Blaxicocina
BY TIARA DARNELL
Blaxicocina is a culinary platform evolved from its origins as Mexico City’s first Black American soul food restaurant into a Cali, Colombia–based culinary tourism and private chef platform led by, Chef, Tiara Darnell.
Blaxicocina currently offers culinary tourism experiences, with select private chef services, and freelance food and culture writing projects by inquiry. Inspired by the flavors of her lived experiences in Afro communities across Latin America & the Caribbean, Tiara blends contemporary African American Soul Food with Afro Latino culinary influences through intimate dining experiences and narrative work connecting food, community, culture, and place.
PRIVATE CHEF
Contemporary Black American Soul Food inspired by the flavors of Afro Latin America and the Caribbean.
Culinary Experiences
Culinary offerings that highlight local flavors and the people and culture they come from!
Pintar y Curao is an intimate paint and sip experience that offers participants an afternoon of freestyle painting with a flight of three small Soul Food / Afro Latin American fusion plates prepared in the moment by Chef, Tiara, and a complimentary shot of artisanal curao, an ancestral Afro-Pacific Colombian spirit.
Son y Sazón is a multi-course dinner, private dining and musical culinary storytelling experience that traces the journey and evolution of salsa music through food from the shores of West Africa, to the Caribbean and other parts of North America, to its embrace in Cali, Colombia, the world capital of salsa.
Food & CUlture Writer
Tiara is a freelance food, culture and destination travel writer interested in (but not limited to) writing about all things Cali, and Afro-Pacific Colombia, especially in the context of the region as an underrated destination for Afro tourism. Tiara previously lived in Mexico City, Mexico, and Portland, Oregon and has written from that experience for Vogue, Eater, Imbibe, Travel Portland, and Travel Oregon, and various other publications and platforms.
A former international restaurateur, Tiara is currently working on her debut cookbook-memoire, a collection of stories and recipes inspired by her immigrant experience owning and operating Blaxicocina, Mexico City, Mexico’s very first Black American Soul Food restaurant.
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Video: Juneteenth cookout at Blaxicocina • Mexico City, MX • Summer 2023
