WEBVTT - Frida Escobedo 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:04.280 You were listening to Ruthie's Table four in partnership with Montclair. 0:00:09.000 --> 0:00:19.440 Was not con god most fancier. 0:00:21.720 --> 0:00:24.959 When I'm asked why I love Mexico and why we 0:00:25.040 --> 0:00:28.960 return every year for nearly thirty years, the answer is 0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:34.720 the culture, cities, food, the seas, the mountains, the history. 0:00:35.200 --> 0:00:38.720 But what I really love most are the people. And 0:00:38.840 --> 0:00:42.760 Frida Escobedo is one of those people. We met in 0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:47.040 twenty eighteen. She had just won the international competition to 0:00:47.080 --> 0:00:51.760 design the Serpentine Gallery's annual summer pavilion. Richard was on 0:00:51.800 --> 0:00:55.600 the jury. Her building brought the refined spirit of Mexico 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:59.000 to Hyde Park. Richard and I gave a fabulous party 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:03.960 celebrating this bright and beautiful young architect not long after 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:07.400 living in Mexico for four months. In a difficult time, 0:01:07.520 --> 0:01:12.080 Frieda made the impossible possible with her care and concern 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:16.120 for us both. In the years since, Frida has become 0:01:16.360 --> 0:01:20.240 one of the world's great architects. Along with other projects, 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:24.120 she's reimagining the contemporary and modern galleries at New York's 0:01:24.120 --> 0:01:28.399 Metropolitan Museum of Art, the first woman architect to be appointed. 0:01:29.040 --> 0:01:32.760 Today in the River Cafe, we're making deep Fried zucchini flowers. 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:37.120 Their stunning colors remind me of our beautiful Mexico, and 0:01:37.160 --> 0:01:40.959 when she's not with me, the zucchini flowers remind me 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:41.640 of frieda. 0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:42.880 Hi. 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:45.000 Really, it's so nice to be with you again. 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:47.480 Nice to have you here. We have lots to talk 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:50.240 about it. But the first thing, why don't we read 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:53.560 the recipe? So people listening to you can learn how 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:54.840 to make zucchini flowers. 0:01:55.040 --> 0:02:00.520 Okay, deep fried zucchini flowers. So for six people. Recipe 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:04.920 quantity of batter twenty four zucchini flowers, seven hundred and 0:02:04.920 --> 0:02:09.720 fifty million liters, some flower oil and sea salt, and 0:02:09.800 --> 0:02:12.400 the recipes. Make the batter and let it rest for 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:16.560 thirty minutes. And to prepare the flowers, remove the stamens 0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:19.040 from the center and the green sepals from. 0:02:18.919 --> 0:02:21.840 The base of each flower. Keep the stalks attached. 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:24.920 Heat the oil until hot about one hundred and eighty 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:28.640 centigrees in a deep pan, and dip the flowers, holding 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:31.560 them by the stalks, into the batter. Top off any 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:33.680 excess batter on the side of the bowl, and place 0:02:33.720 --> 0:02:37.119 them one at a time into the hot oil. Turn 0:02:37.160 --> 0:02:39.760 the flowers over in the oil as they become golden. 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:43.919 Remove the flowers when crisp and drain on the kitchen paper, 0:02:44.800 --> 0:02:46.799 Scatter with sea salt, and eat immediately. 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:49.399 Do you like them? I love them and I had 0:02:49.639 --> 0:02:51.720 Would you if you ever cooked them? Would you ever 0:02:51.760 --> 0:02:56.440 have a recipe? And here they are, there's the zucchini flowers. 0:02:56.440 --> 0:02:58.920 An Archie has just brought them in the chef at 0:02:58.919 --> 0:03:01.760 the River Cafe. Would you like to talk about the 0:03:01.840 --> 0:03:03.440 zucchini flowers that you just made? 0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:07.440 Yes? So these are zucchini flowers. 0:03:07.560 --> 0:03:11.200 They're part of the Fritto Misto dish today, so they're 0:03:11.240 --> 0:03:16.160 being served alongside scallops, cuttlefish, zucchini batons, and sage and lemon. 