the other coffees you’ve
tional, high-brow Gesha. By all means, drink accord-
tried. Here, too, I find that tropical sweetness that
ing to your principles and wildest desires. But if you
grows throughout this terroir and the myriad citrus.
want to change the world, drink whatever it takes to
I can taste where the obsession for this crop derives.
get you going in the morning and start participating in activism.
48
W HET STON E
49
WHET S TONE
Portrait by RS Whipple 50
WHETS TO NE
A shot with...
Rachael Gorjestani
W
e’ve been here before. It was our first meal off
er’s dream. Light and crunchy with a satisfying slurp.
the plane, but three weeks later we are less ap-
prehensive at the door with a better sense of local eti-
We pay the vending machine, hand the printed ticket
quette. Upon entering, there’s a vending machine with
to a cook, and take a seat. The bowls are assembled
an overwhelming number of buttons, all in Japanese,
and delivered. Five cooks in the kitchen, each man-
some with English subtitles. We were told to go vegan
ning their own station, working together to make
and are coming back for seconds. Farm fresh vegeta-
one bowl of ramen. A line forms at the vending ma-
bles, delivered daily from a town an hour south, in a rich
chine, people trickle in, take a seat, slurp down their
vegetable broth filled with lotus root noodles. There’s
ramen, and leave. There’s something about the way
a sign posted on the wall which describes the dish in
the Japanese inhale ramen, cheeks bulging with noo-
English and I wonder if it’s poking fun at the vegetari-
dles, that seems counter to the culture. I can’t help but
an tourists. If it is, you can’t taste it. It’s a vegetable lov-
smile.
51
WHETS TO NE
A Ghost Ingredient Recrafted Ilana Sharlin Stone is an American freelance writer and former chef who has lived in Cape
CONTRIBUTOR
Town, South Africa since 1994. She writes about food and drink people, culture and origins
Ilana Stone
for US and South African publications and for her blog, www.f indingumami.capetown.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Follow Ilana on Facebook: Finding Umami in Cape Town, and Instagram:
Ilana Stone
@f indingumami_capetown
T
he
treat-
had discovered that Caperitif was a vermouth made in
ment for an Indie movie. South African win-
South Africa by Castle Wine & Brandy Company from
emaker and Danish mixologist team up to revive
1906 until the company disappeared (along with the
a
Prohibition-era
recipe) in the ‘40s or ‘50s, but then he hit a wall. Re-
cocktail recipes. Hilarity and near death ensue.
tha did some local research and approached Adi with
ghost
story
of
Caperitif
ingredient
reads
featured
in
like
a
the idea of working with Lars on an unusual collaboraBut this is not a Hollywood story: it’s a globe-trot-
tion: reviving Caperitif at AA Badenhorst Family Wines.
ting tale of modern-day drink concocting, anchored in South Africa’s Swartland appellation. The con-
At first, Adi thought vermouth was “what old people
coction, Caperitif (Cape Aperitif), is a heady bo-
drink and what chefs put into food, once in awhile.”
tanical-infused, Chenin-based vermouth, born of
He soon discovered there was more to it, and ex-
history,
cited about the prospect of pulling from his region’s
imagination
and
wild
experimentation.
botanical landscape — the Cape Floral Kingdom The two men behind Caperitif are Adi Badenhorst, the
is the smallest and richest of the world’s six floral
ballsy maverick winemaker of AA Badenhorst Fam-
kingdoms — he signed on. While he saw it as a fun
ily Wines and pioneering force behind the Swartland
challenge and sideline, it was as much about creat-
Independent Producers group, and Lars Lyndgaard-
ing a craft vermouth reflective of its place of origin,
Schmidt, a mixologist who honed his craft at Sasha
which is central to his philosophy of winemaking.
