Gabriela Cámara MasterClass Review

Gabriela Cámara Teaches Mexican Cooking

After months without any Masterclass, we decided that it is time to bring you another review of this amazing platform. In Gabriela Cámara Masterclass you’ll be transported to Mexico to discover one of the most exciting cuisines in the world.

A “star of modern Mexican cuisine,” Gabriela Cámara brings her local, sustainable twist to time-honored traditions. Now the chef of Contramar shares the richness of her culture through the art of food. Learn step-by-step recipes—for dishes of her own design, like tuna tostadas, and staples like tacos al pastor, salsa, and tortillas—and delight loved ones with your own delicious renditions of Mexican favorites.

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Food is the Glue of Everything

To hear Gabriela Cámara tell it, meals are about more than just eating. “I grew up in a family where food was the glue of everything,” she says. “We had important conversations at the table while eating, we made important decisions at the table while eating, important guests were offered food. I have a very direct association between important moments in life and food. Just sharing a table brings people together in a way that few things do.”

This spirit of generosity is what you’ll fill in this entire MastarClass. Not only you will learn amazing recipes and techniques, but you’ll also feel the true essence of Mexican cuisine. In our opinion, the authenticity of this class is what makes it so special. As we always say, recipes are far from being the most important thing you learn in these classes.

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MasterClass Overview

01 – Meet Your Instructor: Gabriela Cámara

Meet your new instructor: internationally acclaimed chef and restaurateur Gabriela Cámara. Gabriela shares how she became a chef, the origin story of her famed restaurant Contramar in Mexico City, and her philosophy on food and hospitality.

02 – Making Masa

It’s hard to overstate the historical, cultural, and nutritional importance of corn in Mexico. Gabriela gives an overview of this staple ingredient, its heirloom varietals, and the processes for nixtamalization and grinding to produce masa.

03 – Tortillas de Maíz | Corn Tortillas

Using the masa she made in the previous lesson, Gabriela shows you how to make fresh tortillas while explaining her own personal history with tortilla making. Learn how to best store and reheat your tortillas.

04 – Salsa Verde Cruda & Salsa Brava | Raw Salsas

Gabriela demonstrates how to prepare the two raw salsas found on every table at Contramar: salsa verde cruda, a vibrant tomatillo and avocado salsa, and salsa brava, a spicy mix of onions and habanero peppers.

05 – Tacos al Pastor | Achiote-Marinated Pork Tacos

Tacos al pastor are the signature street food of Mexico City. Gabriela teaches you how to prepare an at-home version, which includes how to make an adobo rub, marinate the meat, cook pineapple, and assemble (and eat) the tacos.

06 – Pescado a la Talla | Red and Green Roasted Fish With Refried Beans

A favorite at Contramar, pescado a la talla is a whole, butterflied fish with an Italian-driven green sauce on one side and a spicier Mexican red sauce on the other. Learn how to re-create this dish, select fresh fish, and make refried beans.

07 – Desayuno: Huevos Rancheros | Fried Eggs With Two Salsas

Gabriela makes her favorite breakfast: huevos rancheros divorciados, with a red salsa on one side and a green salsa on the other. She incorporates fresh tortillas and refried beans from previous lessons.

08 – Salsa Tatemada | Charred Salsa

Using a traditional Mexican molcajete (a mortar and pestle), Gabriela creates a rich, charred, red tomato–based salsa. She also discusses the concept of la milpa, the centuries-old symbiotic crop-growing system.

09 – Tostadas de Atún | Tuna Tostadas

Often imitated, tostadas de atún is one of Contramar’s most popular dishes. While showing you how to make it, Gabriela tells you how she developed the tuna tostada and its fusion of Mexican, Italian, and Japanese influences.

10 – Quesadillas Doradas | Golden Quesadillas

Mexico City’s take on the quesadilla is usually cheeseless, masa-based, and fried. Gabriela demonstrates how to make quesadillas doradas and introduces you to huitlacoche, a kind of corn fungus that is sometimes referred to as the Mexican truffle.

11 – Aguachile de Camarón | Raw Shrimp in Lime and Chile

Aguachile is an acidic, spicy appetizer of seafood cured in lime juice. This aguachile is made of shrimp, lime, quick-pickled red onions, and a chile-based sauce.

12 – Tamales de Guayaba | Guava Tamales

Using the masa made earlier in the class, Gabriela teaches you how to make dessert tamales with a guava filling.

13 – The Art of the Details

Gabriela offers parting thoughts on the importance of hospitality in Mexican culture, how caring about every detail of a dish yields the best results, and why you should never compromise on quality ingredients.

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Authentic Mexican Cuisine

If you are a fan of Mexican Cuisine you will love this MasterClass! Here you’ll learn how to make some of Gabriela’s most beloved foods, from fresh corn tortillas, tacos, and tamales to tostadas de atún (Contramar’s most famous dish). The recipes are just the tip of the iceberg of all the things you’ll learn. In this class, you’ll also get to know some traditional Mexican cooking equipment, like Comal or Molcajete, and some traditional ingredients like limestone.

In this class you have no shortcuts like pre-made tacos or tortillas, here you will learn to do everything from scratch. You’ll learn to make your own masa or even your salsa verde. This is what makes this class so authentic, throughout the recipes, you’ll get to know the real essence of Mexican cuisine. And although some of the ingredients could be hard to find, Gabriela will provide you actionable advice for sourcing the best ingredients.

We had the opportunity to test all the recipes in this class, and they are worth dying for. Although some of them take a lot of work to do, they really worth the time and effort. When you make your own corn tortilla you’ll see that will be the best tortilla you ever ate.

Final Thoughts

This Masterclass from Gabriela Cámara is a fantastic way to learn about Mexican food. Throughout the class, you will learn traditional Mexican cooking techniques and mouth-watering recipes that will make you a real Mexican cook. If you really want to become serious about Mexican food this is the class you need to take.

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