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:20.080 These are I think so special because something you can 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:23.440 only get the summer, and to each one zucchini, it's 0:03:23.480 --> 0:03:25.920 one flower, so you have to take real care when 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:28.560 you're prepping them to keep the shape when you're cooking 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:29.120 them as well. 0:03:29.400 --> 0:03:31.120 Ours are quite delicate. 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:34.160 When you make the batter as light as this, I 0:03:34.320 --> 0:03:38.240 like to always be able to see the zucchini through it. 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:40.880 We always have them in Tuscany when we're there in 0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:43.040 the summer, and one of the things I really like 0:03:43.080 --> 0:03:44.760 about them is everybody can make them. 0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:47.880 Once they're picked away from the zucchini itself. They don't 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:50.080 last very long, so they're always going to be really, 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:50.960 really fresh. 0:03:51.080 --> 0:03:53.000 And is there a Mexican version. 0:03:53.240 --> 0:03:56.760 Yes, actually it's one of my favorite foods in Mexico, 0:03:56.960 --> 0:04:00.200 and we have them in casari, yes, that's right, or 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:03.960 you can have them with eggs or in soups. And 0:04:04.080 --> 0:04:06.520 what I like it is that it's also very fragile, 0:04:06.800 --> 0:04:08.920 so I only have them for a day, so you 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:11.920 have to be like eating them right away, and the 0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:13.680 calories are pretty yeah. 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:16.680 Good, thank you, pleasure enjoy. 0:04:16.880 --> 0:04:19.920 So let's talk about your early days. Tell me more 0:04:19.920 --> 0:04:20.839 about your family. 0:04:21.279 --> 0:04:24.360 I have two sisters, and I grew up in Mexico City. 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:27.840 I was living there for my first five years, and 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:31.520 then the earthquake happened and my parents got divorced at 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:35.279 the same time, so there were two earthquakes in my life. 0:04:35.400 --> 0:04:39.480 And then they moved to very close neighborhoods to each 0:04:39.520 --> 0:04:41.920 other so they could still see me all the time, 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:42.719 both of them. 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:46.240 And both your parents were your father was my dad 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:48.880 is a doctor. There is a doctor, yes, and. 0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:50.920 Your mother, my mom is a sociologist. 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:51.560 So tell me. 0:04:51.560 --> 0:04:55.359 About food in your household, would you sit down to 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:58.119 dinner altogether? Did you have a cook? Tell me about 0:04:58.120 --> 0:05:00.640 what life was like food wise in their house. 0:05:00.839 --> 0:05:03.800 We did have a cook and someone who was helping 0:05:03.839 --> 0:05:07.599 in the house all of the time. But my dad 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:11.960 was also very much into cooking, and he makes like 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:15.760 these simple but really delicious recipes, especially. 0:05:15.279 --> 0:05:16.400 Good with Mexican food. 0:05:17.000 --> 0:05:18.880 He's great with soups and stews. 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:25.520 So it's a kind of a lighter version of molet. 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:28.480 It's more like a soup and it has vegetables and 0:05:28.600 --> 0:05:30.160 meat in its. 0:05:29.720 --> 0:05:32.560 Likely describe is to people who don't know. 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:37.039 Molay is this very intricate, very elaborate paste that is 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:43.920 made out of chilis, spices, chocolate, banana, and it changes 0:05:43.960 --> 0:05:47.120 with every family and the type of region that you 0:05:47.240 --> 0:05:50.440 have it in Mexico, so it can be a darker chocolate, 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:53.840 or it can be made out of squash seeds, so 0:05:53.880 --> 0:05:57.520 it can be green or yellow depending on the nuts 0:05:57.640 --> 0:05:58.800 or the spices that you use. 0:05:58.839 --> 0:06:00.839 So it's sort of like a verst and of courie. 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:02.560 And then you always have mode in the French. 