Julio and Mariana - Victoria (formally the Last Abuela)

Julio Rivera and Mariana Hernandez are both from Puebla, Mexico. Julio hails from the the town of Zapotitlán Salinas in the countryside near Tehuacán, to the south, a desert area bordering on Oaxaca where there is not much rain, so the main crops are corn and cactus. Flora and fauna are scarce, and the regional diet includes insects — growing up, it was Julio’s job to harvest edible worms from the nearby mountains and take them to market in the city where they always sold out. Mariana is from Mirador, closer to the northern border with Veracruz where it is rainy and green, and there is more of a tropical feeling, so an abundance of fruit and vegetables grow there. However, Julio and Mariana’s paths, divergent as they were, did not cross in Puebla. They met when they both came to Philadelphia to work in the restaurant industry.

Most of their recipes have been passed down through generations, coming from memories of the food they grew up watching their mothers and grandmothers make. They seek out their ingredients at markets, somehow always finding the herbs they need for country cooking. Fortunately, the basics are easily found here: dried chilies and the accustomed trilogy of seeds found in every house in Puebla — beans, corn, and squash, each of them dependent on the other.  Just as their parents taught them to work the ground and throw the seeds at measured distances —  3 seeds of corn, 2 seeds of beans, and 1 seed of calabaza squash — they now work in tandem to produce their take on Mexican classics, representing country cooking, and attempting to shine light on flavors that are hidden from the mainstream, flavor combinations they grew up with that are seldom found today even in traditional Mexican restaurants.

Short from:

Mariana hails from the mountains of El Mirador Ixtacamaxtitlan Puebla. Her Cuisine reflects the recipes that have been passed down through generations, from her mother and grandmothers.

Social media links

@victoria_en_philly 

@marianahernandez7711  @Chefjuliorivera