|
Carmen Ramírez Degollado (born 1940, Xalapa) is an internationally recognized expert on traditional Mexican food, head of the El Bajío restaurants located in Mexico City. She grew up in the rural area of Xalapa, Veracruz with no intentions of becoming a restaurateur. However, when her husband died in 1981, she took over the restaurant he founded and expanded it adding dishes from her native Veracruz and other Mexican states along with the carnitas and barbacoa that he made. Carmen’s international recognition began when she accompanied her daughter who went abroad to study to become a professional chef. This led to classes, consulting and participation in gastronomic events principally in the United States and Europe. ==Life== Carmen Ramírez Degollado was born in 1940 in Xalapa, Veracruz, a colonial city in the mountains of the state, surrounded by nature and coffee fields. From the colonial period to the 19th century, it was a prosperous city and developed its own variant on Mexican cuisine. She was born Carmen Hernández Oropeza, but she is professionally known with her late husband’s last names, as well as the nickname “Titita.” Carmen was raised traditionally to be a housewife and mother, which included cooking〔 She says that the women of her family, especially her mother and her aunt which raised her, were very industrious both in cooking and sewing. Being traditional, the cooking generally involved traditional cookware such as comals and clay pots. Women were also prominent in the family, as they generally outnumbered the men.〔 She says she was restless as a child. Many of her childhood and adolescent memories involved food, especially the cooking of her mother and other female members of the family as well as the fruits and vegetables that grow in her native state. She remembers going to the local market as a child and being fascinated by it, with its fresh fruits and vegetables and women in indigenous dress.〔〔 Her mother, Vicenta del Carmen, was raised in the very high mountains of Las Vigas, Veracruz. She gained the name of “Titita” because she did not like the name Vicenta and the nickname is a play off of it. Her mother married Guillermo Hernández from Papantla after they met in Xalapa, and the couple divided their time between Xalapa and Papantla. This influenced her mother’s cooking, which included dishes from her hometown, Xalapa and Papantla.〔 Her father died when she was only five years old. She and her sister Luchi were then raised by her mother, an aunt she called Mama Luz and a nanny by the name of Amparo. Carmen gained the nickname Titita as well, being called “Titita chica” (Titita junior) as she grew up. As a teen, she was selected to compete in the Miss Red Cross pageant, representing Xalapa in Mexico City. Later, she met her husband Raúl Ramírez Degollado at a party in her honor in Xalapa. They dated for two years before they married in 1957. During the courtship, Carmen remembers meals that they ate at her house prepared by her family.〔 Despite being from a traditional family and surrounded by food, Carmen did not begin to cook until she got married. At that time her nanny Amparo taught her the recipes she and her mother made.〔 After marriage, she first moved with her husband to the city of Veracruz, with her nanny Amparo accompanying them. They then moved to Mexico City because of Raúl’s career.〔 Carmen remembers that one of her husband’s many friends was French who wanted nothing more than to be invited to the house to eat her noodle soup. She said this was her first indication that Mexican cooking offered something to the world. When Raúl retired, he bought a restaurant in Azcapotzalco, and when he died, Carmen took over the business. With her husband, Carmen had five children. Her oldest child, Raúl is a mathematician and her other son, José Guillermo, is a commercial pilot. Her three daughters have worked with the restaurant at some point in their lives. Maricarmen is an administrator of the restaurant chain. Luz María is also in business administration, managing the Azcapotzalco location. María Teresa studied to become a professional chef in England, Canada and San Francisco. She worked for a time as a pastry chef in Spain at the Drolma restaurant in Barcelona, but today owns several pastry shops in Mexico City.〔〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Carmen Ramírez Degollado」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|