New Mexicans love their chile and it isn’t the kind with beans that cowboys eatǃ New Mexican Hatch chile is spicy, delicious and becoming on trend in restaurant chains across America. When you talk to the chefs in Santa Fe leading this new movement, you will find one thing in common – the say their cuisine in NEW Mexican, not to be confused with Mexican or Tex-Mex. As a member of ICCA, you will have the opportunity to experience this amazing culinary city steeped in history and vibrantly reshaping their regional cuisine for the future. Best of all it is free for members who are the first to agree to attend the event. All you pay is your airfare and transportation to the host hotel, La Fonda on the Plaza, an historic property with deep culinary roots. In fact, you will learn much about this Fred Harvey hotel during our ICCA Culinary Immersion as historians join us for a talk about the first restaurant chain in America. Here is the complete agenda for the event: ICCA Culinary Immersion Santa Fe Agenda.
“It’s a big flavorful food world here in Santa Fe,” says chef John Rivera Sedler, know by locals as the father of contemporary Southwest Cuisine. Chef Sedlar is the owner of Eloisa restaurant where he fuses Latin and Southwest flavors with Northern New Mexico classic dishes. This new renaissance includes the influences of Asian, French, Italian, Indian or Middle Eastern cuisine which you will find in the numerous award winning restaurants we will visit during the ICCA Culinary Immersion Santa Fe. Not only will we dine in these restaurants, but you will also meet these culinary leaders and hear about their successes and failures while creating these trendy new menu items.
When you come to Santa Fe and your server asks if you want “red or green?” this refers to the kind of chile you’d like served over enchiladas, chile rellenos or other staples of New Mexican fare. When in doubt, you can always answer “Christmas” and you’ll get to try bothǃ The green chiles turn red as they ripen. In general, fresh and/or roasted chiles are green and dried chiles and dried chile powder are red. In any case, they start green—when many people harvest and roast them—and turn red as they ripen during the growing season. Most chefs in this part of the country make their chili with only local hatch chiles and very little added to it.
Throughout the centuries, an amalgam of Indigenous American, Spanish and Anglo influences made Santa Fe a veritable melting pot of gastronomic delight. From the “Three Sisters”—corn, beans, and squash—to the majestic and cherished chile peppers, Santa Fe’s culinary world allows diners to experience a true cultural exploration with every bite. Innovative Southwestern fare created by award-winning chefs and hearty New Mexico dishes such as breakfast burritos and green chile stew are reason enough for Santa Fe to have earned a prominent place on the world’s culinary map.
To register for one of the last remaining 15 member spots call (407) 539-1459 or email rsvp@iccachefs.com. Don’t forget, once you arrive to the host hotel, La Fonda on the Plaza, everything is paid for by the association and our generous sponsors. If you arrive early enough on Tuesday, September 14th, there will be a casual dinner near the hotel as an unofficial kickoff to the Immersion before we get started on Wednesday and Thursday for the ICCA Culinary Immersion Santa Fe!