by Mary Bailey
In the late nineteenth century, French novelist Marcel Proust participated in an exercise which could be thought of as the Facebook of its era—he answered a questionnaire about himself in a friend’s Confession Album.
Proust’s answers have been published, in one form or another, for more than a century. Many have used the questionnaire for their own devices, the most notable being Vanity Fair’s Proust Questionnaire featuring celebrities. The Tomato gives it a culinary twist.
Luna is not just a friendly neighbourhood hang, it’s a place to enjoy authentic Mexican flavours. The owner/executive chef Mariel Montero Sena was born in Puebla, the home of mole and chiles rellenos.
“Pueblan food is a historical mixture of the old Catholic system brought by the nuns and indigenous ingredients and flavours,” says Mariel. “There is a saying in Mexico, if you can make it in Puebla, you can make it anywhere, as people there are known to be hard to please. This is the food of my grandmother and that’s what we cook at Luna, in a contemporary way.”
Mariel has lived in Montreal, Madrid, Germany and Paris. Her Edmonton journey started with Earl’s. Her big breakout? The first season of HGTV’s Chopped Canada where the whole country was introduced to her vibrant personality and flavours. Then came a business making queso fresco (“I wasn’t going to put feta in my ensalada.”) and two years of taco pop-ups. Huma was funded by her grandmother (“she gave me my inheritance early”). Then came divorce and the dream of Huma was gone.
“I was sad to say goodbye to Huma, but now we have Luna.”
Luna Cocina Mexicana
9880 63 Avenue
Tuesday to Saturday, 11am-9pm.
lunamexicanrestaurant.ca
Hometown:
Puebla, Mexico
Where would you like to live?
Portugal. This is nice! Calm and light, life. If not, I’d like to live in a magical town in the mountains. (Mexico’s Pueblos Magicos.)
Your Favourite food/drink?
Ham and cheese-stuffed zucchini from my grandma with a mezcal from Oaxaca.
What would you be doing if you weren’t in the resto biz?
I’d be a psychologist. After six years of therapy and being in the hospitality business, I understand behaviour. I’m very interested in mental health.
What do you most appreciate in your friends?
Honesty. Cannot stand sugar coating.
In a dish?
Texture. I like to feel all the different textures at the same time.
In a chef/cook?
Calmness. I don’t believe in the Gordon Ramsey-style yelling kitchen. We’re dealing with fire and knives, everybody needs to be calm. We have to respect each other, no matter how rushed it is. The kitchen is not a pyramid, it’s a line—we all work together. And the dishwasher is the most important.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
My staff would say…Are we ready to rock?
Would you pay for this? Then no, don’t give it to me.
Who would be at your dream dinner table?
Rock stars! Freddy Mercury, Curt Cobain, Oasis. Those kinds of characters. We see a lot of musicians at Huma; I invite them to sign the piña. And Anthony Bourdain of course.
Who would cook?
My grandmother.
Favourite casual cheap and cheerful/afterwork food?
Los luchos. Yes, it is my grandmother’s recipe. I used to cook them for my friends after a night out. Now that they are on the menu, I can just take them home with me.
Current obsession or exploration?
Another Mexican chef, Israel Alvarez, who has a tortilla company called MAiiZ in Victoria, hooked me up with a Canadian source for huitlacoche, a corn fungus that’s important for Mexican cuisine. I reconnected with Israel recently, which was very cool, and now we use his excellent tortillas too.
Best thing that ever happened to you? Meaningful/crazy food experience?
This is not really about cooking. Every time I travel with my grandmother amazing things happen. We were in New Orleans and went to Emeril Lagasse’s restaurant, no reservation, and he came out to talk to us. In Vancouver, at Cioppino’s, same thing. At Tojo’s! They all want to meet my grandmother. And she doesn’t speak English. It happens every time I have dinner with my grandmother. They just seem to know.
Philosophy
You create your own world. One of my tattoos is a quote from Frieda Kahlo; ‘vive como piensas.’ Live as you think.
What’s next
We share something meaningful; we share our food. We are with people during some of their most important occasions—weddings, anniversaries. That’s inspiring and a responsibility. My desire is to keep the people who inspire me very close—make my world around those people in an authentic way.