Petraske’s iconic New York cocktail bar, Milk & Honey. One of South Africa’s driest appellations, the SwartTheir love child, Caperitif, is a distinctive prod-
land is a place of gnarly bush vines, gutsy win-
uct of origin. “In a world of generic brands cre-
emakers and diverse indigenous plant life. In fact,
ated in boardrooms, Caperitif has gravitas,” says
there are over 1,100 species of wild plants that
Adi. “It captures the essence of this landscape.”
grow
on
the
mountain
behind
Kalmoesfontein,
Adi’s farm in the region’s Paardeberg section. For It all started three years ago at a wedding in South Af-
centuries, locals relied on much of this fynbos (lo-
rica, where Retha Erichson, a friend of Adi’s wife, met
cal
indigenous
shrubbery)
for
their
medicine.
Lars. He’d been researching something called Caperi-
52
tif, a ghost ingredient featured in some 70 recipes in
Lars visited Kalmoesfontein in 2014 and, after his first
early 20th century cocktail books, including the bar-
forage for ingredients in the veldt (fields), was Man
tender’s go-to reference: The Savoy Cocktail Book. Lars
Down for four days: he’d somehow managed to select a
W HET STON E
53
WHET S TONE particularly toxic plant to nibble on. But, this didn’t de-
all, but some ingredients are wild herbs (wild rosemary
ter him and, after recovering, he and Adi began mixing
and thyme amongst others), fruit (tangerines, known
and experimenting, chopping up wild herbs and other
locally as naartjies, grapefruit, oranges, kei apples
botanicals, and adding them to demijohns of a forti-
and sour figs), bitters (quinchona bark, gentian root),
fied base of Chenin Blanc with Muscat de Frontignan.
spices (cinnamon and nutmeg) and dried flowers.
The end-product is infused with 47 botanicals, includ-
“I decided to make Caperitif for these reasons… for
ing local fynbos, citrus and bitters, making it virtually
fun, a tip of the hat to South African history and to
impossible to duplicate elsewhere; that is, if you can
make a bit of cash,” said Adi, which is not easy in the
really call Caperitif an “end product.” At a tasting of
wine business, even for someone of his stature. “You
five batches of Caperitif, made over the past several
gotta lose money in a few places,” he says. Adi may
years, I could taste distinct differences between batch-
be charming, funny and foul-mouthed, but as a win-
es: some were spicier, some more bitter, and some
emaker, he’s spoken about with reverence. His flag-
more balanced. Since, unlike wine, Caperitif can be
ship wines are AA Badenhorst White Blend (Chenin
made any time of year, there will likely be subtle dif-
Blanc, Roussanne, Grenache Blanc and Gris, Verde-
ferences from batch to batch due to the seasonality of
hlo, Colombar, Viognier, Chardonnay, Semillon and
botanicals, which gives the drink an extra dose of au-
others) and Red Blend (Shiraz, Mourvedre, Grenache
thenticity. As winemakers like to “put a vintage on it,”
and Cinsault). His second-tier line is Secateurs.
the nostalgic label on all bottles carries a lot number. It’s easy to see why Kalmoesfontein is Ground Zero for
54
What goes into this drink, which can be poured over ice
innovation in the Swartland. It’s a magical old place with
or mixed in a cocktail? Its producers will never reveal
sweeping views of mountains, vineyards and wheat
WHETS TO NE fields, free-range chickens, a bucolic vegetable garden
It’s unlikely that the original Caperitif had anywhere
and an old farmhouse and cellar that Adi says “looked
near the number of ingredients that are in the new
like a Taliban bomb shelter” when he and his cousin Hein
version. Lars happened to find three bottles of the
bought the farm back in 2008. Above all, it’s suffused
original on auction in London and bought them
with the creative energy of Adi and his wife, Cornelia.
for £36. He presented one to London’s Savoy Bar; the other two came back to South Africa. Whether
Just six months after Caperitif’s launch, Adi cre-
they will ever be opened is another story. Adi feels
ated his own tonic water, called Swaan Cape Tonic.
it’s almost disrespectful to drink other producers’
“We got tired of searching for an affordable, qual-
wines when they’re no longer around to share in
ity craft tonic water, so we made one ourselves,” he
it. This ghost ingredient may simply remain in the
said. Made with fresh local limes, cardamom and
bottle.
mint, Swann is ideal for gin and tonics, and Caperitif.
