It was a moonless night, with a mist so thick you could cut it with a knife. Dijon's Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin (International Gastronomy and Wine Center) couldn't have dreamed of a better setting to celebrate Día de Muertos – the Mexican Day of the Dead. In early November, the venue was decked out with grinning skeletons and a delightfully macabre altar. After Lyon and Paris, the Burgundy town was the third stop on this year's Qué Gusto festival of Mexican flavors. Visitors were at least as surprised by the fake skulls and colorful make-up as they were by the culinary specialties.

At one stand, one could sample Purokao chocolate, crafted in the Mayan tradition by a French couple: a thick disk of unrefined, intense cacao designed to be melted in water or milk. Across the way, another French brand, Salsa, offered handcrafted Mexican sauces ranging in heat, made with chilies grown in the Deux-Sèvres region of France. Meanwhile, in the Cité's restaurant, chef Lydia Gonzalez served up dishes such as pimento cheese stuffed with fresh cheese and pickles, or beef fillet in a sauce infused with sotol, an herbaceous spirit. A revelation, even for the most jaded foodies!

According to Ximena Velasco, founder of the Qué Gusto festival, "Mexican gastronomy remains largely unknown in France. It's still confused with Tex-Mex cuisine, which originated in Texas, in the southern United States, using wheat tortillas – we use corn tortillas, except in northern Mexico –, kidney beans – we prefer black ones – and cheese similar to cheddar, whereas cream cheese predominates in our cuisine. In short, Tex-Mex is a distant, very greasy, and salty variation of authentic Mexican food. Some dishes attributed to us, like chili con carne, are complete inventions."

Added to UNESCO's Heritage list in 2010, Mexican cuisine is only now starting to win over the French palates. That said, it is generally associated with taquerias, restaurants that specialize in tacos. Yet, as Velasco stated, these small corn tortillas are "just a way of eating, like a sandwich, and not a dish in themselves." The country has much more to offer, as demonstrated by a new generation of chefs. Interestingly, these chefs bringing this cuisine to France are overwhelmingly women, like Carla Kirsch Lopez, who serves a gourmet menu in Lyon at her hacienda-style restaurant called Alebrije, supported by an all-female team.

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