Mexico is fashionable in Spain for many different reasons. One of the most positive is, without a doubt, the evolution and excellence that its gastronomy has achieved.
On May 18, the Ibero-American Capital of Gastronomic Culture was presented in Madrid, at the Residence of the Ambassador of Mexico, which is currently held by the city of Puebla in Mexico. At the same event, a future Capital of Encounter Gastronomy was also announced, which will be based in the Mexican state of Querétaro.
During the event, attendees were able to taste tacos made with Arrachera macerated meat, a very versatile and easy-to-prepare product. The company that produces it, Sucesores de Cumbres Mayores, has remote origins in Spain. At the time, he emigrated to Mexico and, now, after the success he has achieved nationally and in other countries such as the United States, he returns to Spain to introduce and promote his Arrachera brand beef preparation, the most emblematic of his products.
Flank steak tacos offered during the event at the Residence of the Ambassador of Mexico in Spain.
A few days ago, Luis Lozano, the president of the group Sucesores de Cumbres Mayores, was in Madrid, and I thought it would be interesting to interview him at a time when large Mexican businessmen are deciding to invest in Spain.
It must be said that Arrachera was a sponsor of the first edition of the Ibero-American Gastronomy Awards and is an example of what the values of the New Gastronomy of the 21st century represent: healthy, supportive, sustainable and satisfying. And, above all, simple or, as I like to say,
simplicity
.
You have a degree in Law and currently also practice as a lawyer, at what point did you decide to dedicate yourself to the food sector?
Indeed, I am a lawyer by profession, legal science is my intellectual passion, but by divine destiny I am a butcher by occupation. My family, since time immemorial, has been dedicated to the food sector, especially meat. My parents, an exemplary and visionary couple, promoted family businesses in unity with their 8 children during their long lives. When I finished my law studies, my father invited me to take care of certain issues in family businesses. Thus, in 1990, I became fully integrated into the work of the family business in unity with the rest of my siblings. Today we have been working together for more than 40 years and we are happy to be a close-knit business family.
I have recently been entrusted with our project in Spain, at the head of our subsidiary Sucesores de Cumbres Mayores SL, together with a great collaborator of the group, the engineer Enrique Cardoso Casado, also a great businessman and an extraordinary executive, for his efficiency. Making things happen is the secret key to the business world.
Why did you decide to return to Spain and make the company’s flagship product here?
The love for Mexico, the nostalgia for our origins, the unwavering desire to continue building the future, the love for Spain and what Europe means, the proven success of our ARRACHERA brand in Mexico and the United States, were the factors that motivated us to undertake the project of returning to the old world and offering the delights of our product. the result of the fusion of our cultures.
Flank steak meat is produced with a specific part of the cow that is rarely used in the meat industry. Have you found all the necessary products in Spain or have you had to import any from Mexico?
Flank steak is the name of a finished product, a magical combination between a specific part of the beef and a fantastic secret formula for marinating or preparation. The piece of meat, which here in Spain we have called “palomilla”, is a kind of skirt located in the pectoral of the beef, outside the visceral cavity, with incredible culinary possibilities. It is not about the entrails, with which many here seem to confuse it.
We obtain this muscle from beef processors, about 3 kilos per animal, and we prepare it with a recipe that gives it great juiciness, tenderness, flavor and flexibility, giving rise to the ARRACHERA. All the ingredients in Arrachera are of Spanish origin, we have not had to import from Mexico anything other than our ideas, creativity and formulation. Meat in Spain has excellent qualities and we are taking advantage of them to make Arrachera the best beef product in Spain. The most attractive thing about our product is that it always looks good.
Gala for the First Ibero-American Gastronomy Awards of the AIBG at the Real Casa de Correos in Madrid
In addition to offering local products, I believe that you are making an effort to ensure that your processes are carried out in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.
Despite our long tradition and ancestry in the meat industry, our companies are modern, avant-garde, highly qualified in technologies and processes that ensure animal welfare, sustainability, care for the environment and solidarity and respect for each of the people in our company; collaborators, shareholders, suppliers and customers. That is why our group generates green energy, seeks animal welfare and has practices of solidarity and support for the communities where we intervene.
I also understand that you have a social responsibility strategy to contribute, in a supportive way, to the most disadvantaged people.
Our group has always allocated resources to support social works, but especially on the initiative of our parents Mr. Ramón Lozano and Gloria Torres. We currently have the Villas Juan Diego Private Charitable Foundation to support the elderly. We also support the Food Bank in Puebla, Mexico, and Villas Nolasco, an institution dedicated to the rescue of street children.
The first “that” of gastronomy is health. In that aspect, Arrachera meat can be considered a healthy product.
Yes of course. Arrachera is prepared with healthy ingredients; It is also pure protein, free of carbohydrates, which contributes to maintaining a balanced diet. Flank steak is not only a highly satisfying product, but healthy and super easy, or as you say, simplicity.
And as for the satisfying aspect, there is no doubt that Arrachera is a meat with a special flavor and juiciness. In addition, it can be combined with any type of drink, whether wines, beers, mezcals or even cocktails.
One of the main characteristics of this product is its versatility, adaptable to the creativity of any chef. Practically any recipe with beef can be made with Arrachera. The pairing is also very flexible, table wine, beer on a barbecue, even a glass of mezcal can go with this great product. One of the most remarkable qualities is its special tenderness, juiciness and flavour, attributes that make it a product that is not only new in Spain, but truly unique.
I would like to highlight the advantages that Arrachera has from the point of view of simplicity, the time and effort it saves in the kitchen.
We are lovers of frank food, of good care, of ingredients that do not require great preparations, although they admit them. Arrachera is a prepared cut of beef that is very easy to cook, it is always good, whether it is little or too done.
We recommend putting the griddle very hot, brushing the product with a little oil and cooking it for 5 or 6 minutes round and round and that’s it, in the term that each one decides. You don’t have to add salt because it comes ready. It is a product that is very popular with simple palates, such as children and the elderly, but that will also make you the king of barbecue in your meetings with friends. It always makes you look good.
Finally, I would like to know how you would rate your experience in Spain so far. Do you think Arrachera has been well received by Spanish consumers?
Our return to Spain has been a phenomenal adventure, not only because of the beauty and richness of Spain, but also because of the quality of its people, the way they have received us, the support they have given us. Nothing less than the support of you, Mr. Rafael, so generous with your friendship and opinions about our product. Spain is rapidly welcoming this gastronomic novelty. I believe that very soon, Arrachera will be a new star of Spanish gastronomy, made in Spain, with local ingredients and for the Spaniards, with whom we want to share this wonder, product of the fusion of our cultures.