0:06:02.839 --> 0:06:05.120 Yes, I think it's a it's a very typical staple 0:06:05.440 --> 0:06:11.039 in Mexican homehouse and yes, And you can make with chicken, 0:06:11.320 --> 0:06:14.240 and you can have it with rice, you can have 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:18.599 it with eggs. You can have it with cassadillas or 0:06:18.640 --> 0:06:22.040 infri coladas, which is basically just tortilla with beans inside. 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:24.280 Would your father cooked during the week it would it 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:25.640 be something special he would do. 0:06:25.960 --> 0:06:29.080 It would be mostly on the weekends, but he would 0:06:29.080 --> 0:06:31.360 also like to make breakfast. 0:06:31.400 --> 0:06:34.560 Or dinner sometimes. And one of my. 0:06:34.560 --> 0:06:38.520 Favorite dishes from him is to rikas what's which is 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:41.240 like the leftover bread that you have from. 0:06:41.000 --> 0:06:43.039 The week that is a little bit hard. 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:46.760 You would put it on an egg butter with vanilla 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:49.360 and cinnamon, a French. 0:06:49.120 --> 0:06:50.039 Tas French toast. 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:52.880 I think it's like a Spanish version of that. And 0:06:52.920 --> 0:06:57.000 then instead of using powdered sugar, you would use this 0:06:57.640 --> 0:07:00.000 raw sugar that comes in like this cone. 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:02.000 We call it biloon cio. 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:04.919 I don't know the exact translation in English, but you 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:08.920 will melt the biloonsiu with a little bit of like 0:07:09.160 --> 0:07:13.240 lemon juice and the lemon how do you call the 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:17.800 zest the lemon sest? Yes, and then you just create 0:07:17.840 --> 0:07:18.280 the syrup. 0:07:19.160 --> 0:07:20.120 So on the weekends. 0:07:20.360 --> 0:07:22.800 If cooking was something your father did love to do, 0:07:22.920 --> 0:07:26.160 would he engage you and your sisters in the cookaine. 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:29.000 Yes, he would love to have me in the kitchen, 0:07:29.280 --> 0:07:32.560 and he would just tell me these recipes actually very 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:35.520 simple ones, most of them coming from my grandmother. 0:07:35.920 --> 0:07:39.360 I remember you talked about a pestle and mortar that 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:42.800 you have. Yes, just someone that was from your grandmother 0:07:42.880 --> 0:07:45.640 to your father to you tell me about that. 0:07:45.960 --> 0:07:48.320 Yes, that was a very special gift I received, and 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:50.360 I had to fight for it a little bit with 0:07:50.440 --> 0:07:54.920 my dad because it's like in every Mexican house you 0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:59.840 have this volcanic rock mortar. It's called mart and you 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:06.160 make everything in that from salsas to grindening spices or 0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:10.760 just like grinding garlic for some other recipes, and it's 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:13.840 passed on from generation to generation. And I think this 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:18.240 is a very old one. It's very smooth on the inside, 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:22.920 and my father had it when my grandmother passed away. 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:26.080 So when I moved into my first apartment, I was 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:28.120 asking my dad to give it to me, and he 0:08:28.160 --> 0:08:32.600 would say, like, not yet. And by the time I 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:35.480 returned from my master's degree, I think I was ready 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:38.319 to receive the mokat if you finally gave it to me. 0:08:38.280 --> 0:08:40.160 Would your parents take you to restaurants. 0:08:40.800 --> 0:08:42.560 Yes, not too often. 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:45.400 It was not as common as nowadays, not where people 0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:48.440 eat out all the time. I remember it being like 0:08:48.679 --> 0:08:51.640 once a week at most. But what I remember is 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:56.760 my mother used to enjoy a lot having desserts outside. Yes, yes, 0:08:56.800 --> 0:09:00.480 And she's really good at making desserts. And so one 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:03.120 of my favorite things was on a rainy day, she 0:09:03.240 --> 0:09:05.240 would just tell me, like, would you like to go 0:09:05.400 --> 0:09:09.880 get some cake and tea, and we would drive to Polanco, 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:12.679 which was actually very far away from where we lived. 