So this is called a senote. It is unique and sacred to the mayans. They believed it was a passage to the underworld. The Maya Defined The Culture Of Yuk Tan as one of the great civilizations. Their influence is everywhere. This is huge. Their dna runs through every local dish. And their ancient ways are still a source of inspiration. Thats let it born a little bit more. Im Eva Long Gor Yeah Born And Bred in mention texas with mexican roots. Im texmex. I dont think i have ever seen avocado this big. So many great ingredients. With hot weather all yearround, time moves at a slower pace here. When its taken hundreds of years to build the pyramids, waiting a day for your dinner to cook is no big deal. Eight hours. I just hope i can be as patient as my hosts. I wanna taste the pig its long coastline has always linked it to the outside world. It has the largest maya population in mexico, dating back 4,000 years. They were pioneering and industrious. They thrived here until the arrival of the spanish in the 1500s. The regions turbulent history and unique geography have heavily influenced the cuisine. So today i am trying the most famous dish from the yukatan. Its known worldwide. Now, there are variations of the recipe. But it is slow cooked park marinated in a spicy dish. Traditionally served in a taco with pickled red onions. Look at that. You know its good when you see pork fat dripping out. Im going to the Award Winning restaurant where it is transformed into fine dining. It is run by one of the regions most exciting chefs who makes his using both ancient and modern techniques. Hello nice meeting you. Welcome. I have heard Amazing Things about your restaurant. He starts with cooking the pork the traditional mayan way, outdoors. There was no pork in here. So they brought a special kind of pork. This pig is a descendant of the same breed, one of the worlds finest hams. So now here we just prepare it in a marinade with sour orange. I have never seen this orange. You know, in mexico city we use lime for everything. But here we use sour orange. The spanish brought this gem. Here it is mixed with spices from the neighboring caribbean. So here we have clove. We have old spice. We have black pepper. We have cinnamon. We have cumin marinated so all the spices and flavor can penetrate the skin. The marinated pig is put in a steel box before being put in an oven, which is literally a freshly dug hole in the ground. What do you call the oven . [ speaking in a global language ] and then but put these rocks on top and with the branches. Now we will start burying it. It is basically a crack pot in the ground. Yeah. Wouldnt it be easier just to put it in the crock pot. No, because you dont have the flavor of the soil. The flavor of the region. Right. And this romantic technique, no . Very romantic technique. I mean, its romantic because im not the one digging the dirt, but yeah. On the ground, it is like mayan. This ancient way of slow cooking the ingenious. Once buried, the big needs no supervision and the meat is protected by hungry animals. What is not to like. But there is a downside. So we will let it here for eight hours. Eight hours . Yeah. We have another that we buried yesterday. Thank goodness with that. I just wish our crew would get over here. Dying to eat the pig, guys come on i want to taste the pig i mean, if you could smell this right now, youd be yelling for it, too. This is the one we buried yesterday. The big reveal. Oh, wow. Can i take the banana leaf off . Look at that. Look at the juice. Oh, my god. Its just like falling off. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. I need more now. You can taste the clove. That sour orange really is yeah, sour orange and the spices, no . Wow. So i wanted you to try like the normal weight. And also i wanted you to try my way, which is the way we serve at the restaurant. This is beautiful. This is the ancient method that mayans use to grow herbs. Im sure they would feel home. But what would think they of this breathtaking dining room . When im at the heart of the action in the kitchen. Im wondering if i could offer you a glass of rose wine. What . Yes. Yes. Dont threaten me with a good time. Luis is from mexico city, but it is yukatan that captured his he heart. Every single birthday, my mom cooked it. Really . Yeah. Luis has swapped out the traditional pickled red onions for sweet potato, parsnips and beets. Just a little bit of butter, guys. Salt. And thats it . And thats it. Im just going to wait here while he roasts those beets. The big from the pig is about to have a sophisticated makeover. Watch out. Were going to make like a very crispy skin. Thats a good idea. I concur. Do you hear that . Thats the crispy skin. Yes and im putting it in here. Oh, thats beautiful. Its that presentation. Yeah. The pvegetables turn this dish into a rainbow of color. Ive