René Redzepi, famed chef of Copenhagen’s Noma, recently opened a pop up restaurant in Tulum, in the jungles of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, for a seven-week run. Called by some “the most enviable meal of the year”, the 7000 tickets were sold within two hours of being released, purchased of course by the dialed in, international jet set/culinary travelers who can afford the plane fare, hotel, and $750 per head ticket after tax and service.
Redzepi is highly regarded as the chef who took locavorism upscale, insisting that ingredients and inspiration be rigorously local so that any restaurant aspiring to international acclaim must exhibit a sense of place. And this pop up seems to satisfy that condition with dishes inspired by the local cuisine and making creative use of its distinctive ingredients.
But Peter Wells the restaurant critic of the NY Times is not having any, refusing to attend or review the event.
“What I find hard to run through my critical algorithms, though, is the idea of a meal devoted to local traditions and ingredients that is being prepared and consumed mostly by people from somewhere else.”
Hmm? What Wells describes applies to most of the restaurants in the world if they cater to tourists? Where would the restaurant business be without tourism? Many places such as Tulum flourish only because of tourism.
Wells grants that Redzepi’s extravagant project was a creative success:
I don’t blame Mr. Redzepi and the Noma crew for coming up with an event that makes my critical lens fog over. They’ve acknowledged that they owe something to Mexico and tried to pay it back. In Tulum, they’re chasing their curiosity and raising new bars to vault over, which is what creative people should do.That’s the artistic side of Noma Mexico.
So what exactly is the problem?
On the business front, they’ve chosen to pour their creativity into something that, because of its planned scarcity and relative expense, has to be seen as a luxury product. Luxury goods tend to float free of the everyday world and create their own cultural context, one of wealth and exclusivity.
Again, this is true of the vast majority of the world’s best restaurants. Is Wells going to refuse to review the best restaurants in New York because they are, indeed, luxury goods?
It is surely lamentable that wealth distribution throughout the globe is so skewed that great food can be enjoyed only by the fabulously wealthy. I doubt that Well’s moral grandstanding does anything to remedy that.
Exploring the Philosophy of Food and Wine 
Tourism in the Mayan Riviera is a tricky and highly controversial topic and cannot be easily summarized in a blog. Peter Wells’ boycott may indeed be misguided, if not untenable given the natural link between tourism and high-end restaurants. Keep in mind, however, that many Mexican chefs and food critics are vehemently opposed to this project on political and economic grounds. See the Guardian link:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/10/tulum-mexico-restaurant-noma-danish-600-menu
I do not have a developed or resolute position on the matter. I can only say with confidence that it is certainly not a “black and white” matter. No doubt Chef Redzepi from Noma is a culinary wizard and one of the few masters of Nordic cuisine. And his laser-focused passion, which attempts to express his culinary philosophy–locavorism–is admirable and daring; it is no easy feat to conquer the essence of Yucateca flavors in a pop-up environment. (In fact, according to Redzepi himself, this was one of the reasons justifying the jet-set prices for the Mayan fare.) If culinary globetrotters are convinced that his project in Tulum is legitimate and good value, perhaps everyone is better off if we adopt a “live and let live” attitude. Failing to do so may invite accusations of “culinary envy, mean-spiritedness, or philistinism”–or, as in the case of Peter Wells, just blatant “naivete”. And it is also worth pointing out that a handful of first-rate Mexican chefs were highly supportive of the project, including Enrique Olvera from Pujol (Mexico City) and Benito Molina from Manzanilla (Ensenada).
Here is my two cents. I have been to this region 3 times, including two weeks last summer and did a fair amount of intense homework–talking to locals, querying friends and chefs and exploring the “nooks and crannies” off the beaten path. I have been in the culinary trenches of the Mayan Riviera– Cancun, Playa de Carmen, Tulum and the island of Cozumel. Some of it is pure magic. Some of it is the predictable low-brow tourism associated with cruise ships, over-priced “posh’ hotels and vulgar consumerism focused on name-brand merchandise. And there is everything in between. This is certainly also true of the restaurant scene in Playa de Carmen.