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:15.000 I think she just enjoyed like the time and the 0:09:15.080 --> 0:09:17.960 car and just talking to me and being able to 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:19.680 be on one single space. 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:20.640 What did your mother do? 0:09:21.080 --> 0:09:23.840 She was starting to work at you and women at 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:27.480 the time. And we would go to this place in Polanco, 0:09:27.640 --> 0:09:30.600 which is in a little passage one of these like 0:09:31.000 --> 0:09:35.840 pedestrian streets inside one of the older buildings, and we 0:09:35.920 --> 0:09:41.120 would have tart or cake or some chocolate and tea. 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:43.520 And I thought it was such a treat to have 0:09:43.559 --> 0:09:45.120 this in the middle of the week and then just 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:47.840 go back and you know, like it seemed like a 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:51.760 little celebration, And it was a very intimate time between 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:55.440 her and me because it was just like something she 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:58.120 and I would do, like no one else was in 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:00.000 that bubble, so it felt really special. 0:10:00.240 --> 0:10:02.840 Sounds like food was important in your home, it was 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:07.160 important to your parents. And then when you went to university, 0:10:07.440 --> 0:10:10.800 how did you cope with not having those meals? 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:13.959 Did you go home a lot? Did you eat out 0:10:13.960 --> 0:10:16.960 with other students? Did you cook by yourself? 0:10:17.080 --> 0:10:20.000 I have to say that when I was a small child, 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:23.080 I ate everything, like everything that was presented to me 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:25.480 I would eat. But then I had like this short 0:10:25.559 --> 0:10:29.720 period as a teenager where I wasn't even like liking 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:31.360 food too much, and I think it was more like 0:10:31.360 --> 0:10:34.640 building my personality because it didn't last too long, and 0:10:34.679 --> 0:10:38.000 as soon as I moved out of my parents' house, 0:10:38.720 --> 0:10:42.160 I needed to start cooking by myself. So at the beginning, 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:44.360 I was like, I don't know how to cook anything, 0:10:44.400 --> 0:10:47.600 and it was almost like an a statement, no, like I'm. 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:51.240 Against that, yeah, because of course my dad was. 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:54.320 Good at that, my mom was good at that, and 0:10:54.360 --> 0:10:56.360 I was like, I'm not good to be doing this. 0:10:57.280 --> 0:10:59.480 But then it was really silly because of course I 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:02.480 enjoyed food so much, so I just started cooking no 0:11:02.640 --> 0:11:05.240 with my boyfriend at a time or with friends. They 0:11:05.240 --> 0:11:08.920 would come over and we started making like small simple dishes, 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:13.320 and then slowly we became like more elaborate and just 0:11:13.480 --> 0:11:17.120 enjoyed having time spending on the kitchen. 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:30.560 The River Cafe cafe, steps away from our restaurant, is 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:34.359 now open. In the morning an Italian breakfast with cornetti, 0:11:34.440 --> 0:11:38.720 ciambella and crostada from our pastry kitchen. In the afternoon, 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:42.560 ice creamed coups in River Cafe. Classic desserts come in 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:45.760 the evening for cocktails with our resident pianists in the bar. 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:51.120 No need to book see you here. 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:00.680 We went to the University of Mexico. When you decide 0:12:00.720 --> 0:12:01.480 to study. 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:05.000 Architecture, yes, because you didn't go thinking you were going 0:12:05.040 --> 0:12:06.440 to be an architecture No. 0:12:06.880 --> 0:12:10.760 I was very decisive as a teenager, and I knew 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:13.680 that I wanted to do something with art or design 0:12:15.040 --> 0:12:18.840 something with my hands. But it was just like until 0:12:19.520 --> 0:12:22.520 a few days before they closed the exams that I 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:23.559 made up my mind. 0:12:24.160 --> 0:12:27.080 You were no longer in a domestic situation with your family, 0:12:27.280 --> 0:12:30.280 and so you lived in an apartment and. 0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:32.520 It was actually until I graduated that I moved to 0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:36.200 my own apartment. When you're studying architecture. That's a blessing 0:12:36.240 --> 0:12:40.480 because it's like very long hours and other ways you 0:12:40.520 --> 0:12:43.000 just don't take care of yourself at all, no, like 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:44.280 it's just like working. 