There are many unique dining experiences available to food-loving travellers nowadays, but one brand new offering is really teasing imaginations and taste buds. Launched by The AAA Five Diamond Grand Velas Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, the gourmet experience sees guests venturing 60 ft underground to a cenote (a water-filled limestone sinkhole created by the collapse of an underground cavern) to wine and dine.
The experience begins with a private tour of the 130-ft cavern at Chukum Cenote, where guests will see its countless stalagmites and stalactites and take a dip in the crystal-clear underground waters. Following that, Maître Cuisinier de France Michel Mustiere, Culinary Director of Velas Resorts, will present a three-course gourmet lunch curated based on personal preference. Highlights of the dining experience include cheese and charcuterie, duck terrine and, for dessert, handmade truffles. The lunch will be accompanied by a tasting of ancestral drinks like bacanora, sotol, tuxca, and pox. Guests will learn how these ancestral recipes came to be and how they are being reinvented and reintroduced to a modern palate with cocktail recipes.
“The experience is unique because our guests have the ability to have a gourmet meal and ancestral drink tasting in one of the destination’s relatively undiscovered cenotes. A significant part of Mayan culture, cenotes are found throughout the Yucatán. Over 6000 cenotes exist, but many that are the most beautiful are often the most visited. The Chukum Cenote will be completely private to our guests for their leisure,” a representative of The AAA Five Diamond Grand Velas Riviera Maya told Lonely Planet Travel News.
Available for up to eight people, the Gourmet Cenote Experience costs US$7000 and includes transportation to the cenote, taxes and gratuity. Nightly resort rates start at $434.
More information is available at the official Grand Velas Riviera Maya in Mexico website.