never had a meal like this. One of the best meals of my life. Thank you. This is luis love letter to the people and the land he now calls home. Im just going to dont mind me. Im just going to stay here in the kitchen. You have work to do. Go ahead. Im so happy. The capitol is a city that runs on its summit. Im here to meet one of their best chefs and gastronomic volunteers. This has all the spices i will need to cook later in the night. So do you want to take a look . Yes. Chef is famous for putting a new spin on the foundation of cui cuisine. What is it . I have never heard that word. It is a mix of the spices. It is a colored paste made from a combination of spices. They come in lots of flavors and are used everywhere here. But you will struggle to find it outside of yukitan. It feels like such a good idea, like to do a paste on chicken and fish and pork. It lasts for months like this. Is this their Family Recipe . Si. For generations, their family have been alchemists. [ speaking in a global language ] but this is overwhelming. Yeah. Many of these spices came here over 500 years ago when the region was colonized by the spanish. And you can still see a strong european influence all across. Today people flocked to its thriving food scene. Twice voted capitol of culture, it is a magnitude of creativity. Roberto has been at the forefront. So lets see what hes up to. Robertos restaurant means unique spirit. Here it is all about turning ancient recipes on its head. This is beautiful this is gorgeous how are you . You look so handsome in your chefs clothes. Known as the king, the star of the menu tonight. Yes, we will drain the spices here, but actually were going to burn the nices here. Oh you have onion, oregano and pepper. Roberto is making his from scratch. So do you want to start . Yeah. What do i do . With me as his wingman. I already messed up. Okay. Get some cumin. Just a little bit. Like a spin. And you can put more and more and more. When it comes to the chili its burning you crank up the heat. The more you burn the chili, the less hot. Oh, its smoking. I will flame it towards you. This smells amazing. Is this what makes it black, is that charred yeah. And he really does mean burn the chile. Yeah, yeah. Are you guys okay . Is it just me . Lets let it burn a little more. This goes against all my instincts. The first thing you want to do is watch the chili. Oh, my god. Are we sure this is going to taste good . Yeah. Of course. And all of this is just for the flavoring. We havent even started cooking yet. Oh, yeah. The paste is coming. Yes. All right. I think i just pulled a muscle. I think we are, yeah, just finished. How do you know if it has the right balance . Oh, that smells great. Thats good. Now were going to add the sour orange . Why am i doing all the work . I dont know how much to put. Then you mix it, no . No, it looks amazing. Oh, wow. Oh, my god. That is so complicated. Yes. Lets put this on something. Yes. So first you are going to get this white onion. You are making onion rings . Its more than that, but yes. This is one of his Signature Dishes. Why not, right . He adds it to the tempura batter. So im going to dip this. And like everything else, it is a slow process. So far we havent found a way to do it another way than just one by one. It is timeconsuming. Yeah, it is. Oh, my god this is gorgeous. So the black doesnt mean its burnt. It is just a color. And were going to put some with the chili so when you buy it. These beautiful black onions are presented on a bed of charcoal. Have you had to tell some clients not to eat the charcoal . Because it is the same color. You want to confuse people . Its a goal. Sometimes we want to play with their minds. You know . Perhaps as complex as that paste was, it is not overwhelming. Just gives you some crunch and creaminess. I have never had anything like this. It is gorgeous and its delicious. Im just going to stand here and watch while you make the next dish. Once more, roberto is toying with my taste buds, serving coconut ice cream. Smokey with a hint of spice. Is it hot . Yeah. Its so good. I think im going to cry. I thought it was going to overpower this whole thing. You know it reminds me when you put marshmellow on the grill. Yeah. It has a crispy texture. Oh, my god. This is like im in heaven. Now i know why youre the king of this. [ speaking in a global language ] most of us have heard of the day of the dead, my personal spirit where spirits come back to eat, drink and party with the living. The celebration is rooted in aztec and spanish cultures and share some with the Maya Celebration of freeing of the souls. Hola [ speaking in a global language ] twothirds of the population are of mayan decent. At the heart is the mayan town. I have come to help this chef prepare one of the world east oldest dishes. [ speaking in a global language ] red is incredibly symbolic to the maya. [ speaking in a global language ] i grew up making tamales. And in my family, it is still a tradition. [ speaking in a global language ] my spanish isnt great, but it is way better than my mayan. Im hoping the language of food is universal. [ speaking in a global language ] okay. Their Tamale Technique is totally different than mine. You guys are fast. [ speaking in a global language ] oh [ speaking in a global language ] these tamales are filled with a corn sauce before adding tomatoes and shredded chicken. [ speaking in a global language ] being maya tamales, there is only one way to cook them. [ speaking in a global language ] im starting to appreciate just how much cooking underground matters to the maya. It represents the cycle of life, death and rebirth. [ speaking in a global language ] maybe it is because i grew up on a ranch cooking from scratch with my family or maybe because i have some mayan ancestry. I dont know. But this feels very comforting and familiar. Oh, wow. Look at that. Thats super crispy. These are a very different texture from the steamed ones i make. Wow. You guys, look at this. Its crispy on the outside but really soft on the inside. Wow. [ speaking in a global language ] i might have to Start Cooking my tamales underground, yall. It is still alive today and it keeps them connected to their land, their history and their culture. [ speaking in a global language ] the more i learn about the yucatan culture, the more i fall in love with it. Its my turn to get star struck and meet the chef i admired for years. [ speaking in a global language ] such a fan thank you for coming. Yes, of course. She trained as a chef in france before returning home to open her wildly popular restaurant merci. The thing i love about her is she obsesses about every detail. But particularly salt. You know, its funny that when i was in france i learn about all these different types of salt. To my surprise, i learned that the quality of the product that we have here was just like really above and beyond. On a global level . Yes. So you traveled the world to return home and find out you guys have the best salt in the world . Yes. Yes. I definitely think so. 50 miles west is an instagramers paradise. Flamingos, blue skies and white salt flats. Were you born in yucatan. Yes. My mother came to live here from the u. S. She was born in pennsylvania. She was a american. Yes. Were both mexican american. Growing up here for me, i used to be very shy about it. I was a fish out of water. People always say, oh, youre half mexican, half american. I was like, no im 100 mexican and 100 american at the same time all the time. Thats what i try to do with my cooking. And just like the confidence that you give out to the world. Oh, are these the salt quakes . Yes. This is where it starts. The salt flats produce many forms of salt. But this is the purest, the magical result of climate and geography. Slowly evaporated tropical heat, and it leaves behind this pinkish colored crystal. [ speaking in a global language ] oh, wow. The crystals here, theyre much bigger than like a regular salt that you would have. But it makes much longer to dissolve when you eat it. This salt will not eve us with a really metallic flavor. [ speaking in a global language ] and this is also linked to when the flamingos come and visit. It is said that the flamingos get this pink color because they eat it. The harvesting is so delicate it has to be done by hand. Oh, god. Im going to mess it up. They say if you dont scoop it right, then it just becomes regular salt. No wonder it is the most expensive salt in the world. I did it now, this is a perfect spot for lunch. So this is a sea bass. You dont understand how excited i am to finally eat fish on a beach in the yucatan. Back in the day, people didnt have the ability to refrigerate food at their homes. My grandmother would tell me when she grew up people thought they would get sick of eating fish that was caught in the morning and with the heat the food would spill really fast. The fish is stuffed with garlic, rosemary, thyme, orange and a dash of salt. When you have a deal this rich, simplicity is key. You specialized in opening up the food here. I feel like there are so many great ingredients that i want to just let the ingredients speak for itself. We are going to put some oil on it so start out. Were going to prepare the brush. This brush is going to be our secret weapon to just layer up all these herbs. This is a great idea, an herb brush. Oh, that smells so good. A brush is also a neat way to apply the garlic pure ray. Oh, thats gorgeous. We will do some mangos, also grill and salt. Is my idea of food heaven. Id have this as my last meal on earth. Im going to bring some of the salt. Bring the salt. Fish on a beach. Now i feel like im in mexico. I put my