55
WHETS TO NE
A shot with...
Kerttu Kruusla G
arlic is an irreplaceable, powerful plant. It gives
the same without garlic. It’s almost sacred, I’d say. It is
health. It helps with back problems. I use garlic
central to all the cooking and seasoning, and it always
almost every day, in various forms. When I’ve caught
has been. There is a whole microcosm of older people
a cold, or feel that a disease is taking over, I make my-
sharing online their ways to use garlic that I sometimes
self an especially strong, especially garlicky sandwich
stumble upon. In the summertime, Estonians hold a big
— and feel much better afterwards. There are not
garlic festival — you can taste many of its varieties, dif-
many spices that play so crucial a role in my kitchen,
ferent marinated options, and in all forms of garlic you
and the same applies to most of the people I know.
can potentially think about. All from this one, simple plant.
The culture of Estonia, where I am from, wouldn’t be
56
W HET STON E
Portrait by RS Whipple 57
WHETS TO NE
D E S T I N AT IO N M E Z CA L
O
ne must not work hard to conjure associa-
cans did drink, but getting drunk was a rarity. Con-
tions between Mexico and adult libations. After
sequences for drinking — particularly among the
all, many holiday revelers know very little about the
religious order — were, to say the least, inflexible. Al-
country (or its libations) beyond “all-inclusive” as a
cohol was seen as a catalyst to the destruction of a
prerequisite for lodging. Somehow, even for the non-
civilization, and in some cases, punishable by death.
native speakers, Margarita… cerveza… tequila… just seems to roll off the tongue (and down the throat).
Fifteen hundred years before the introduction of distil-
But drinking culture in Mexico was not always so hos-
lation, Pulque (puhl-kay) was the beverage most deeply
pitable. It has, however, been essential to its history.
embedded in the customs and rituals of Mexico’s indigenous people. Like mezcal and tequila, it is a derivative
58
Tequila is reflexively considered the national bev-
of the maguey plant, a succulent native to Mexico and
erage of Mexico. But it wasn’t until Spaniards colo-
the southwestern U.S., with thick, water-filled leaves.
nized Mexico that distilling spirits, a process learned
The blue agave, from which tequila derives, is also a type
from the Arabs of North Africa, ensued. Mesoameri-
of maguey, but a very specific one called, blue agave.
WHETS TO NE
CONTRIBUTOR
Stephen Satterf ield PHOTOGRAPHER
Stephen Smith
All of these beverages are produced by extract-
vital economic asset.
ing the sugar from the core (piña) of the maguey
tion and barley fields for beer were granted with
plant. The leaves of the plant — prickly and impos-
royal permission and for royal profits. Alcohol
ing — are hacked with a machete until only the mas-
production boomed. In some cases, slaves were
sive, bulbous center remains. The piña is minced and
brought in from Africa to fortify requisite labor.
Vineyards for wine produc-
thrashed, dispensing a sugary liquid that once vatted, naturally encounters ambient wild yeast, begin-
In the eighteenth century, in an effort to promote
ning the fermentation process. The pulque — which,
Spanish products, King Carlos III, outlawed the produc-
again, is not distilled — goes on to drink like a sort
tion of alcohol in Mexico. It was later decided (remem-
of agave beer, but less punchy than one with hops.
bered?) that controlling the production and sale of alcohol was simply too lucrative to concede, effectively
As early as 1524, just five years after the Spanish
bringing to an end the prohibition. The families who
conquest of the Aztecs, Philip II of Spain prohib-
benefited most significantly included names like “Cu-
ited the sale of liquor to natives. Over the centu-
ervo,” and received land grants from King Ferdinand VI
ries of ensuing colonial rule, alcohol, as it has been
of Spain in a town called, Tequila (in the state of Jalisco).
throughout the world’s history, was used to control the labor force and marketplace. Indians were given
Five years from now, tequila is projected to be a $9-bil-
alcohol to stave off fatigue and as a general diver-
lion global industry. This has, as one would imagine, put
sion for otherwise exploitative working conditions.
