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Food chat to focus on Mexican cuisine
By M. Patricia Titus
Staff Reporter
Local restaurateur Matt Haley recently returned from a trip to Mexico, and he brought back enough inspiration that he’s ready to share his Mexican experience with local food fanciers at his regular food chat, Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Booksandcoffee in Dewey Beach.
From Mexican braised pork and chicken, to fish tacos, guacamole, salsa and beans, Haley promised this month’s food chat would focus on “simple, familiar stuff,” with all the fresh influences and inspiration his recent trip provided for him.
And that currently includes a real emphasis on Mexican condiments, Haley said.
“I’m going to show them how to pickle jalapenos and onions the way I learned when I was down there,” the man behind local restaurants BlueCoast, NorthEast Seafood Kitchen and FishOn said this week. “I went to this really cool place when I was down there, for breakfast. They serve everything with pickled jalapenos and onions in this really cool sweet tamarind sauce — with eggs, for breakfast. It was great.”
That experience inspired a new culinary fascination — one that Haley has eagerly followed up on since returning to the U.S. “I’m really into Mexican condiments these days,” he said, noting regular trips to new local Mexican food shops to get authentic ingredients for his own cooking.
Along with the specific food experiences he had while in Mexico, Haley said the Feb. 21 food chat will include discussions of his entire trip, from the culinary to the cultural.
“I’m going to go over a lot of things I love about the food down there and the culture,” Haley said.
And the latest thing on the local food star’s plate? Perhaps a future rise to TV-star status.
“They’ve turned the class into a TV show,” Haley revealed this week.
“Two weeks ago we started filming the show,” he explained. “Comcast did four shows to start. They finished editing it (Tuesday) and, apparently, it looks real good.”
So good, in fact, that original plans to start airing the new program on local Comcast cable television stations in March may be moved up to begin its run in the next week or two, Haley confided.
Next, there’s the “Fiesta Fun in Fenwick” event, scheduled for the end of March at Pottery Place in Fenwick Island. Comcast will be filming there, with more Mexican-inspired fare on Haley’s menu for the presentation.
And that’s in addition to a new food column he’ll be writing each month for the Coastal Point.
As for the ongoing food chats at Booksandcoffee, Haley noted they continue on the third Tuesday of every month, at 7 p.m., until May, when they’ll move to 8 p.m. and remain at that time through September.
For more information on the food chat at Booksandcoffee, call (302) 226-9959. For more information on “Fiesta Fun in Fenwick,” call (302) 539-3603.
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