onions first. Now for the star ingredient. This is what we harvested. You will just put a little tiny bit. What is the secret in all of this . It is to season to perfection all the ingredients so that when you add it, you dont overseason. Okay . Wow. That fish is amazing. The contrast of the country salt and the soft, sweet fish is just sublime. I feel like the yucatan has the most appreciation for the land and the rain and the natural elements and the fruit that comes from the tree. Like there is such a thank you. Yes. We have delicious ingredients. And with delicious ingredients, we can make delicious recipes. Part of the magic of the yucatan, a reminder that the maya have been shaping the landscape here for the last thousand years. In honor of my own mayan ancestry, im making a pilgrimage. It feels like a world away. This is a mayan archeologist and he knows the secrets to this cool site. It is probably why he got the cool hat, and i didnt. [ speaking in a global language ]. It was built around 500 a. D. And the level of detail here is mind blowing. [ speaking in a global language ] a Little Wonder they worship the god of rain. There are no lakes or rivers in yucatan. This ability to collect water and irrigate crops allowed the ancient maya to put down roots here and call it home. [ speaking in a global language ] so i have heard that he is a great cook. He and his wife make this Signature Pork and bean broth inspired by yuyatans history. Youre smoking it into dish. [ speaking in a global language ] in honor of the mayan rain god, water plays a key part. It is a bitter herb that many mexicans swear stops the gassy side effects of beans. Oh, my gosh. I love beans, so i know im going to love this. Okay. [ speaking in a global language ] of course its cooked underground. This is yucatan. Thankfully he already has one in the oven. I think you won the underground contest of most hours. Oh, that smells good. [ speaking in a global language ] tastes like barbecue in a soup. Oh, look at that. Look at that. Pork. Oh, my gosh. Im so excited about this. Wow. This is like definitely slow cooked. This is just falling apart. Look at this one. Look. Oh. [ speaking in a global language ] wow, you can really taste the smokiness. In the u. S. , we but here in yucatan, no one bats an eye if dinner takes two days to cook. Sitting in the shadow, the pyramids are a constant reminder that good things take time. Im arriving in a town that used to be known for a mayan pilgrimage. A lot of pyramids around. But now, its really a food destination. 40 miles east is this town known as the yellow city. You know youve arrived when youre surrounded by golden yellow walls on every street, on every building. Even the citys largest and most important building is yellow the monastery of st. Anthony. Hola this Localless Ran Tour was born and raised here. Part of the vatican . Oh, my gosh. When the spanish conquered this area, they forced the mayan to repurpose the pyramid stones. The monetary was built for a christian god, but it remained holy to the maya, who worshipped the Sacred Stones of their former temple. There are many theories of why the town is yellow. The most likely is because the largest pyramid in the area was dedicated to the sun god. But thats not the only yellow here. Amazingly, dutch cheese is the main ingredient of queso lee yeah know. Its the Signature Dish at her restaurant, which specializes in homecooked comfort food. How did dutch cheese get here and become the most famous dish of this region . But unlike the europeans who prized these Golden Globes for the cheese inside, here, its all about the part that i would usually throw away. So, youre not going to use the inside of the cheese, youre going to use the outside of the cheese . The outside. Its said that once the wealthy merchants had scooped out the creamy cheese, their servants found use for the discarded rind. The meat of choice . A familiar favorite. Pork. I love capers. Lets put more. Oh, this is almonds . Mediterranean bay leaves and olives also go into the pot, and then its cooked again. So, we close it back in a cheese cloth. So, its just going to take a bath. Oh, yeah, thats soft. At last, our queso is ready. Now, i understand what bursting with flavor means. Oh. Can i touch it . Oh, my goodness. That looks really good. Over 16 ingredients and three stages later, its finished with a mayan corn sauce and toe na tto tomato salta. This is one inkri kate dish, and i can see why diners come here to enjoy its complexity. Wow. Mmm. Oh, thats so good. For me, this is the dish that sums up yucatan. Its a region that isnt afraid to embrace different cultures. The people here are so secure in who they are and where they come from. New flinfluences are simply blended with the ancient to create something unique. In yucatan, theres an appreciation that good things e