constraints on the state, and also, made some people very wealthy. Mezcaleros, mezcal distillers, readily dis-
Meanwhile, alcohol production was realized as a
cuss how little in common they have with their industri-
59
WHETS TO NE
al and soulless counterparts. Whereas tequila is about
basis, but to produce mezcal, you may be harvesting
volume, mezcal is small-batch. Blue agave piñas for
a 30-year-old chunk of terroir, and for that, there is
tequila are not roasted underground and stoked with
no next vintage. These high stakes, and precious raw
fires tended by human hands. They are instead, cooked
material, are part of what makes mezcal so special.
uniformly in a factory oven. On the other hand, mez-
Like the pulque was for their ancestors, mezcal has
cal’s growing popularity is increasingly problematic.
become the drink of the village, of ceremonies and commemorative events. It’s hard to articulate the im-
It’s not unusual to hear the continuously expanding
portance of mezcal in the culture of Mexican people.
cadre of mezcal entrepreneurs discuss its distinctive
And this, no doubt, exacerbates the fear that what is
terroir or aromatic complexity, in the way one would
in jeopardy of being lost is more critical than sales.
describe a wine. But mezcal is nothing like wine. A
60
winegrower may have a poor vintage and decide to
The swift onset of this global thirst can be attributed
leave that fruit unharvested. Or, that winegrower may
to Ron Cooper — an acclaimed American artist and im-
also be the multigenerational beneficiary of some ex-
porter of mezcal under the pioneering label, Del Mag-
traordinary fruit, and decide that, instead of letting
uey. Cooper, who first encountered mezcal on a camp-
that fruit do the talking, that they’d like to talk over
ing trip to Oaxaca in the 60’s, continues to be the most
it, with brand-new, heavily-toasted American oak.
important name in the industry, two-decades after he
These variables can be excruciating on a year-to-year
helped create it. His are the slender green bottles with
WHETS TO NE
pastel-colored illustrations depicting Mexican land-
Susan Coss, a friend and founder of the mezcal
scapes. Those bottles are what brought him to mezcal.
trade group, Mezcalistas. At her recommendation, I was convinced that some of the very best stories in
With sculptures showing in the Whitney and the
Oaxaca’s mezcal scene (there are 19 other states
Guggenheim, and coast-to-coast connections in the
where it’s grown) involved the (few) women who
high-end art scene, Ron Cooper was in the rare po-
were working in it. That’s how I met Reyna Sanchez
sition of an artist with time and money on-hand. He
and Graciela Ángeles Carreño, a fourth-generation
decided to embark on an art project in Oaxaca mak-
distiller behind the (very delicious, very success-
ing hand-blown glass bottles — a project culminating
ful) brand, Real Minero in the village of Santa Cata-
with filling those bottles with mezcal from the indig-
rina Minas, about an hour south of Oaxaca City.
enous Zapotec producers known as “palenqueros.” Today, if you’re going to order mezcal at any bar
Her father, Lorenzo Angeles Mendoza, is a former
in the country, they’ll probably have Del Maguey’s
politician and local legend. Even more enthralling
Vida. It’s just as likely that, if there’s just one op-
Graciela’s stories of her great-grandmother ped-
tion, that’ll be the one. And while Del Maguey re-
dling bootleg mezcal on the backs of a donkeys.
mains the undisputed pioneer, he is no longer alone.
