Culinary Traditions Travel Company Lets Taste Take The Lead

Forbes

2 days ago

Mother and daughter duo behind Culinary Traditions travel company. Chef Iliana de la Vega and Isabel ... More Torrealba. Ilán Sánchez
When you picture Mexico what do you see?
It is quite possible that whatever you are imagining right now, barely skims the surface of what Mexico can offer a newcomer, especially in terms of the people, the food, and the culture on a whole. Mexico is so very complex and varied in every way, that the mother/daughter duo behind Culinary Traditions, has made it their mission to dispel what you think you know, add to it, then douse you with a yearning to fall in love with what you discover on one of their many, highly-curated trips.
Led by award-winning Chef Iliana de la Vega, and daughter, journalist Isabel Torrealba, the company started in 2015 as Mexican Culinary Traditions. Rebranded this year for its tenth anniversary, they've begun to offer locations outside of Mexico. The duo runs anywhere between 15-18 trips a year to: Mexico City, Oaxaca, Merida, Yucatan, and, as of 2024, Chile. The goal is to soon add Argentina as well.
The goal of the travel company has been to share the many riches of Mexican culture-- especially things that often get overlooked--as well as to help debunk some of the many misconceptions. Sure, you will find tacos, truly excellent tacos; and surely, you will find tequila, but there are so many more gems to Mexican cuisine and culture, it is a shame when the surface is barely scratched. This is where de la Vega and Torrealba come in. When you read just one of their sample itineraries, you'll quickly see the level of depth explored and realize this is no spring break jaunt to Tijuana.
There's an endless array of chiles found at markets throughout Mexico. One of the experiences ... More Culinary Traditions hosts is cooking with Chef de la Vega where she teaches guests how to cook with them. Culinary Traditions
Did you know Mexico has a rich and evolving wine culture? The tour though Mexico City includes wine-tasting with a Mexican wine sommelier; historical walking tours; a canal ride and farm tour lunch in Xochimilco to learn about the ancient Chinampa farming tradition; and what many travelers on the tours anticipate, a day to shop for ingredients then cook with Chef de la Vega.
'I'm so proud of many things from Mexico,' Chef de la Vega said. 'I want to be able to show that the perception of Mexico--the cuisine, the people--the traditions, and the culture, has been limited."
In 2022, de la Vega became the first winner of James Beard's Best Chef: Texas category (previously the Southwest division), which, not only opened many eyes to the state's expanding culinary experiences but brought a new flock of foodies to Austin, and to her restaurant El Naranjo, specifically. The restaurant first opened in Oaxaca in 1997 with her husband, Ernesto; however, political unrest in the region in the early 00s caused them to uproot their family to the United States.
Once settled in in the U.S., Chef de la Vega taught 'Latin Food Ways' at the San Antonio branch of the Culinary Institute of America during the family's first few years. In 2012, she and her husband reopened El Naranjo in Austin after running a food truck of the same name for two years.
The highlight of the Mexico tours is shopping and cooking with Chef de la Vega. Culinary Traditions Girl Power
More recently, de la Vega's eldest daughter, Ana Torrealba, became the restaurant's Chef-De-Cuisine, giving de la Vega more time to host the tours she guides with daughter Isabel as well as spend time teaching and consulting. For example, de la Vega works with university's like Stanford each year to freshen up their dining hall options and teach campus staff about seasonal ingredients and how to incorporate new recipes.
When talking to Isabel about the unique work they do through Culinary Traditions, she doesn't discount that it is fun and wonderful, but admits it is indeed a lot of work. 'All of that back and forth can wear you down,' Isabel said. 'Your brain has to be on for a long portion of the day and even leading up to the trip, you're doing all the groundwork to get it going,' she added.
Every setting during the Culinary Traditions tours is picture worthy, making each dining excursion a ... More memorable occasion that's deep in history, and rich in experience. Culinary Traditions
The amount of planning, correspondence, and coordinating with vendors and hotels, chefs and restaurants, tour guides and drivers, takes countless hours months before the touring season begins. Then, when the tour is in high-gear, there's the physical demands of actually being with each group all day or on call for upwards of 15 hours a day for the duration of each week-long tour.
Nevertheless, she too gets to feel like a traveler discovering new things no matter how many times the trip repeats. There's always some new restaurant or museum or facet of the trip that she looks at through fresh eyes. As a matter of fact, as an amateur photographer, Torrealba has the pleasure of adding countless new images to her own growing collection while using them to market and brand the trips for Culinary Traditions. '
As the photographer on many of the trips, she gets to explore in a different way than when she is otherwise, operationally, crunching numbers, enrolling travelers; and making sure each tour runs smoothly. 'Even I, as a Mexican, born and raised, am still learning. I still encounter things I've never seen before," Isabel said. 'Mexico is not just one homogenous thing. That's something I try to communicate. The food is not just one thing; the food, the people, the country; It is a complex place.'
The trips occur between September and April, then during the rainy season, between May and August, Isabel and de la Vega are in administrative mode, updating the website, enrolling travelers, and investigating new restaurant or museum locations for the upcoming series of trips. 2025 will be the second year in a row they've offered an experience in Chile, working in part with celebrated Chef Pilar Rodríguez.
As a women-owned and led team, the duo tries to highlight as many women chefs as possible, so when Chef Rodriguez came aboard, they were thrilled. Rodríguez was the first woman recognized as a United Nations Tourism Ambassador in gastronomy and wine; she was also recently named one of the '50 Most Powerful Women in Chile'. Her restaurant, Food & Wine Studio, was also highlighted in The New York Times ' '52 Places to Go in 2024". A Family Affair
When it comes to working with family there are those who think absolutely not, and others who have found it inordinately rewarding. This mother/daughter team seem to be of the latter camp and actually count themselves lucky.
'In the early years, I remember sometimes being frustrated when I wanted to implement something new and we didn't always agree,' Isabel said. 'I was young and she had more experience. But that's changed and now I feel free to make decisions and I know she trusts my judgement and vision.' It is truly an honor to be able to work and learn from my mom. I've learned so much about food, hard work, discipline, professionalism, and the importance of kindness working by her side.--Isabel Torrealba
Thick as thieves, mother/daughter duo Isabel Torrealba and Chef de la Vega discuss what it is like ... More running a business as a family. Ilán Sánchez
And Chef de la Vega noted, 'When we are traveling we spend a lot of time together, it's not a 9-5 work relationship, it's 24 hours to spend with another grown-up human being. Love and respect have been key to have a good relationship.' It's a privilege to get to be that close and getting to know her not only as my daughter, but also as a colleagued. During the last 10 years that we have been traveling together with the culinary tours, I have seen her grow in many aspects, towards life, goals, work, ethics, and all. --Chef Iliana de la Vega
Make Yourself at Home cookbook author Janae Royston recently traveled with Culinary Traditions to Mexico City. Of the trip, she noted, 'It was an incredible way to experience Mexico City and the wide range of cuisines and culture, which is my favorite thing about travel and deeply influences what I like to cook at home.'
Over the last decade, Culinary Traditions has seen many repeat travelers; some who have even signed up for each tour offered in the company's portfolio. There are others who have been following Chef de la Vega since she first opened El Naranjo in Oaxaca. Further still, there are travelers anticipating new destinations and awaiting all the ways they can taste their way through another rich culture and cuisine.