Fine dining represents the pinnacle of culinary artistry, offering an experience often characterized by exquisite cuisine, exceptional service, and a refined ambiance. It usually showcases meticulously crafted dishes made with selected ingredients, emphasizing innovation and presentation. It attempts to create an immersive experience where every detail – from the table setting to the wine pairing is carefully curated to delight the senses and elevate the act of dining into an unforgettable event.
Food is also an element in culture, as it helps express community identity, reinforce social bonds and build stronger local, regional and national identities. For those of you who don’t know, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has recognized and seeks to protect Mexican food as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity! Mexico’s cuisine is elaborate and symbol-laden, rich in spices, flavors and processes.
At La Frida, a multi-award-winning restaurant with ocean views, offering haute gourmet Mexican cuisine in Los Cabos, Chef Anaisa Guevara, in charge of the restaurant’s kitchen, has a clear vision on how to navigate the complexities of our national dishes and how to pair them with everything she has learned throughout her professional career.
Born in Tijuana, 32 years ago, this young talent has simmered her way into cooking in a slow, yet potent way.
“I’m not the type of chef who says that since childhood she was curious about cooking or that she learned from her grandmother,” said Anaisa. “My grandmother was an excellent cook; however, she passed away when I was very young.” “By the way, my mother hates cooking,” she laughs. “She was very upset when I made my decision, but she also told me that whatever I decided to do, I had to be the best at it.”
When she first started her cooking career, she acknowledged she didn’t even know how to boil an egg. What she remembers happened, is that every new skill she learned, she started applying immediately.
Shortly after graduating, she went on to work at the three-star Michelin restaurant, Arzak, located in the Basque region of Spain, in the city of San Sebastián; a legendary family-owned dining outpost.
At that point in her life, as a self-proclaimed perfectionist, and with an innate talent, Anaisa was learning fast and growing rapidly yet lacked true inspiration for the trade. Little did she know that her world was about to change. It was precisely here where her true passion was found through the universe of new and exciting dishes she started bumping into hake roe, battered hake kokotxas, foie gras, aguachile carabineros and many other local delicacies that sent her to “ecstasy town”. Anaisa says that what best describes this Aha moment is the movie “Ratatouille”, where the main character, portrayed by a small cartoon rat, combines cheese with strawberries and its little mind just gets blown away.
Although Guevara had been cooking for quite some time, during this period she realized she really wanted to cook for a living. It was the daring, the search for something new, the mixing and matching that awoke her.
While at Arzak, Anaisa cooked for 200 people a day, five days a week. She worked there for four years until she thought it was time for a career change and went to the famous Addison in The Fairmont Grand Del Mar in San Diego; southern California’s first and only three-star Michelin restaurant. Addison celebrates regional ingredients and is renowned for its 10-course tasting menu. Under the tutelage of Chef William Bradley, Guevara perfected many of the French techniques that have been incorporated in several dishes created by the ‘Chef Patron’ of La Frida.
Now on this side of the world, and missing home, after several years in San Diego, Chef Guevara came to Los Cabos and applied for a position at one of Pueblo Bonito’s restaurants, where given her superb resume, she waltzed right in.
“I spent six months getting to know the staff and learning about the DNA of La Frida,” she stated. “I didn’t introduce my first menu until I absorbed everything I could. It was interesting to define a kitchen, a concept and a signature cuisine.”
La Frida is defined by Anaisa as a creative kitchen of the heart, heavily influenced by Oaxacan cuisine, with subtle touches of the world. One can find a Mexicanized French pithivier, classic enchiladas with a twist, the La Frida salad, a lobster gordita or even the more exotic dishes such as lamb with red mole and foie gras or flor de calabaza (zucchini flowers) soup and jalapeño jam. Nothing is ever out of context.
A game-changer for the restaurant is that tortillas are made following the nixtamal process. The word nixtamal comes from Náhuatl, composed of the word nextli (ashes) and tamalli (corn dough). This pre-Hispanic preparation has been handed down from generation to generation and is the process of mixing corn with water in a large pot over a fire, grinding the grains in a stone metate, and forming the dough to make tortillas, tamales and gorditas.
Chef Anaisa Guevera was recently selected as a member of the VI generation of “Best New Chefs in Mexico 2024” by Food & Wine magazine for her superb cuisine at La Frida, the signature restaurant at Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach in Los Cabos.
Today, Anaisa is preparing for the new La Frida restaurant that will open its doors the following February inside the Pueblo Bonito Hotel in the city of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. We hope this new challenge uplifts her craft and helps Anaisa rake in more fans for her interpretation of her beloved Mexican food. Bon appétit!!
