DISTINCTIVE DINING
The State of Campeche was long part of Yucatan (it broke away on August 7, 1857) and shared it's culinary history through the mid 19th century. Therefor the culinary delights of a typical Campechean kitchen come from the same mouth watering mixture of European and Mexican flavors as the "Yucatecan Cuisine". A bit of history will explain this strong European influence. Once upon a time the Yucatecan peninsula was considered to be too far away and too difficult to reach from the rest of Mexico. Mountainous terrain and very poor roads kept the peninsula isolated. Having ports (Campeche was the principle port of Yucatan until well into the 19th century) with commercial and cultural contacts with Europe, (especially France), New Orleans, Cuba and Arab immigrants, the Campechanos were easily influenced by many aspects of these countries and cultures, such as dress, architecture and cooking, which explains why there is a lot of European flare in its cuisine.
Much of the ingredients used in the menu is organic and comes from the gardens of any of the other haciendas of the group. Fresh-baked bread is "made at the hacienda" and the extremely fresh fish is broad in daily by the local fishermen you can find all along the main boulevard at the seaport of the city of Campeche.
Ingredients first used by the Maya include corn, beans, tomatoes, chiles, squash, chaya (a Spinach-like plant), avocado and achiote (annatto). The Spaniards introduced citrus fruit-limes and Seville oranges feature in many dishes, chicken, beef, dairy products, coriander, garlic, olives, oregano and rice.
The hacienda Puerta Campeche features the "La Guardia" Restaurant, overlooking the gardens and the swimmingpool. The menu proposes a blend of regional and international cuisine.
OUR COMMUNITY
The Henequen Haciendas were subjects of complex disputes over ownership. Over time, they were broken up and gradually abandoned, leaving many of the families of the hacienda communities who depended for so many years on the "green gold" economy, without work. The result was a high rate of unemployment leaving the following generations without a chance for a better future in the rural area of Campeche.
The revitalization of the Hacienda has resulted in the development of a series of social projects. The main purpose of these projects were to create new activities for the local inhabitants that for different reasons were not able to work in the hotel. These projects were primarily focused on the rich cultural traditions that can still be found in most of the Mayan communities in the peninsula such as handicrafts and other manual arts.
The inhabitants of the village who volunteered to participate in the project were not only trained in producing goods but were encouraged to use regional natural elements and traditional methods. They also received support with the construction of their workshops from the foundation that started the project. The majority of their produce is purchased by the Hacienda for different purposes such as turn down gifts, amenities for the bathroom and items to sell to guests in the Hacienda store.
Another very important initiative completed early in 2004 was the employment and training of local inhabitants of Uayamon to become therapists in the Spa of the Hacienda Uayamon and Hacienda Puerta Campeche, several of them with ancestors who were authentic Mayan "sobadoras" or "bone healers". Again, this was a way of creating opportunities for locals, especially women, who would never have had the chance to do this type of work and earn a living.
The foundation that today is responsible for the coordination, financing and supervision of all the social projects in the communities of Campeche is called "Fundacion Haciendas del Mundo Maya".
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