Since men were presumed to be the sellers of mezcal, women like Graciela’s great-grandmother were
One of the people creating demand for mezcal is
impeccable foils. She poignantly notes, “A Mexican
61
WHETS TO NE
woman can be a feminist without even knowing it.”
ble village, Reyna Sanchez, a vigorous fiftysomething, lives along with her mother in the mountainous high-
In what is far too unpretentious to be called a “dis-
lands of Miahuatlán. When we arrived, she’s nowhere
tillery”, mezcal is produced in what are known as
to be found. Instead, we are greeted by her mother.
palenques. It is the same name given to the underground pits lined with stones and bricks that
Reyna’s mother is a gem. I never inquired of her age,
give the mezcal its characteristic smokiness. Af-
but she’s probably approaching 80 years old. She has
ter the roasted piñas are removed from the earthly
mostly black pigtails with occasional silver streaks. She
oven, they’re crushed using a stone grinding wheel,
walks with a cane and flat footed shuffle that favors
mechanized or horse-powered (the latter being
her left leg. Like her daughter, her heavily weathered
way more charming and common than you’d think).
brown skin is a beautiful contrast to her brightly colored muumuus. While she doesn’t move quickly, she gets
The mash is sent to open vats where the sug-
a lot done. When we first met, she was toiling over a
ary
pot of black beans cooked over open flames in a rust-
pulp
mentation then
is
mixed
ensues.
distilled
to
with
water
Afterwards, (ideally)
at
and the
least
wild-ferwash
45%
is
ed barrel with metal grates. She was constantly shoo-
ABV.
ing the turkeys, which were being raised in advance of a holiday celebration that was still months away.
Further south, in an even more rural and far more hum-
62
WHETS TO NE
Reyna drinks a lot. One morning, she’s risen earlier
earned, and it’s all hers. There are very few women in
than she has, and instinctively, offers me a taste of
the mezcal industry who can say that, and after meet-
her famous tepeztate, a coveted variety that can
ing Reyna Sanchez, it’s unsurprising that she’s one who
take up to three decades to mature. I move beyond
can.
my innate concern for drinking at this hour, and instead, am left paralyzed with delight. I’ve just had one of the most profound things I’ve ever tasted. We left
Stephen Satterf ield is an Oakland-based food writer, speaker
with a dented, two gallon water bottle filled with mez-
and multimedia producer with an extensive hospitality back-
cal — a customary way to transport it in these parts.
ground, including more than a decade as a sommelier. He is a
On the way home, I think of Reyna (whose name aptly
former manager at San Francisco’s Nopa Restaurant, where he
translates to Queen). Her modest, one-bedroom living
co-founded Nopalize, a multimedia chronicle of the Bay Area’s
quarters, that I don’t recall featuring a door, but it did
local food culture that was the predecessor to this publication.
have those giant plastic drums of mezcal. She has to concern herself with drunks coming in from the night
@isawstephen
to try and steal it from her. Reyna sleeps with protection in ways that supercede our parlance. She has very little, but what she does have, has all been hard-
63
THANK YOU Samantha Crocker. Franklin James Clary, Whetstone
about maize. John T. and Southern Foodways Alliance
Co-Founder, my partner and muse forever. I promise
for letting me share my research. David Alexander,
to make you proud. Allyson, Jeff and Laurence, for the
Tim and Amy for your help with the video. Kate Croft,
many opportunities, and for helping me do the things
Alexandra Brown, Ryen Motzek and Tyler Dorman for
I wanted to do (like start a magazine). To the entire
your formative partnership on the brand and mes-
Nopa family and community, especially the countless
sage. Jarrod Bryan for the logo. Bernal Cutlery for
farmers who gave me so much time and knowledge.
working with us for the very special featured photog-
I am forever indebted. Gonzalo for your time and
raphy. Thank you to each of the contributors for your
patience as I harassed you about videos and recipes.
belief in the project and making it real, especially
Braxton for housing me while on the road. John Wur-
Heleene and Rob. Thanks to the artists Dan Bransfield
deman, the most amazing host ever. Oaxaca peeps:
and RS Whipple. Special thank you to Rebecca Plofker,
Ana, Jorge, Kythzia and Diego and especially Marie
Kim Chou and Amanda Dell for your early advocacy in
and Jess. Susan Coss, Reyna Sanchez, Graciela Ange-
the project. Thanks to all of our Kickstarter support-
les. Kate Barney for so many things. Martha Wilcox,
ers who waited a year for this magazine. Thanks for
Flavio Aragón and Ron Parra for teaching me so much
your patience and support. See you this summer.