EL CORAZÓN EN UN BOCADO; A BOOK OF ANECDOTES AND RECIPES BY CHEF VANESSA DOMÍNGUEZ

El Corazón en un Bocado is a door that leads to a recovery of the aromas and flavors of Mexico, whose beating heart lies in the kitchens of parents, aunts and grandmothers who demonstrate their love for the children in their lives with food and drink.

In 74 pages, Chef Vanessa Domínguez compiles many anecdotes that are accompanied by recipes, a gastronomical investigation whose value is enriched by personal stories that see the cookbook become an event rather than a set of instructions. In seven chapters, she takes us on a journey through the flavors of her childhood, through her inquisitive youth, and through nostalgia.

Featuring illustrations by master sculptor Sergio Peraza, the book displays an artistic and moving quality; who better than the visual artist to craft the universes that fit into a single dish or kitchen.

In chapter I, Chef Domínguez remembers her father, Dr. Antonio César Domínguez, who instilled in her a love of cooking and from whom she learned to make tuna pie. Next, in chapter II, she recalls chef Miguel Andión Nicolau, who, aside from being a mentor to her and an inspiration for teaching, also taught her that octopus should be beaten before cooking for it to fully release its flavor.

Mrs. Amparo Ibáñez appears in chapter III with her paella while chapter IV shows Chef Víctor Moreno encourages a young Vanessa to become the chef and entrepreneur she is today.

The book also has adventure. In chapter V, Chef Domínguez tells us about her trip to visit the Popoloca community in Tehuacán, Puebla, where she made contact with nature and the ancestral traditions of the place where corn was first grown in America.

Mamaíta’s recipe book occupies chapter VI, with a story that dates back to 1903 in Puebla de los Ángeles, where Doña Ethelvina was born; from her, Chef Domínguez takes some traditional recipes like the one for romeritos with a special touch. In Chapter VII sees Adriana Vanessa Domínguez Espinosa, our dear Chef Domínguez, opening her heart and her kitchen to us as she relates her fight with cancer.

She also reminisces about moments of decision-making, such as the beginnings of her enterprise Un Bocado de Historia, with tours of the markets and a life’s worth of flavors and lessons that she now puts into words in an endearing book that makes us sigh upon thinking of our own histories and the flavors captured in them—a book that is the first among others that the author is cooking up.

We were saying that Un Bocado de Historia is not a pathway that leads us somewhere, but rather a railway in which memories and evocations of tastes and flavors travel back to meet us again. As long as there are people preserving the recipes, the flavors of Mexico will remain in our tables, caressed by memories and taking us through that precious time tunnel that materializes when our palate encounters a flavor from yesteryear.

The author is a Social Work graduate, entrepreneur, chef, culinary and market tours organizer, culinary judge, writer, journalistic collaborator, and, above all, a promoter and safekeeper of Mexican culinary tradition.

This book is a treasure that, once read, is kept in the bookshelf, in the pantry, and in the heart.