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:46.360 But then the big change must have been when you 0:12:46.400 --> 0:12:49.440 went to Harvard, and so what was that like to 0:12:49.480 --> 0:12:54.000 go from Mexico to in food terms, at Cambridge, it. 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:56.160 Was quite a shock because of course, like there was 0:12:56.559 --> 0:13:00.200 again this culture of spending very very long hours looking 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:03.640 on your thesis or whatever you were supposed to be 0:13:03.679 --> 0:13:06.440 doing at the time. Because I had a very generous 0:13:06.480 --> 0:13:09.600 scholarship to have a small apartment for myself, I didn't 0:13:09.640 --> 0:13:12.240 have to share, which was a blessing for me because 0:13:12.320 --> 0:13:13.679 I could really. 0:13:13.400 --> 0:13:14.240 Manage my time. 0:13:15.000 --> 0:13:18.280 And I had a small kitchen and a group of 0:13:18.280 --> 0:13:21.520 friends who liked to cook, and we would have the mescal, 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:24.880 which is a mescale Tuesday. 0:13:25.080 --> 0:13:27.480 Okay, and Tuesday at night or. 0:13:27.600 --> 0:13:29.240 Tuesday at night Tuesday. 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:32.160 And we were supposed to cook for each other, So 0:13:32.200 --> 0:13:35.880 we would go around each other houses and we would 0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:39.840 bring ingredients sometimes from our trips to Mexico, and we 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:43.760 would either you know, like small old tortillas or mallet, 0:13:44.240 --> 0:13:46.240 or we would be doing like the small dishes and 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:48.360 then we wouldn't invite all the friends that were not 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:51.800 Mexican also, and that kind of started a nice tradition 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:55.560 of being able to think of yourself and what you needed, 0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:58.800 how to bring people that were close to you as 0:13:58.800 --> 0:14:02.760 a support system, because it's really heavy when you're starting, 0:14:02.960 --> 0:14:05.480 like you spend all of this time and there's a 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:08.840 lot of pressure. It's very competitive, so it's a good 0:14:08.880 --> 0:14:11.720 reminder that you also have a support system and people 0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:14.600 that are just there to be with you and that 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:16.560 become friends for a lifetime. 0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:18.840 Did you go to restaurants? So when you were in Boston, 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:19.560 did you go out? 0:14:19.720 --> 0:14:19.920 Yeah? 0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:24.000 Sometimes we usually did, like Chinese or the less expensive 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:28.360 versions of feeding out. It was also nice to try 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:30.680 new things and that was actually one of the few 0:14:30.760 --> 0:14:34.600 ways which you could start getting to know Boston and 0:14:34.640 --> 0:14:38.000 not just Cambridge. Otherwise you just stay on campus and 0:14:38.040 --> 0:14:41.720 you basically never leave school. So for me, it was 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:44.040 like a little window to what the city of Boston 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:46.280 was not like hutting oysters were a lobster. 0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:50.680 That was a treat, very big portions. Did you ever 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:52.960 go to Mexican restaurant when you were in Boston? I 0:14:52.960 --> 0:14:55.920 tried once and it was so that was such a 0:14:55.960 --> 0:14:59.800 revelation for us when we went to Mexico that you. 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:02.040 Realized that the food that you had. 0:15:02.720 --> 0:15:05.960 I didn't even go near it in Europe, but even 0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:09.040 in the United States we thought it was heavy. You 0:15:09.120 --> 0:15:14.160 get these big plates of six different different ingredients, different 0:15:14.680 --> 0:15:17.920 ways of cooking them, and it just was so heavy. 