{
  "id": 9801001,
  "title": "A taste of Zioux’s Roots of Flavour evening: Street food dressed for fine dining",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/a-taste-of-ziouxs-roots-of-flavour-evening-street-food-dressed-for",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-25T17:32:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/lifestyle/food-and-drink/a-taste-of-ziouxs-roots-of-flavour-evening-street-food-dressed-for-fine-dining/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In September, Sandton’s Zioux restaurant welcomed the inaugural chapter of Roots of Flavour, a three-part culinary collaboration between Marble Hospitality and Air France-KLM. The event aimed to showcase celebrated Latin American chefs in South African kitchens. Chef Alberto Preciado, one of the participants, arrived carrying only a suitcase full of ingredients and a mission to dispel the notion that Mexican food is merely Tex-Mex. Chef David Higgs, the evening’s host, quipped, “You must understand, it’s not Tex-Mex. We have a great tendency to bastardise stuff – we’ll leave that to the Spring.” The menu prioritized specificity and provenance over familiar shortcuts. The first course featured roasted esquites topped with grasshoppers, while subsequent dishes included citrus-cured salmon aguachile, natural-corn tortilla soup, and a beef tenderloin with green pipián mole. Dessert consisted of a Mexican corn cake soaked in cajeta, accompanied by a vegetarian option featuring guava and Jamaica flower. Throughout the evening, Preciado emphasized the importance of preservative-free cooking, a philosophy deeply ingrained in Mexican culinary culture. For Zioux’s team, the evening held significant emotional weight, as a previous attempt to introduce a Mexican tapas concept had been abandoned in favor of an Asian menu. The collaboration between Zioux, Air France-KLM, and the Mexican Embassy aimed to connect people and cultures through food, with Air France-KLM framing its involvement as an extension of its business. Roots of Flavour's opening installment indicated that the series had set itself an exploratory brief, with Panama and Peru expected to follow suit.",
  "summary": "Zioux and Air France-KLM kicked off their Roots of Flavour series with Chef Alberto Preciado's five-course ode to Mexican street food and fine dining - grasshopper seasoning, aguachile and all.",
  "key_points": [
    "Zioux restaurant hosts inaugural Roots of Flavour evening in Sandton",
    "Chef Alberto Preciado emphasizes preservative-free cooking philosophy",
    "Series to feature Latin American chefs from Panama and Peru"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}