Wikipedia

Cocina de Autor

Cocina de Autor is a Mexican restaurant chain part of the all-inclusive resort Grand Velas Resorts. The restaurant brand operates at the Riviera Maya resort district in Playa del Carmen, near Cancún, Quintana Roo, and at the Los Cabos Corridor, in Baja California Sur. The restaurants offer creative cuisine featuring dishes made with ingredients from various regions. As of 2024, Nahúm Velasco was the head chef at the Riviera Maya location, while Francisco Sixtos and Sidney Schutte held that position at the Los Cabos resort.

Cocina de Autor
Graphic logo with the stylized text "Cocina de Autor"
Several tables in the dining area.
The Riviera Maya restaurant in 2010
Restaurant information
Established
  • 2008 (2008) (Riviera Maya)
  • November 2016 (November 2016) (Los Cabos)
Owner(s)Grand Velas Resorts
Head chef
  • Nahúm Velasco (Riviera Maya)
  • Francisco Sixtos (Los Cabos)
  • Sidney Schutte (Los Cabos)
Chef
  • Mikel Alonso (Riviera Maya)
  • Bruno Oteiza (Riviera Maya)
Food typeCreative
Dress code
Rating
Street address
Postal/ZIP Code
  • 77710 (Riviera Maya)
  • 23405 (Los Cabos)
CountryMexico
ReservationsYes (both)[1][2]
Other locations
Cocina de Autor is located in Mexico
Riviera Maya
Riviera Maya
Los Cabos
Los Cabos
Other information
  • Adults and minors over 18 years old (Los Cabos)[1]
  • Adults and minors over 12 years old (Riviera Maya)[2]
Websitegrandvelas.com.mx

The restaurants have received positive feedback from food and travel reviewers. In 2024, each restaurant received one Michelin star in the first Michelin Guide covering restaurants in Mexico. Additionally, both received the Five Diamond Award from the American Automobile Association.

Riviera Maya

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Grand Velas Resorts opened its Riviera Maya branch in 2008 in Playa del Carmen, Solidaridad Municipality, Quintana Roo.[3] Nahúm Velasco became the head chef of Cocina de Autor in 2024.[4] The restaurant offers an eight-to ten-full-course tasting menu, featuring dishes inspired by Mikel Alonso and Bruno Oteiza, chefs from Biko in Mexico City.[5][6] The restaurant serves creative dishes.[6] Additionally, Velasco described the food as "a playful and creative reinterpretation of traditional gastronomy, with imaginative touches aimed at surprising and delighting diners".[7]

Meagan Drillinger wrote for Travel Weekly that the restaurant's menu is commonly replaced, with options that have included spider crab with jackfruit; roasted pork with black garlic; and Cocina de Autor's own Melipona honey.[8] Isabel Leal from Robb Report México visited the hotel during the resort's Sensory Voyage festival. She was presented with gazpacho, smoked whipped cream, chicharrón, Australian wagyu with figs, Ossetra caviar, scallops, fricassee, and venison with a crust of raisins and coffee, served with a pine nut and cinnamon sauce.[9]

When the Michelin Guide debuted in 2024 in Mexico, it awarded 18 eateries with Michelin stars.[10] Cocina de Autor Riviera Maya received one star, meaning "high-quality cooking, worth a stop". The guide mentioned that the menu "emphasizes novel flavor combinations and compelling textures".[11] The restaurant received the Five Diamond Award from the American Automobile Association (AAA), making it the first restaurant within an all-inclusive resort to earn the rating.[12][13]

Los Cabos

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Grand Velas Resorts opened the Los Cabos resort in November 2016 in the municipality of the same name in Baja California Sur.[3] Francisco Sixtos and Sidney Schutte are the executive chefs of Cocina de Autor;[14] Schutte also heads Loto, another restaurant in the same hotel.[15] The restaurant offers creative cuisine through an eight-to ten-full-course tasting menu.[16][17][18] Schutte commented that his "cuisine is distinctive for its outspoken [flavors] that pop".[19]

