VANCOUVER — Mexican-Canadian chef and entrepreneur Ernesto Gomez and his team of collaborators behind the beloved Chancho Tortilleria, Nuba and former Fayuca will open Alimentaria Mexicana in the heart of Vancouver’s Granville Island this June.
The latest effort in Gomez’s ongoing social mission to showcase, support and celebrate farmers and suppliers from Canada and small south-of-the-border communities across Mexico, Alimentaria Mexicana is a heartfelt love letter to his homeland and unites a lifetime of passion, expertise, dedication and storytelling.
Occupying the former location of Edible Canada, Alimentaria Mexicana will offer an expansive, multi-faceted concept featuring a licensed dine-in cantina and patio, take-out window, tortilleria and educational space, as well as a retail shop with high-quality, locally and internationally sourced artisanal products and provisions.
Alimentaria will highlight Gomez’s skills honed in the kitchens of Michelin-starred European restaurants and his continued quest to incorporate fairly traded, traceable and nutrient-dense Mexican ingredients in his kitchens. He will be joined by partners Darragh McFeely (Nuba, Chancho Tortilleria, Fayuca), who brings more than 20 years of experience in the industry as a director and partner of numerous brands both in Vancouver and New Zealand, and executive chef Martin Vargas, former head chef at Fayuca when it was nominated as one of Canada’s top 30 New Restaurants by enRoute Magazine in 2016.
“Behind every chile, kernel of corn and native grain we source from Mexico are stories with thousands of years of heritage, genetics and biodiversity attached to them,” says Gomez. “These are stories of hardworking farmers that planted the crops, tended and harvested them with care and are now able to reap the rewards and improve the lives of the people who live and work in those communities.”
