Channel 5 today announced a new programme, Mexican Food Made Simple, presented by Thomasina Miers author, chef and co founder of the award winning Mexican street food restaurant group Wahaca and sponsored by Mission Foods, the Mexican owned food company with more than 60 years experience of producing wheat & corn tortilla products as well as a range of other foods.. In this new 8 part series produced by Blink Films, Thomasina sets off to Mexico to unearth some fresh, fiery and totally fabulous recipes.
Her hunt for full-on flavour will lead her to local festivals, bustling bars, and family celebrations across Mexico.
Tommi has been loco about Mexican food since she backpacked around the country. Her inspiration led to her opening an award winning Mexican street food restaurant group known as Wahaca, named after the great Oaxaca Mexican street food market. Tommi’s passion for all things Mexican includes, developing her own recipes for everything from churros and hot chocolate to “blow your head off” salsa.
Her clever twists on traditional dishes are not only simple and quick to make, they are also mind-blowingly delicious. Her salsas are irresistible, her chili con carne easy peasy and her spicy crab noodles to die for.
Passionate about Mexico’s celebrated street food we’ll see Tommi eating her way through the busy markets of Mexico City and Oaxaca in search of the perfect taco, tamales or tostada before whipping up her own easy-to-do version at home.
It’s not only the ingredients that will be exciting and unusual; we’ll meet some extraordinary characters who are willing to share their recipes – and their kitchens with us. Tommi will roll up her sleeves and get stuck in, cooking alongside everyone from internationally acclaimed chefs to Mexican great-grandmothers.
The brand partnership was put together by Blink Film’s AFP agents Krempelwood and Mission Food’s full service comms agency Brass and will feature sponsorship idents shot on location in Mexico…. The partnership will also see the creation of bespoke online videos starring Thomasina and competitions including the chance to win a holiday to Mexico plus there’s a unique cooking experience with Thomasina at her new London-restaurant Wahaca on Wardour Street.
Andrew O’Connell, Channel 5’s Head of Factual, comments “This is very exciting new commission for Channel 5 and it is fantastic to be working with Thomasina Miers who is Britain’s leading Mexican chef. Viewers will enjoy her clever twists on traditional Mexican dishes which are simple and quick to make.”
Dan Chambers, Executive Producer: “Working with Tommi is like winning all the sweets in a piñata. We are so lucky to have a presenter who knows Mexico and its cuisine inside out. It has been a real treat to work on and should be a real treat to watch. Her simple, straightforward approach will demonstrate that this country’s dishes are fresh, healthy and bursting with colour and flavour. There won’t be any cheesy nachos or sombreros. But there will be men with magnificent moustaches, wrestlers and lashings of tequila”.The series kicks off with Tommi’s simple takes on some real classics; a tangy guacamole, practically fat-free pork scratching and a Mexican version of Chile Con Carne. All rounded off with a punchy raspberry and tequila sorbet
Tommi says “I first visited Mexico when I was 18 and immediately fell in love with the food and the people. I am thrilled to be making this series because it is such a great opportunity to meet some of Mexico’s most interesting cooks and bring their amazing cuisine to a wider audience. Too many people think Mexican food is brown, heavy and covered in sauce. I want to show that it is fresh, exciting, bursting with flavour and above all, simple. “
Ian Job, Marketing Director of Mission Foods says “We’re proud to be working in partnership with Thomasina and sponsoring the show and very excited about the prospect of the show giving viewers a fresh outlook on Mexico, its culture and most significantly its cuisine. It promises to be a great series which will give people a real taste of what Mexican Food has to offer and just how simple it can be to make.”