Drillinger described its dishes, including scallops with miso butter, beef tenderloin with celery root purée, poached beetroots and maitake mushrooms.[8] Additionally, she mentioned that the restaurant "takes diners on a culinary journey, with a dimly lit, sumptuous dining room to set the scene".[20] Becca Hensley mentioned for Elite Traveler additional menu options like Australian wagyu with smoked parmesan and figs, oysters in its shell served in green apple aguachile, and fig and arbequina juice.[21] Alan Nájera wrote for El Universal that he enjoyed giant oysters from Comondú served with green apple aguachile, cucumber and a tempura crisp, longfin yellowtail served with daikon slices, accompanied by nixtamal and a cilantro-habanero sauce, shiitake mushroom, pecan, and jicama tetela, drizzled with corn velouté, and a piece of sliced beet in sauce, on a sourdough base, topped with smoked almond zabaglione and black sesame.[14]

CNN named Cocina de Autor Los Cabos one of the best new restaurants in 2017.[22] Forbes Travel Guide awarded it four out of five stars, noting that fine dining is typically rare in all-inclusive resorts, but the restaurant "redefines the art of vacation dining".[18] The Michelin Guide gave it another Michelin star to the restaurant chain, adding that the terrace "is a nice spot for bites and cocktails, and a few choice tables overlook a koi pond".[23] The restaurant received the AAA Five Diamond Award in 2024.[24]

Nájera noted that the restaurant opened to the general public after receiving its Michelin star.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Cocina de Autor Los Cabos". Grand Velas Resorts. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Cocina de Autor Riviera Maya". Grand Velas Resorts. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Velas Resorts: pasión por la hospitalidad desde 1989" [Velas Resorts: A Passion for Hospitality Since 1989]. Forbes México (in Spanish). 6 May 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Nahum Velasco". Concurso Nacional de Pinchos y Tapas (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Cocina de Autor". Marco Beteta (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Avant-Garde Cuisine Highlights Mexican Ingredients During The Best of Cocina de Autor Riviera Maya". Houston Style Magazine. 3 November 2017. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Gastronomía y creatividad: El Chef Nahúm Velasco comparte su visión culinaria en la Anáhuac Cancún" [Gastronomy and Creativity: Chef Nahúm Velasco Shares His Culinary Vision at Anáhuac Cancún]. Universidad Anáhuac Cancún (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  8. ^ a b Drillinger, Meagan (5 June 2024). "Michelin stars rise at four Mexico all-inclusives". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  9. ^ Leal, Isabel (15 October 2024). "Cómo es la experiencia en Cocina de Autor, el restaurante de Grand Velas con 1 estrella Michelin" [How is the experience at Cocina de Autor, the Michelin-starred restaurant at Grand Velas?]. Robb Report México (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  10. ^ Beaven, Katherine Alex (7 June 2024). "Mexico's First Michelin Guide Debuts With 18 Starred Restaurants—Including a Taco Stand". Afar. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Cocina de Autor Riviera Maya". Michelin Guide. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Best of France Event Unites 4 Top Maîtres Cuisiniers de France At Grand Velas Riviera Maya, October 14-18th". Food & Beverage Magazine. Riviera Maya. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Top Mexican Chefs Unite at a Top Mexican Beach Resort". Robb Report. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  14. ^ a b c Nájera, Alan (26 July 2024). "Cocina de Autor, Los Cabos: el restaurante con estrella Michelin" [Cocina de Autor, Los Cabos: the Michelin-starred restaurant]. El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  15. ^ McFarland, Rob (3 October 2024). "This Mexico resort elevates 'all-inclusive' to new levels of indulgence". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  16. ^ "You Must Visit Cocina de Autor—a Michelin Star Restaurant While Visiting Cabo". Travel Insider Magazine. Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  17. ^ Meagan Drillinger (13 June 2024). "This foodie-favorite Los Cabos all-inclusive resort shines bright with a Michelin star". Yahoo!. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Cocina de Autor". Forbes Travel Guide. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  19. ^ "Two Star Michelin Chef To Head Up Star-Studded Culinary Team at Cocina de Autor, Grand Velas Los Cabos' Signature Restaurant". Robb Report. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  20. ^ Drillinger, Meagan (7 June 2024). "11 Best All-inclusive Resorts for Foodies". Travel & Leisure. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  21. ^ Hensley, Becca (20 September 2024). "The Mexican All-inclusive Resorts with Michelin-starred Restaurants". Elite Traveler. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  22. ^ Dwyer, Chris (3 January 2017). "The best new restaurants for 2017". CNN. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  23. ^ "Cocina de Autor Cabos San Lucas". Michelin Guide. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  24. ^ Diaz, Aixa. "California Wine Country Hotel, Cabo San Lucas Restaurant Earn AAA Five Diamonds". American Automobile Association. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
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