New Tasting Table In Baja California Highlights A Regional Farm-To-Table Legacy

In Baja California, Mexico, cooler breezes are finally coming, bringing new bounty to a region renowned for its flavorful, fresh ingredients and the farm-to-table culinary movement they nourish. With the seasonal change comes a new dining experience at Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas, one of the region’s most refined resorts: a new Tasting Table event making art out of the fruits of the land.

Bringing together chefs representing each of the resort’s twelve dining destinations, the property’s first-ever Tasting Table was journey around the world and back again. Still, its roots in the immense richness of this regional culinary legacy made it a cohesive dining experience that strikes at the heart of what makes Baja California such a special destination for foodies.

On The East Cape

Along the tranquil shores of the Sea of Cortez, Four Seasons Los Cabos at Costa Palmas sits in an area that feels set apart and serene, mercifully removed from the characteristic craziness of Los Cabos. It debuted in 2019 on the East Cape along lovely, less-crowded beaches (swimmable, a rare Los Cabos amenity for those in the know), and is home to a spacious spa and wellness center, a championship golf course, a private marina and much more.

With twelve different dining destinations—”thirteen when you include in-room dining,” notes the property’s Executive Chef Paolo Della Corte—cuisine has always been at the heart of what it means to visit the property. “Many guests don’t have the opportunity to try everything we offer during their stay,” says Della Corte. “We created the Tasting Table event so guests had the opportunity to try every single dining experience we offer in one epic, twelve-course dinner.”

Farm-To-Table, A Through Line

Chef Della Corte and his team debuted the first of what is set to be a quarterly Tasting Table series on August 30th, creating a twelve-course tasting menu, each dish drawing inspiration from one of the property’s restaurants. Crafting the menu was a feat considering the culinary offering spans Mediterranean mezzes, classic Mexican fare, Nikkei-style seafood and more. It was “the most delicious puzzle I’ve ever done,” says Della Corte.

What brought every piece together was a farm-to-table tradition and a commitment to the fresh flavors that goes beyond the resort and has become a regional standard. “Despite the variety in cuisine, the culinary program here is rooted in the East Cape’s bounty of the most perfect produce, seafood and sustainably raised meats,” says Della Corte. “It’s the golden thread that ties our food and beverage experiences together.”

For such a dry, desert-like region to produce a vast and varied bounty of fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices often comes as a surprise to visitors. But, there’s much more to the area than might meet the eye. “We are so lucky on the East Cape because the way the rain falls off the Sierra de la Laguna Mountains that surround us, it comes to this side of the peninsula which is why our produce is so impeccable,” says Della Corte.

With such a beautiful bounty, scrappy Los Cabos chefs and clean-eating-minded locals have steadily been building the region into a true farm-to-table destination for years.

It only made sense to host the inaugural Tasting Table event directly within the gardens at the property’s acclaimed signature restaurant, Limón. Here, guests dined in the very spot where many of the ingredients to be used in the menus were cultivated.

The menu featured such varied dishes as Baja California’s one-of-a-kind chocolate clam with salsa al ajillo, mango ceviche with cilantro and tajín, and grilled yellowtail nicoise salad with freshly picked vegetables.

Particularly special to Della Corte was the dish that represented represented Zest, the so-called smallest restaurant in Cabo that has only one table and one seating per night: calamarata pasta with Ensenada mussels, green pepperoncino and crunchy mollica. “Zest offers our guests a nine-course tasting menu that blends local ingredients with my Italian heritage. [This dish made] our Baja shellfish shine in the most perfect summer bite. Light, but also overflowing with local flavors,” he said.

A Seasonal Series

As a new season seeds the region’s fields with freshness, chefs are already looking forward to the next iteration of the quarterly Tasting Table event, now just a few short weeks away. Each event will feature a unique menu, tailored to the season.

For Chef Della Corte, the commitment to farm-to-table cooking goes far beyond a passing trend or a single event. “Farm-to-table dining is a forever trend here… it’s never actually been a trend for us, but a way of life. It’s understandable that this is the preference of diners, and we are lucky that this is the trend now because it’s who we’ve always been and it’s who we will always be.”