Flavors Unknown

Junior Merino Defines Nuevo Latino Cuisine

Junior Merino

From The Liquid Chef making cocktails to M Cantina in Dearborn, Michigan, Junior Merino is a chef, sommelier, and mixologist originally hailing from Puebla, Mexico. Through his food, guests find not only a wide variety of flavors, but an introduction to some of the lesser-known, pre-Hispanic foods that you don’t see on most Mexican restaurant menus.
As part of our series of episodes honoring Hispanic Heritage Month, today you’ll hear what his cultural background means to him, and the ways in which Puebla-styles and flavors show up in his particular style of food and drink. He shares his personal and professional culinary influences, how they inspire him, and how he incorporates a world of influence on his restaurant menu through the lens of fresh Mexican ingredients.

What you'll learn with chef and Mixologist Junior Merino

The impact of Mexican cuisine has had on the US (2:50)
How Mexican food is misunderstood in the states (4:00)
The various types of Mexican food we experience (5:05)
How the Puebla style influences his creative process (6:24)
The history and evolution of mole (9:02)
One common ingredient misconception about mole (10:59)
The traditional preparation of mole (11:34)
Defining the concept of “Nuevo Latino” (13:26)
Various types of tortillas and how they’re used (14:57)
The 30 types of tacos served at M Cantina (15:52)
Applying a made-from-scratch philosophy (20:32)
Why juicing is harder at home than in the restaurant (21:46)
How insects are incorporated on the menu and how they’re served (23:36)
The pre-hispanic foods of Mexico (26:14)
World-wide sources of inspiration (27:45)
Where his biggest inspiration comes from (28:58)
How his experience as a sommelier influences his cocktails (30:13)
The unusual flavors he sources from Mexico (31:53)
A recipe you can make at home (33:27)
Where and how Mexican crema is used (35:18)
Series of rapid-fire questions.
Link to the podcast episode on Apple Podcast

Links to other episodes with Latino chefs talking about Hispanic food

Interview with chef Erik Ramirez from Llama Inn and Llama San

Conversation with Pastry Chef Antonio Bachour from Miami

Interview with Pastry Chef Philip Speer from Austin

Conversation with chef Levon Wallace from Fatbelly Pretzels in Nashville

Interview with blogger and author Mely Martinez

Talking Hispanic Heritage Month with 3 chefs from Austin

Conversation with chef Shamil Velazquez from Charleston

Interview with Celebrity Chef Jose Garces

Conversation with chef Jonathan Zaragoza from Chicago

Interview with chef Andre Natera from Austin

Links to most downloaded episodes (click on any picture to listen to the episode)

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Latino cuisine has a huge influence in the US. A lot of the things we eat and a lot of the general market, like the big chains, have always some kind of either Mexican or Latino flavor influence in their cuisine. 

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As Latinos, we bring a lot of our culture and a lot the things that we have in our countries to the US, and it just makes it really amazing because we have so much to share.

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I have all these insects on the menu because that's what Mexico is. It’s what was before the arrival of the Spanish. So, this is the pre-Hispanic menu.

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