Diana Kennedy the “Grande Dame” of Mexican Cuisine

Many moons ago my Grandmother Rosa introduced me to one of her treasured cookbooks by Diana Kennedy entitled The Cuisines of Mexico which was published in 1972 with a foreword by Craig Claiborne, Food Editor of the New York Times. My Grandmother loved experimenting in the kitchen and I was always in awe of her culinary creations so if she was interested in Diana Kennedy so was I. Diana's diligence in tracking down traditional recipes from the farthest reaches of Mexico was fascinating to me. This adventurous Englishwoman spent a number of years in Mexico after her marriage to Paul Kennedy who was the New York Times Correspondent there.

Last year I found out that Diana was going to be doing a cooking class in San Miguel de Allende. I really wanted to go however as most of you know my Mom was ill with cancer and I was hesitant to leave the country. So it was to my surprise that I happened to walk into one of my local bookstores recently, only to see that Diana had a new book she was promoting called The Art of Mexican Cooking and she would actually be here in Austin. Mon Dieu! I was as excited to see her as I was when I happened to cross paths with the Queen Mum, Princess Diana and JFK Jr.!

I grabbed my Grandmother Rosa's cookbooks and purchased a copy of Diana's new book and, like an anxious kid, I camped out in the book store awaiting the “High Priestess” of Mexican Cuisine. Of course I was the first in the queue. I introduced myself and had a lovely chat with Diana. She signed all three books and invited me to come to her next class.

On behalf of my Grandmother Rosa and my Mother Mary Alice I stood there and felt privileged to finally meet the Woman who was awarded “The Order of the Aztec Eagle”!