Emily Egge is the Cozumel Chef. She is passionate about food, very talented in the kitchen and provides a couple of interesting services on the island. A classically-trained French chef, she offers private dinners at your home or condo, refrigerator-stocking services for arriving visitors, cooking classes and unique food tours of Cozumel.
I photographed a recent evening at El Cantil, where she cooked dinner for four guests from Texas. She consulted with them about the menu choices a couple of days before. That evening they enjoyed her elaborate tropical sangria; two kinds of guacamole; fresh lettuce salad with avocado, nuts and grapefruit slices; braised short ribs for the main course (buy a nice big red for these!) and finished with the requested dessert of brownies, vanilla ice cream and candy garnish.
She serves and explains each course, giving her guests time to enjoy each bite and to relax before the next plate arrives. I heard a lot of “Yums.”
Food Tours
A couple of days later, she was taking four visitors to several great spots for local specialties. Some of these little cocinas are unknown to many locals. A few months ago she shared her favorite empanada spot with mutual friend who is an island resident, a foodie and a terrific cook. Our friend has lived here 30 years and had never heard of the place – but she loved it.
To protect Emily’s secret finds, I’m not going to divulge the locations. Some of them you might figure out from the photos. For the rest, you’ll have to take the tour.
The price of the tour features 5-6 restaurants for small bites, plus a tour of the mercado with an explanation of local produce, meat and seafood. The tour takes around three hours and you won’t leave hungry. Some of the foods sampled include: empanadas, tacos, lime soup, fresh fish and baked goodies.
You can read testimonials, get her contact information and read about her services on her web site, Cozumel Chef. Treat yourself, you deserve it.
Editor’s note: You may have noticed that there has not been a new Cozumel story lately. Our wedding photography business has gone crazy (good), the holidays were busy and the usual cast of friends were here to pull us away from work for a two-week period.
Since we have become so busy, I would like to invite local photographers and writers to contribute stories. Simply send an email and tell me your ideas.
I am looking for interesting profiles, reviews (none negative) and essays. If your photos aren’t quite as good as you would like, perhaps I’ll have time to shoot the photos for your story. 300 – 500 words should be about right.
