Culture, history, identity, the milpa, tradition, and a lot of Yucatan flavor to taste, a true delight to the palate, that is Ya’axche, a restaurant located in the town of Halachó, Yucatán; which collects ingredients from the communities that preserve purity, knowledge and seasonings.
The entire Ya’axche family, headed by chef Wilson Alonzo Báez, is celebrating the second anniversary of its establishment and the celebration could not be any other way, other than with gastronomic art, with cooking, with a five-course dinner called “Ancestors: Between the origin and the roots.”
“In theory, we started the project 10 years ago, but it was completed on August 13, 2022. There was a lot of fear in the opening because we are far from the city and Halachó has no archaeological sites or cenotes, but we wanted to bring the cuisine of the population to the restaurant model. It has been a bit complicated, but what moves us a lot is supporting the community by bringing fresh produce, and that has helped us a lot so that people come and enjoy the table as our grandmothers, aunts and my mother have taught us, to serve them as if they were at home, that has been the success in Ya’axche,” said Alonzo Báez during the party.
“The most important thing for me is the responsibility we have to continue preserving the legacy of our grandparents, which has been fundamental for us, it also invites us to continue teaching more people, more kids, to continue cooking, it makes me happy and it is also the commitment to continue, I enjoy doing it, having ground pumpkin seeds, chaya or French pumpkin seeds travel with me, to bring the ideal flavors of Yucatan to wherever we visit, it has helped people who know the cuisine here understand that we do not only cook to feed, but that there is a more important background to take care of that part,” he added.
The celebration included renowned local and other chefs who offered a true delicacy, including grilled alligator gar, prepared by Lupita Vidal; a delicious sikil paak of fish, with smoked shrimp and beans, as well as quail, with local sweet potato puree, Valladolid sausage, dates and tamarind glaze, by Carlos Gaytán; along with a Mayan octopus, with ibes and pickled chaya, by Raúl Soto.
“We have activated a lot in Halachó so that the market continues to have fluidity so that they begin to add products that stopped entering the market because that is what the people who come to visit us are exploring. We have about 15 direct jobs, mostly young people, and we generate about six indirect jobs, the one that brings us the dough, the tortilla and the little things that we use to work, the most important thing for me is to make my municipality, my population, visible, I feel proud to be from here,” he said.
The bartender, Valerie Magaña, and the sommelier, Ana Ley, also participated in the evening, with exquisite wines for the pairing; in addition to students from the Universidad Tecnológica del Poniente de Maxcanú and Vizcaya de Las Américas.
For Alonzo Báez there is still work to be done, mainly to establish the Institute specialized in Halachó.
“We paused it a bit for logistics and climate issues, a place of teaching, learning, is what follows for us,” he indicated.
The chef revealed that like any business there have been very complicated seasons, especially since they have suffered from high temperatures, but in these two years, the response has become positive with the presence of national and foreign tourism.
“The most recurrent is the German, they have come a lot with us, as well as French, Canadians and Americans, very interested in knowing this cuisine. If there is one thing Ya’axche has, it is that we try to give identity to the cuisine of the population, of the community, and that is what we put on the table, it leaves them with a lot of memories, to the point that there are people who have cooked what I do in their places, they send me photos and it excites me a lot,” he concluded.
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