SOBREMESA AT KEMPER MUSEUM

Kemper Museum, May 15 2025

Last week was one for the books! We had a sold-out crowd at the Kemper Museum to hear me chat with Liz Cook (check out her food newsletter Haterade).  Our theme was Sobremesa – which is a tradition in Mexico that originates from Spain where after a meal people linger around for a relaxed and lively conversation. As tradition stands, no topic is too heavy, provocative or political and so we took several turns. We talked about our socio-economic responsibility with sourcing, labor practices and consumerism. Sometimes during Sobremesa, secrets are revealed casually… Much to the audience surprise I shared that 10 -15 years ago I had no idea how to cook. My partner Mark can share many of my cooking disasters. I started out of necessity because I couldn’t find the type of food I grew up with in Sonora, Mexico. Started with tortillas and little by little we continue to introduce more elements. I revealed that my aspiration is not to be a tortilla manufacturer, but to help people enjoy Mexican cuisine while learning about its origin and rich diversity.  

We did a massive table with Sobremesa bites, snacks both savory and sweet that enhance the time while in conversation and hold the liquor. We had totopos, chile-lime crickets, taquitos, zucchini blossom cheese, salsa macha popcorn, chicharrones, hibiscus meringues and introduced the audience to Sonora’s famous coricos. If you have one of my zines, you may be familiar with them as the recipe is in there. It was fun making them and seeing people enjoy these classic cookies that I grew up with. I’m happy to share that coyotas and coricos will be available at Yoli Westside. There are a Sonoran staple and hope you enjoy them as much as we did. 

One last thing, I want to thank Liz Cook for making the conversations so lively, Ellie Closen and Kreshaun McKinney from the Kemper Museum for asking me to be part of their community series;  Mexico’s consul, Soileh Padilla Mayer for the most thoughtful introduction, hope I made all my paisanos from Mexico proud; Lucia Vidales whose art installation of Hambre was so inspiring, and of course all of you that attended – I’m blown away by your stories of when you first tried Yoli. 

So humbled, gracias totales,

Marissa.