On my last couple of trips to Mexico City, I've come back very excited to see how the gastronomic community of the country evolves, grows and develops new concepts, always keeping up with the trends and with world-class quality.  To my wonderful surprise, on these last visits I had the opportunity to stop-by the first Gourmet Markets in Mexico.

To really understand what a Gourmet Market is, we have to go back in time a little bit. The word Gourmet comes from France and its original meaning was assigned to the good wine lovers or to the true experts on food prepared by the haute cuisine. On the other hand, Markets in Mexico go back to the sixteenth century. And to this day, most of the country's chefs visit them in search of exotic or very high quality products. One of them is the Mercado San Juan, which opened its doors in 1850.

The Gourmet Market concept started in Spain with the magnificent and monumental Mercado de San Miguel in Madrid that completely changed the perception of a Market by offering very high quality products where the only star of the place is the product itself.

This same idea is trying to be recreated in Mexico City with the new Mercado Roma, which opened its doors a few months ago in the Roma/Condesa neighborhood, and had instant success due to its vast variety of products and its modern architecture. 

Now we welcome the new place to go in San Angel, the Mercado del Carmen. In the most valued neighborhood of San Angel, on Amargura Street #5, you can find this typical "Casona" or colonial big house, in which its central patio was transformed to become the first Gourmet Market of the Southern side of the city.

The contrast between the modern design of the stands and the colonial architecture of the building really invites you to enter and to perceive the good vibe sent out by the owners of each shop. All of them young and very talented entrepreneurs that share with you their love of the culinary art and what their products have to offer.

At the entrance the first thing that I liked was a decorations stand by Nuria Terré and Annet Bouquet called Bunic (which means "pretty" in Catalonian).  They have very original products like birds and dogs troughs as well as pots with naturally grown spices that definitely honor its name.

Straightaway, you see Abarrotes Marilyn. A delicious delicatessen in which all the products are meticulously selected. They have hams, cold meats and cheeses from all over the world, as well as homemade products like their delicious Pepper Jam, which is really addictive!

But you can't leave Marilyn without first having their salmon and Mexican goat cheese baguette with a pickled salicornia, which is a very tasty sea asparagus. Or the duck breast baguette, truly exquisite. Now, with a full tummy you can continue walking through this wonderful place.

Through the aisles you encounter food stands such as Tout Chocolat from Luis Robledo, the most renowned chocolatier of Mexico that returned to his country to open his first candy, patisserie and chocolate shop in La Condesa neighborhood and that now joins the Mercado del Carmen family with handcrafted and delicious chocolates.

Even though it's not that big, it can take you a little bit of time to go through all the stands because of the high quality, originality and variety of their products. I can't wait to go back to Mexico City to keep discovering everything that Mercado del Carmen has to offer. Congratulations for a wonderful project! If you live in Mexico or if you are just visiting, Yo Mariana think you can’t miss it. See more pictures of the Market here:

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For more information you can follow them on twitter:

Mercado del Carmen @mercdelcarmen

Abarrotes Marilyn @marilynabarrot

Bunic @bunicstore

Tout Chocolat @ToutChocolat_Mx