Cook Club with Alexa Fernandez

One giant commercial kitchen, 24 spots. Celebrating Mexican Independence, cook real Mexican tacos alongside Alexa Fernandez of Chili Maven.
About this Event

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A hundred food businesses cook out of this kitchen every day. On Saturday 19th September, to celebrate Mexican Independence, we open it up and hand the pass to Alexa Fernandez.

Alexa is the founder of Chili Maven, working with small artisan producers across Mexico to bring real salsa macha and mole to the UK. Growing up in the US with her family's roots in Mexico, food was how she first learned her own heritage. She holds a Diploma in Mexican Gastronomy and Culture from the Escuela de Gastronomía Mexicana in Mexico City, and has spent years teaching Brits the difference between real Mexican food and the Tex-Mex most of us grew up with.

Tonight, you cook with her.

The night

You arrive to a mezcalita in your hand while Alexa talks you through the menu, her story and her tour through Mexican chillies.

Then you get stuck in.

Made by you: tacos de alambre. You press fresh corn tortillas from scratch, using corn from blue to yellow, with hibiscus for pink and coriander for green. Then you make tacos de alambre, juicy steak tacos and the sizzling staple of Mexico City taquerías (forget fajitas), finished with your pick of three Chili Maven salsa machas.

Made by Alexa: calabacitas carpaccio. While you cook, Alexa plates thinly sliced courgette in a smoky salsa macha vinaigrette with toasted pepitas, served family style the way it comes to the table across Mexico City.

Then everyone sits down together. Your tacos, her carpaccio, good conversation, and an honesty bar open all night.

The mezcal

Your welcome drink is a mezcalita made with Mezcal Reina, founded by Susana Franyutti and Monica Torroella, two Mexican women in London working with fourth and fifth generation maestros mezcaleros in Oaxaca. Their agave grows in the milpa, planted among corn, beans, and courgettes. Two of those are on your plate tonight.

What's included

• A mezcalita on arrival, made with Mezcal Reina
• Dinner: the tacos you made plus Alexa's side
• A recipe card to take home
  

Good to know

• 24 spots
• Please arrive at 5:15pm to sign in
• Ages 18+
• Self-serve drinks honesty bar
• Pick beef or vegetarian when you book, and tell us about any allergies in the same box
  

Allergens

Mission Kitchen is a shared commercial kitchen. A hundred food businesses cook here every day and all 14 named allergens are handled on site, so we can't guarantee any dish is free from traces of them.

Peanuts, sesame and dairy.

Salsa macha is the heart of this night. You taste your way through several of them, so peanuts and sesame are on the table and in the food throughout. If you have a peanut or sesame allergy, message us before you book and we'll talk through options.

Dairy appears only as cheese on Alexa's side dish. Tell us when you book and it comes off your plate.

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What is Cook Club?

One night a month, London's biggest shared kitchen opens its doors and you step inside. You cook at shared tables alongside the person who lives and breathes the cuisine, then everyone sits down at the table to eat what you made.

Drinks flow. Music plays. The table talks.

No experience necessary. Just an appetite.

Come solo, with a partner, as a group of friends. Everyone welcome.