Meet ATTA Restaurant’s Chef Daniel Franco, and you’ll quickly notice what a focused, down-to-earth person he is.
He’s also intensely passionate, both about his ancestral Maya and Pueblan cuisine, and about other great foods from all over the world.
Here, find out 5 cool things about Daniel, and at the same time, get to know ATTA’s unique global/local fusion cuisine, combining local, fresh ingredients with global techniques and flavors to become one of Tulum’s most innovative restaurants.
Cool Fact One: Daniel’s biggest inspiration is his grandparents
“From an early age I was surrounded by the aromas and flavors of traditional cuisine, thanks to the dishes that my grandparents prepared with seasonal ingredients,” Daniel remembers about growing up in Cancun in a family that hails from both Yucatan and Puebla states. (Some of the best places to visit in Mexico if you’re a foodie!)
On the Yucatan side, Daniel remembers enjoying Maya foods like papadzules (hardboiled eggs wrapped in handmade tortillas and covered in pumpkin seed sauce). Or Tzik, a tangy, savory shredded venison dish marinated in sour orange juice and “secret spices,” that’s notoriously difficult to prepare (you need a clay oven, for starters!)
“These were really vibrant dishes thanks to our local ingredients like annatto, chiles, and citrus fruits,” Daniel says.
On the family’s Pueblan side, his grandmother would whip up some of those 40-ingredient stunners like Chiles en Nogada, and a “magnificent” homemade Mole Poblano for familial get-togethers. “Her food definitely left a lasting impression on my palate,” Daniel remembers.
“My culinary heritage is a never-ending source of inspiration for me in my career as a chef,” says Daniel proudly. At ATTA, that’s clear, as he brings local fresh ingredients like melipona honey, fresh homemade corn masa, bright green chaya leaves, and citrus fruits from Oxkutzcab village, into so many of our unique dishes.
Cool Fact Two: Daniel’s been a chef in training since age 15!
While other kids dreamed of becoming firefighters or soccer stars, Daniel already had his heart set on becoming a chef.
At age 15, he decided to follow his passion and signed up for an after-school job learning to cook with his uncle in a Creole-style restaurant.
With those skills in hand, he was snapped up after university by Hilton and then Meliá Hotels where he began learning from top-flight chefs from all over the world. He soon moved on to some of Mexico’s most ultra-exclusive hotels, including Belmond and One & Only Palmilla, under celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Not bad for a local kid with a big dream!
Cool Fact Three: Daniel is a Fusion Master
Besides his strong Mexican culinary roots, Daniel loves the simple, fresh ingredients of Italian cuisine and is a big fan of Peruvian food’s huge variety of world flavors, from West African to Aymara to Chinese.
He also draws on Japanese cuisine’s precision and beautiful presentation, and the sensory joy that is Mediterranean food, with all its sweet, spicy, sour, and salty goodness.
“Each of these cuisines has its own charm and distinctive character, and I love exploring and learning from them to enrich my own cooking and offer my guests a diverse and exciting dining experience,” Daniel says.
French cuisine might just be Daniel’s favorite to borrow from, thanks to two great mentors, Moroccan-French chef Larbi Dahrouch, and Californian chef Julien Asseo. These two taught him how to blend French haute-cuisine techniques with fresh local ingredients and his own personal style—traditionalists be damned!
“My role models are those chefs I’ve worked with who have not only mastered culinary technique, but also have an unwavering passion for innovation,” Daniel says.
At ATTA, that means such delightful fusion cuisine offerings as Pumpkin Flower Bucatini with Hazelnut Butter and Truffle Oil. This dish highlights Mexican pumpkin flowers’ delicate flavor, then layers it with hazelnut butter’s silky richness and truffle oil’s earthy, sophisticated aroma. All that goes on top of bucatini, an Italian pasta that Bon Appetit calls “the best long pasta there ever was or will be.” It’s a meeting of cultures that’s love at first bite!
Cool Fact Four: Daniel lives to thrill our senses
Imagine top-quality Wagyu beef, fried rice with ginger and garlic, and a roasted garlic, avocado, and sesame sauce, topped with pickled ginger. Japanese delicacy, meet Mexico’s freshest garden ingredients! It’s a delicious dinner choice at ATTA that you can enjoy cenote-side after lounging at our Cenote Club. (One of the best things to do in Tulum!)
“My favorite thing is seeing the reaction of diners when they try my creations and experience new flavors,” Daniel says.
Cool Fact Five: Daniel’s also a mixology whiz
Daniel’s heart belongs to cooking but he’s also a great mixologist who has a knack for blending unusual ingredients just right, from fresh guavas to aquafaba (fermented chickpea foam, but it’s creamy and yummy, we swear!) Check out some of his creations on your next visit to Tulum:
KÁBAH
Volcán de mi Tierra Tequila · Cucumber · Lemon · Mint · Mineral Water ·Jalapeño
K’AN BOLAY
Creyente Mezcal · Ginger Syrup · Pineapple · Aquafava
IMOX
Matusalem Platino Rum · Guava Shrub · Ginger Beer · Lemon
“The Yucatan Peninsula is a region incredibly rich in unique foods, with a huge diversity of flavors, textures and aromas,” says Daniel.
“At ATTA we not only celebrate the products our region has to offer, but we also believe in supporting local farmers, fishermen and producers who work hard to provide the fresh, high quality ingredients we bring to the table of our diners.”
Come sample all these global-local delicacies at ATTA, before or after visiting our beautiful Cenote Tuuch. You’re in for a meal you’ll always remember.
