probably one of the most healthy food you can eat. after this, it s gonna be your favorite. - everything. - you know what? i want to do a roasted beet salad. we re ready for lunch. - [laughs] - so we re gonna cook with it. - okay. the farm has an outdoor kitchen where lalo is showing me how he cooks the beets. even their names sound delicious; white sugar beets, red bull s blood, and candy stripe. we leave the beets to roast slowly and fry onions, garlic, and tomatoes as a base for the purslane. - now we re going to add our verdolagas, purslane. - oh, my gosh. - okay. and then we re gonna cover it. - where did your passion for cooking come from? - i started cooking out of pure necessity. when i was a kid, my family and i were migrant workers. my father did it for 30 years. i never went to school. i needed to find a job to support the family with my father. [soft music] - when lalo was eight years old,
- guess where you are. - guess where you are. it would be impossible for you to say, i m in mexico city. - this would be impossible to guess mexico city. - right? yeah. - this feels like another world. but can you believe we re still in mexico city? this is the dreamy district of xochimilco, a mystical network of waterways built by the aztecs. - so this used to be a lake. the aztecs built it, chinampas, which is little islands, to grow food. - i can t think of a better guide to these island farms than eduardo garcía, or lalo, one of mexico s superstar chefs. [upbeat music] lalo s gourmet restaurant, máximo bistrot,
- but anyways, with our beets, they re ready too. - oh, that s so beautiful. look at the rainbow of color! oh, that s the best spoonful right there. just one hour ago, this produce was in the ground. and now lalo is laying his roasted beets on a bed of freshly picked arugula. it doesn t get more farm-to-table than this. - we have a little bit of mint, and we re done. - that s it? oh, this is so beautiful. i would eat here every day. - for sure. - this is when you know it s a healthy meal. it has all the colors of the rainbow. ven, lucio! mmm. - [speaking indistinctly] - you plant, and he cooks? is that the deal? - that s the deal. [laughter] - mmm. - mmm. - the beets and that sweetness. mmm. - mmm. - oh, my gosh. oh, my god. this might be the best salad i ve ever had. it s interesting, cause we ve both been on a journey of, like, leaving our roots,
[upbeat music] lalo s gourmet restaurant, máximo bistrot, is in the heart of the city, and it marries french and mexican cuisine using fresh produce from island farms here in xochimilco. ah. so this is it. - this is it. this is arca tierra. - this farm provides lalo with some of the vegetables for his seasonal menu. [both speaking spanish] it s run by his friend lucio, an archeologist turned farmer. - right now, we have some parsley, some herbs around here, some chard, and the brassicas. - i feel like i m in a bowl of a really big salad right now. [laughter] - so for chefs, it s really like a paradise to come here and harvest. - so you come here, and you get inspired by what s growing, normally? that s how you decide what to cook? - basically, i come here, and i gather what i m in the mood for,
we re ready for lunch. - [laughs] - so we re gonna cook with it. - okay. the farm has an outdoor kitchen where lalo is showing me how he cooks the beets. even their names sound delicious; white sugar beets, red bull s blood, and candy stripe. we leave the beets to roast slowly and fry onions, garlic, and tomatoes as a base for the purslane. - now we re going to add our verdolagas, purslane. - oh, my gosh. - okay. and then we re gonna cover it. - where did your passion for cooking come from? - i started cooking out of pure necessity. when i was a kid, my family and i were migrant workers. my father did it for 30 years. i never went to school. i needed to find a job to support the family with my father. [soft music] - when lalo was eight years old, he and his family left their home in north mexico in search of a better life in the states. they worked without documentation as migrant fruit pickers around florida.