If one is on a budget and cannot afford Noma’s delectable feast, there are a number of excellent places–some high-end with distinguished chefs. For example, at Nau, the Bulli-trained chef from Barcelona offers some of the most tender and succulent octopus on the planet. El Pirata is regarded by locals and food pundits as the best example of an unpretentious joint where you select the fresh local fish from a chilled bin and have it grilled whole (head, tail and skin). El Pirata and similar small-operations with local ingredients and flavors are places Anthony Bourdain would refuse to mention in his program in “Parts Unknown”. And if you want to go native, places like Axiote offer tequila-based drinks to pair with the food instead of wine. In other words, there are plenty of alternatives to the spectacular mega-feast offered by the Great Dane. For the uninitiated and inexperienced, with little or no exposure to basic flavors and ingredients in the region–achiote, el chile xcatik, la pepita de calabaza, and lima–or common dishes like Poc Chuc, Cochinita Pibil, and Sopa de Lima–one may benefit greatly by exploring and sampling the “ordinary” before being transported to Noma’s divine realm of aesthetic perfection.
But, to be honest, I think we are all missing the point. Before one starts fantasizing about the greatest meal conceivable or the world’s most “enviable” feast in the jungles of the Yucatan, it may be wise to make Tulum itself a priority. The well-preserved ruins of the Mayan civilization, perched on cliffs overlooking the Caribbean Sea, are stunningly beautiful and leave one awestruck. This architecture was created with all local ingredients and undoubtedly gives one a supreme “sense of place” unmatched by the Scandinavian pop-up crusaders. In fact, it may enhance your sensory pleasures down the road.
Note: I cannot comment with any authority about the quality and taste of the Noma experience in Tulum. However, it was reported that most of the wines were imported from Baja California, nearly 3,000 away from the Mayan Riviera. This may call into question the whole notion of locavorism and to what extent it is ultimately limited. The importation of non-regional wines (even if Mexican) does seem to violate, at least in part, the spirit of localism and the sense of place it bestows upon our tongues.
Re: Peter Wells. I am not familiar with his columns. Apparently, in addition to “moral grandstanding”, he takes no prisoners. The following little blurb may be of interest:
Tables Turned – Top Chefs Review Pete Wells And Other Restaurant Critics
Larry Olmsted , CONTRIBUTOR
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
The tables have been turned – the food tables that is.
A few weeks ago I wrote here in detail about the very public Guy Fieri vs. Pete Wells/New York Times imbroglio. After Fieri’s new Times Square eatery received what is generally believed to be the most scathing review in the history of the New York Times, the TV food celebrity took restaurant critic Pete Wells to task. He accused Wells, the nation’s highest profile reviewer, of having “an agenda” and of using Fieri’s fame as a platform for advancing his own prestige. As the debate went viral, Wells’ article became what is likely the most widely read restaurant review ever, and many of Fieri’s fans (most of whom had not actually been to the restaurant) fired back, defending their beloved chef and essentially saying Wells didn’t know what he was talking about.
Does Wells know what he is talking about?
Fieri’s peers have spoken out on this issue, and in a rather novel platform. Food website The Daily Meal asked dozens of respected chefs and restaurateurs nationwide to rate the food critics who make their livings rating them, reversing the norm. They call the result “Top Chefs Rate America’s Food Critics.”
Bottom line? Pete Wells can sleep easy. The nation’s chefs found him to be one of the best in the game.
The panel ranked him the third best of the twenty leading critics, most from major publications, from The LA Times and Washington Post to Time, Vogue and Bon Appétit. The list includes the best known names in the world of restaurant reviews, such as Gael Greene, Jeffrey Steingarten, John Mariani and Andrew Knowlton, and Wells took the bronze medal against this elite competition.
The chefs were polled on four categories, Culinary Knowledge, Prose, Integrity and Likability. Wells finished near the top in every one and his total score put him in third place, behind only Vogue’s Steingarten and the winner, LA Times critic Jonathan Gold. He handily beat other big name reviewers such as Time’s Josh Ozersky (15th) and New York Magazine’s Adam Platt (17th). The bottom spot was taken handily by Brad Johnson of the Orange County Register, who came in dead last in the Culinary Knowledge and Integrity categories.
The full story also includes extensive comments from panelists full of both praise and admonition, and you can read it here
Thanks for the summary of food in the Mayan Riviera. Very useful if a manage to get there one of these days.