Tourism in Mexico is growing at a record-setting pace. In March 2018, more than 2 million visitors arrived at Cancun International Airport (up 14.5% from March 2017). And many of those tourists go directly from the airport to an all-inclusive property. Popular for all-you-can-eat and drink policies, these megaresorts aren’t normally associated with fine dining. Buffets where you can eat yourself silly seem to be the recipe for success. But some 45 minutes south of Cancun, one of Riviera Maya’s newest all-inclusives, Hotel Xcaret Mexico, offers those crowd-pleasing buffets but also caters to a more culinary-centric crowd.
Enter Carlos Gaytan, the first Mexico-born chef to earn a Michelin star and to be a finalist on Bravo’s “Top Chef.” After 28 years of cooking in Chicago, he has returned to Mexico to run the property’s fine dining restaurant, Ha,’ and be the hotel’s food and beverage leader. Will the all-inclusive crowd have an appetite for an eight-course tasting menu that comes with a US$126 per person surcharge? Can a culinary rising star translate into more bookings at a hotel? HOTELS sat down with Gaytan in Riviera Maya to learn about his new partnership with the hotel.
(Contributed by Andrea Guthmann)
HOTELS: Hotel Xcaret Mexico’s management say they’re confident guests will appreciate what it means to dine in a restaurant led by a Michelin-starred chef. To persuade guests to experience Ha’, they use your face on electronic displays in room phones and elevators, the in-house TV channel and the website. What are you doing to convince guests to spend US$126 on a meal, when the rest of the resort’s restaurants are free?
Carlos Gaytan: It’s all about putting a lot of talent onto one plate and in one restaurant. I designed the wine menu, the music, everything centers around me and what motivates me to cook. On an average night we might feed 72 people. We are beyond expectations. (Sidebar note from the hotel: “Carlos Gaytan brings the dining experience to a whole new level, and people everywhere understand that comes at a price. In fact, dining at an upscale restaurant often costs much more that the price of a dinner at Ha’, so we still think it’s a good investment, and our guests do too, given the fact that most nights the restaurant is fully booked. Also, it’s important to note that Ha’ is also open to non-guests, so we don’t rely only in our clientele to fill the restaurant, but also on guests of other hotels and locals.”)
H: How many diners are not from the hotel?
CG: I’d say about half. We get a lot of people from the restaurant business who want to find out why I earned the Michelin star. Since opening last summer, almost every night we have a full house.
H: Now-closed Mexique, your Chicago restaurant awarded consecutive Michelin stars, was your vision. How is it different running a restaurant in a hotel?
CG: At Mexique it was just myself. Now I’m blessed to have a whole team. I don’t worry about anything except making great food. If the plumbing breaks or something needs to be fixed, I don’t even hear about it. It’s a dream come true.
H: Ever feel compromised by something Hotel Xcaret Mexico asked of you?
CG: No, it’s been a great partnership. The restaurant’s name, Ha’ (Mayan for water), was their idea, but I loved it. They proposed the restaurant’s incredible water features, which I’m thrilled with. I wanted a water theme with Mexique but couldn’t afford it.
H: Any food trends you’ve been trying to implement here?
CG: Not really. At the end of the day it has to be about my style and essence. You’ll continue seeing what I’m known for — modern Mexican cuisine with a French influence.
H: Tell us about the series of guest chef dinners you’re hosting at Ha’.
CG: Hotel Xcaret Mexico celebrates Mexican culture in everything they do. A lot of people mistake Mexican for cheap, fast food. So we’re doing a series of special dinners where we’re bringing in the best Mexican chefs to each create one course, paired with wines from Mexico. I’m inviting chefs like Michelin-starred Paco Mendez and Jonatan Gomez Luna, the best chef we have in Mexico. Not only will they, and I, be cooking, but we’ll walk around and mingle with guests.
H: What’s the future of Mexican cuisine?
CG: We already have the flavors. I just want to incorporate techniques to elevate it. Used to be that all meats we have in Mexico were pounded. You asked for a piece of steak and you’d get pounded meat. Now you can get ingredients like foie gras, truffles, morel mushrooms, harvested from our own mountains. We don’t need to go to Europe to get chanterelles, we have them here. They’re in the highest area, but in the past, we didn’t even know where they were.
H: How can hotels improve their F&B service?
CG: Hire the right chef! Put the right person in charge. Hotels aren’t always the first choice for great food. My goal is to make Ha’ people’s first choice for great food in Riviera Maya and Cancun.
H: Will we see more hotels hiring celebrity chefs?
CG: Right now, chefs are like rock stars. Having a great chef means more business. It’s going to bring people to the hotel who want to try their food.
H: What’s next for you?
CG: I’m coming back to Chicago soon with three new projects that will celebrate the best of Mexico. I’ll continue running Ha’, but will go back and forth between Chicago and Mexico.