Entertainment · Books & Arts · 2 hrs ago
Chef Rodrigo Rivera-Río turns northern Mexican traditions into a Día de Muertos menu
Chef Rodrigo Rivera-Río created a five-course menu for Cena Negra XV, held at the Moxi restaurant in Hotel Matilda in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
The dinner brought together food and art to mark Día de Muertos, a time for remembering people who have died.
Rivera-Río, who created KOLI Cocina de Origen in Monterrey, drew on northern Mexican ingredients and traditions, including cooking over fire and gathering around it.
Smoke and ash shaped the dishes, alongside regional foods such as dried meat, lamb and goat’s milk.
The chef said the menu also pays tribute to his grandparents and to the stories passed down through family cooking.
The meal connected remembrance with celebrating life, and its final dessert used white to suggest absence, memory and change.
The dinner also highlighted the value of goat’s milk and the producers linked to the northern tradition of cabrito.
Chef Rodrigo Rivera-Río presented a five-course Día de Muertos menu at Cena Negra XV in San Miguel de Allende.
The menu drew on northern Mexican traditions, including cooking over fire and gatherings around the burning of candelilla.
Rivera-Río used smoke, ash and regional ingredients to explore northern identity and the ways food carries family stories.
The dinner took place at Moxi restaurant in Hotel Matilda and combined food with art.
Rivera-Río said the menu also paid tribute to his grandparents and reflected on memory and transformation.
- Who
- Chef Rodrigo Rivera-Río, creator of KOLI Cocina de Origen.
- What
- He presented a five-course menu for Cena Negra XV, drawing on northern Mexican traditions for Día de Muertos.
- When
- Not stated.
- Where
- Moxi restaurant at Hotel Matilda in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
- Why
- To explore northern Mexican identity and traditions, and to honor family memory and Día de Muertos.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The dinner began with Meteorito, a dried-meat dish enclosed in ash tempura and topped with caviar.
Rivera-Río served cantaloupe from Matamoros, Coahuila, in grapefruit aguachile, with edible almond and quinoa soil and green pipián.
The Mole de cenizas featured lamb and nixtamalized tomato, with ingredients prepared over a grill.
A matured cut of meat with charred salsa and smoky notes brought carne asada to the menu.
The meal ended with Silencio, a dessert of goat's milk, honey and flowers.
- Chef
- Rodrigo Rivera-Río
- Event
- Cena Negra XV
- Venue
- Moxi restaurant, Hotel Matilda, San Miguel de Allende
- Menu
- Five courses
- Restaurant
- KOLI Cocina de Origen, Monterrey, recognized with one Michelin star
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What people are saying
For us, smoke is not only a technique, but an ingredient and a note of flavor.