OUR STORY

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."

-Hippocrates

Nixtamal, "Ash and fire cuisine," is born from the passion for ancestral cooking, a balanced assemblage of conscious sowing, harvesting, selecting and low heat process, and the love for contemporary gastronomy.

After two years of preparation for its opening, Nixtamal opens its doors in 2017 in the breathtaking region of Bacalar, receiving its first customers with the fire that burns since then at the entrance of the place. A bonfire blessed by Marakames (Wirrárikas Priests) who during the inauguration ceremony, they asked permission to the guardians of the site through prayers and intentions in their songs. Transmitting an essence, particular vibrations, and unique frequencies directed to the live coals. The same ember that we use for our grills and ovens, which, from the first tasting of this day, it continues marinating with magic, mysticism and good intentions the food that makes our peculiar trademark as an experience beyond the ordinary.

Nixtamal is a sensory invitation, where each sense seeks to be stimulated in a unique way to achieve a more meaningful experience, thus marking a memory with greater depth:

Sight: Nature has been responsible for taking care of the atmosphere with its magnificent trees over 300 years old, our beautiful guardians such as the oak, avocado, ceiba, and chicozapote. In addition to the gentle and dim lighting that transmits the fire, candles, and lights in our garden-orchard. The local community built the rest of the spaces, furniture design made from fallen trees, recycled and sustainable utensils, ornaments, and crockery made by our staff and by local carpenters in our workshop. The view in the aesthetics of our dishes, the height, textures, depth, and variety of colors in awe of anyone who enjoys cherishing the path that will take place before a fascinating journey.

Smell: The present aroma of our combination of woods burning to later use in our ovens and grills, were chosen according to their aromatic characteristics and flavorings for cooking. The jabín wood (or ebony) gives a touch of sweetness, laurel gives acidity, and tzalám (or Mexican walnut) adds a slight spiciness.

Hearing: You can listen to the sound that emanates from cooking on the grill and the natural sounds of the wind skimming the leaves of our trees. But the repertoire of our live music and playlist has been carefully curated; to enrich an experience that reflects our essence, combining rhythms, sounds, and genres in tune with our variety of flavors in each bite.

Taste: A unique formula and pairing are created, a triangle that unites acidity, sweetness, and saltiness but also contains at its center the spiciness. This combination pretends to waken each area of ​​our tongue so that the trail of flavors that you will walk through in each of our dishes will be remained and better adhered to your memory.

Touch: The undeniable feeling of the palate, interacting with different textures, elements, and temperatures. But also we understand this sense as our desire to create an allegory: the touch interpreted by the customer service we want to deliver to our visitors. It's a combination of the way you feel the warmth at home with our appreciation we perceive because of you being here sharing, living, and co-creating the Nixtamal experience.

Finally, a sixth sense, intuition, a sense that we believe unites empathy, culture, our mission, and spirituality to guide us harmoniously along with the evolution of this concept. When a liquor bottle is opened, a dash will be poured into the earth, becoming an offering gesture for the Pachamama, the aluxes, and for other spiritual beings who guard the place. We also make constant purifications with copal and food offerings thrown into the fire with positive intentions, in order to transmute the energy of all our visitors.

We do not believe it is a coincidence that you are here, so we hope to make our meeting worthwhile. With the same gratitude that comes when a dream is fulfilled, we wish that this sensible culinary experience is as pleasant as it is for us to have you here as our guest. We want to recognize your interactive role; fraternally assessing each person and all the energy involved in the journey, process, and affection so that the food finally arrives at your table. Let us enjoy together the power of mindfulness.