By Fernanda Beccaglia
Featured in “The New York Times,” “The New Yorker,” “Food & Wine Magazine,” “Food Arts Magazine” and “Gourmet Magazine,” among many other publications, the humble and bold personality of Tijuana-born chef Javier Plascencia is reflected in his approach to bringing Baja Mediterranean cuisine to life — a cuisine of which he is an avid lover and devotee.
“My cuisine is sustainable, organic, artisanal, natural, spontaneous, yet classic, that comes from the heart,” said Plascencia in an interview with VOXXI speaking softly and deliberately.
Plascencia considers himself a locavore and thinks that without local ingredients “we would have no Baja Med cuisine.”
“It would be just one more cuisine. I did that for years, cooking the typical Italian, but that wasn’t me, I wasn’t happy like I am today using regional products.”
Adding that “the star (in my kitchen) is the ingredients and most of them don’t travel further than 200 kilometers, we support our local farms and local produce, we respect the seasons and the cycles of nature.”
Plascencia’s cuisine clearly expresses the ingredients and cultural influences that are so key to the region, his region. He explains that his recipes are inspired by the sea, the field, the farms and the local markets. “Baja California gives you everything—the sea, the land, the Guadalupe Valley which provides about 90 percent of Mexican wine, it makes it all so delicious.”
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