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:21.680 And then we went to Mexico and as I said, 0:15:21.680 --> 0:15:24.280 it was a revelation. It was a piece of beautiful 0:15:24.360 --> 0:15:27.760 fish with as you described as salsa made of tomato 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:31.800 and onion and garlic and could use quite a lot 0:15:31.840 --> 0:15:37.080 of chilantro. Yeah, and we haven't talked about guacamole, and 0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:40.440 that it was so it was so delicate, and we 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:45.440 find and I wonder why well Mexican food didn't travel well, 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:48.520 you know, and whether it became a simple I think 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:51.560 now it's better. There are more really good restaurants in 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:54.560 New York, and there's a great restaurant here in London 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:59.520 doing Mexican food, and again the focus on ingredients, you know, 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:03.920 but it is it is a very different, different version 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:07.360 of what you the Mexican do you think it is? 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:11.040 And also because Mexican food is so different from bridging 0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:13.880 to region, then it's hard to tell, like what is 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:14.920 Mexican food. 0:16:15.040 --> 0:16:17.480 No, overall, you have the food from the coast, which is. 0:16:17.440 --> 0:16:23.680 Like these grilled fish and just oysters, but also shrimp, 0:16:24.080 --> 0:16:29.360 and it's very simple, very few ingredients, very simple recipes. 0:16:29.400 --> 0:16:31.560 And then you have the more elaborate we see No 0:16:31.720 --> 0:16:36.400 Puebla and elba Hillo with these moorless and salsa that 0:16:37.080 --> 0:16:39.800 are almost by roque and it's it's making. 0:16:39.840 --> 0:16:42.320 And then Yukata, when you have like the pooled pork. 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:45.360 Is there a region that you particularly like. 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:47.280 I love Yukata. 0:16:49.240 --> 0:16:52.440 I think it's just like so tasty and it feels 0:16:52.480 --> 0:16:56.000 like a comfort food. Sopa the lima, which is like 0:16:56.080 --> 0:17:00.280 the chicken broth with lima, which is like these sweet lime. 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:03.720 I just feel like that is like food for the soul. 0:17:03.800 --> 0:17:06.840 Every time you have like a something bad happened to you, 0:17:06.840 --> 0:17:08.480 you go and have soap by the lima and it 0:17:08.560 --> 0:17:10.000 makes better everything. 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:13.000 And you started very quickly, didn't you with your own office. 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:15.280 You didn't work for anyone else. No, I've never worked 0:17:15.280 --> 0:17:18.240 for anyone. I have no idea how a restaurant runs, 0:17:18.280 --> 0:17:19.760 because I've only done it our way. 0:17:20.359 --> 0:17:22.960 Did you ever bring food into your work life? 0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:26.159 Yes, sometimes we would go to my place and we 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:29.920 would do like these cooking parties and we would cook together. 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:32.600 But it was when we were like just five or four. 0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:35.679 Now it's a little bit more difficult, but it's a 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:39.320 nice tradition. I think it brings the team together and 0:17:39.359 --> 0:17:42.480 then you really see the personalities and actually you see 0:17:42.520 --> 0:17:44.320 how they collaborate also in the studio. 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:48.800 Okay, So as an architect, when you're designing, do you 0:17:48.960 --> 0:17:53.119 think about public space and food where people will eat, 0:17:53.800 --> 0:17:55.760 what they'll look at while they're eating, Will they have 0:17:55.840 --> 0:17:59.040 a view? Will they kitchen be visible? Have you ever 0:17:59.080 --> 0:17:59.960 designed a restaurant? 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:02.400 Yes, I am, I am right now? 0:18:02.560 --> 0:18:03.760 Are you whereas it? 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:05.760 It's going to be in the US, and it's going 0:18:05.840 --> 0:18:09.760 to be for a dear friend. I'm very happy working 0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:10.040 with her. 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:11.080 Tell us about her. 0:18:11.280 --> 0:18:15.880 She has like a very strong personality. She's very charming 0:18:16.200 --> 0:18:19.600 and she just like walks into the room and everyone turns. 