The Star: July 07, 2016

24 Thursday July 7 2016
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The Star
Taste
The love of food involves science
Ever wondered who is
cooking your food when
you go out to a cafe or
restaurant? The Star
continues its series talking
with chefs.
Mamacita’s owner and
head chef – Jess Lynch
• By Gabrielle Stuart
JESS LYNCH had a molecular
biology degree and was on her
way to becoming a doctor when
she threw it all in to pursue her
love of food.
She had finished her pre-med
training, had been accepted into
medical school and was a couple
of weeks away from starting when
she reached crisis-point.
“I thought what am I doing? I
don’t want to spend millions of
years studying to get to a medical
field where there are all sorts
of issues – because in the United
States it’s very complicated but
you end up essentially working
for insurance companies. So I
decided to take a break and went
back to what I always loved,
which was cooking.”
She now runs a popular food
truck, Mamacita’s, which is often
set up in Cathedral Square, and is
negotiating contracts for her own
Mexican restaurant, which she
plans to open later this year.
She grew up in the kitchen in
Southern California, learning
techniques from her Mexican
grandmother, her Italian father
and her mother who was amazing
at everything, she said: “Everything
she cooks turns out perfect”.
Working as a chef had paid the
bills while she studied, but cheffing
also gave an interesting angle
to the things she was learning.
“The molecular biology of science
and food go together really
well. My love of food came first
and science came afterward, so
it was really interesting to apply
those ideas to my cooking.”
She originally worked as a
pastry chef, creating wedding
cakes and “hoity-toity” desserts,
but found herself branching into
other things.
But she said her partner was
facing a round of lay-offs at his
job. He had been to New Zealand
before and loved it, so he asked
her what she thought about moving.
“The States was looking pretty
COLOURFUL:
Chef Jess
Lynch
creates her
own art for
Mamacita’s,
and hopes
to do the
same when
she opens
a restaurant
later this year.
PHOTO:
GEOFF
SLOAN
dire for working professionals,
the outlook felt really bleak. So I
thought I love adventure, I’ll go.”
She applied for residency in
New Zealand before she had even
set foot in the country, and the
minute she did, she said it was
“love at first sight”.
They both found work in
Christchurch and she spent
several years working for different
cafes and restaurants, before she
stumbled by chance on a listing
for a food truck on Trade Me.
The idea of creating a taco truck
was planted, and grew from there,
she said.
She said the food truck worked
well in the post-earthquake environment.
“There’s been a different vibe
after the earthquakes, a much
more creative way of looking at
things. There’s a lot more really
gourmet food, and it has brought
a younger vibe and life to the city
which I find really exciting.”
She said California-style Mexican
food was “punchy and fresh”
and less rich than classic Mexican
food. To create it she had to specially
import a lot of ingredients,
and made most of the sauces by
hand herself.
Her secret ingredient was her
range of vinegars, she said – she
usually kept more than a dozen
different kinds.
“It comes back to the science of
it, really. Many of the things vinegar
does changes the food, but
doesn’t have to taste like vinegar.
Often people won’t know I’ve
used vinegar, they’ll just know it
tastes different somehow.”
But some of her projects had
outgrown the food truck and she
hoped she could expand them in
the restaurant.
•The location of the food
truck is updated each
day on the website, www.
mamacitas.co.nz
Food for
thought
Soup Cup
and Saucer
Total Food Equipment
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