0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:20.520 Around because she's there. 0:18:20.600 --> 0:18:23.920 And I think she has a very magnetic personality. In 0:18:24.600 --> 0:18:27.399 her restaurant is Contra March Well one of them. She 0:18:27.440 --> 0:18:30.000 has many, but that's probably the most famous one, and 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:31.200 I think it has become like. 0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:32.960 This icon in Mexico City. 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:37.000 Everyone knows Contra Maage and part of the success is 0:18:37.040 --> 0:18:40.280 not just the food, which is amazing, but also how 0:18:40.320 --> 0:18:41.040 it becomes. 0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:41.920 It became. 0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:47.879 Like a gathering space. It's an epicenter for culture and 0:18:48.080 --> 0:18:52.160 people watching, and everyone wants to go there to CMB scene. 0:18:52.440 --> 0:18:56.399 We had this routine in Mexico when Richard was in 0:18:56.440 --> 0:18:59.679 the hospital. I would have kind of breakfast with my 0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:02.680 friend family. They were always late, you know. I'd love 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:06.719 the Mexican breakfast at about ten maybe in the morning, 0:19:06.920 --> 0:19:11.520 ten thirty and then a really delicious breakfast at Nido 0:19:11.720 --> 0:19:14.120 at Karen, and then I would go to the hospital 0:19:14.200 --> 0:19:17.440 and then we would meet at about four in the afternoon, 0:19:17.720 --> 0:19:20.440 very often at Contramar, because everybody came to visit me 0:19:20.520 --> 0:19:22.680 wanted to go to Contomar, and I loved going. It's 0:19:22.720 --> 0:19:28.000 a very dramatic space, dramatic and democratic as well. You know, 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:30.760 it just feels like you're all in there's no good table, 0:19:30.800 --> 0:19:33.320 You're all in one big space. You see the kitchen, 0:19:34.000 --> 0:19:37.040 and then you would have a very late lunch and 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:40.720 then I'd go back to the hospital and then a 0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:43.320 piece of fruit or something very simple for dinner. There 0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:45.080 was no that was it, and I just thought it 0:19:45.119 --> 0:19:47.280 was a great way of eating, you know, to have 0:19:47.320 --> 0:19:50.720 that you know, not big heavy dinner before you go 0:19:50.880 --> 0:19:51.280 to bed. 0:19:51.359 --> 0:19:53.960 And you're right like the a theist democratic space. 0:19:54.000 --> 0:19:57.199 It's just like a field condition of tables and I 0:19:57.200 --> 0:20:01.920 think I've only seen or like that at Contra Mart, 0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:08.199 but also at the Met Cafe, the staff cafet. It 0:20:08.320 --> 0:20:11.639 was a big surprise, and I love that because it's 0:20:11.680 --> 0:20:15.840 like the canteen for all the employees and everyone goes 0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:17.920 to have lunch there and it's really special. 0:20:18.359 --> 0:20:21.359 And the director, yes, yes, curators. 0:20:21.080 --> 0:20:25.720 The curators, the people from maintenance, we that we we 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:28.080 spent a year at the Met with our offices there, 0:20:28.160 --> 0:20:30.560 so we would go down and have lunch there and 0:20:30.600 --> 0:20:32.959 you would see these mix of people. Some of them 0:20:33.000 --> 0:20:35.720 would bring their own foods, some people would buy food there, 0:20:36.280 --> 0:20:38.040 and it was just like a place where you can 0:20:38.160 --> 0:20:42.560 encounter everyone and actually like really interesting conversations happened there. 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:44.719 So it was a working launch, but in a very 0:20:44.760 --> 0:20:47.000 informal setting, which I feel. 0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:49.600 Like it's very unusual for Americans. 0:20:49.000 --> 0:20:53.040 You know, like usually they're very hard working and they're 0:20:53.080 --> 0:20:56.320 like very pragmatic, So having these moments of just like 0:20:56.440 --> 0:21:00.000 casual conversations about work were really special and SPONTANEU. 0:21:00.080 --> 0:21:00.439 Yes. 0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:11.240 If you like listening to Ruthie's Table for would you 0:21:11.359 --> 0:21:15.399 please make sure to rate and review the podcast on 0:21:15.440 --> 0:21:20.440 the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, O, wherever you get 0:21:20.440 --> 0:21:21.600 your podcasts. 0:21:22.040 --> 0:21:33.080 Thank you. How do you find New York for food? 0:21:33.520 --> 0:21:34.200 It's amazing. 0:21:35.720 --> 0:21:38.399 I like that It's so diverse and you can have 0:21:38.760 --> 0:21:43.040 food from every country really authentic, so you can have 0:21:43.160 --> 0:21:49.600