How you can join a culinary adventure to Mexico with Foko's head chef

Mottos for companies can sometimes ring hollow, a tumble of words that might sound good, but not really mean anything.

For Foko, the Mexican eatery inside Logan Street Market, 1001 Logan St., "illuminating culture through food," is real.

So real, the team is taking Louisvillians to Mexico City and Oaxaca, Mexico, next month as part of a culinary exchange initiative in collaboration with La Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca. And this is far beyond a food-lovers' dream trip to the capital of the country, and the capital of Mexican cuisine in the Oaxacan region; proceeds from this trip will provide funding for culinary students in Oaxaca to then visit us here in Louisville.

Foko co-founder Joshua Gonzales, a first-generation Kentuckian, is teaming up with retired philosophy professor Wes Lites (who travels regularly with students to the region) for the small-group trip from April 5-16.

First things first: as of press time, just a few slots remain open. And these lucky travelers, which so far include some Louisville chefs as well as home cooking enthusiasts, will get to experience "incredible hospitality and … a beautiful people," Lites told the Courier Journal of the experience.

In an ever-increasingly divided and embattled world, fostering these connections is more crucial than ever. And how better to bring people together than through food?

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“It's always started with a plate," Gonzales says, "where we have a common necessity of having to eat."

The chef helped create Foko as a "Mexican Southern fusion," he says, "and by Southern, we mean this American southern region of the United States."

"The history of the south … we know it's been not, particularly, a pretty history," he says, acknowledging the tensions along the border (and about the border) of our two countries. "For us, it was always 'if we can get people to the table, we might be able to understand we have a lot more in common than actually what makes us different.' So when we say illuminating culture through food … the basis is 'how can we learn from each other if we're sitting at the same table?'"

The 12-day trip will go beyond the usual tourist circuit of dipping into museums and seeing the various sights. That said, they're stacking it with some pretty incredible opportunities. While in Mexico City, the outings will include a performance of Ballet Folklorico de Mexico at Palacio de Bellas Artes; seeing the Diego Rivera murals; visiting the Piramides de Teotihuacan; and possibly taking in an Easter mass at Basilica Santa Maria de Guadalupe.

Once in Oaxaca, cooking classes with the UABJO School of Gastronomy will be hands-on, immersive experiences that wrap up with everyone sitting down to eat together. The dishes they may be preparing include mole amarillo con pollo (yellow mole with chicken), flores de calabaza rellenas (stuffed pumpkin blossoms), and helado de zarzamora con cajeta (blackberry ice cream with caramel).

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What's exceptional, Lites says, is that participants will get to know Oaxacans through homestays. Yep, this leg of the trip will find the travelers staying in the homes of local hosts (who have years of experience welcoming students in their homes), enjoying traditional breakfasts, and having the chance to practice Spanish.

Because while, yes, many of us will and do travel for food, what this — and all travel, really — comes down to, is a human-to-human connection. As delicious as the food is sure to be, the cuisine is the lens, Lites says, "through which to look at the broader culture."

And that culture is incredibly rich and varied, with 19 different indigenous groups in the region, Lites says, and each tradition influencing "the foods and the art and the colors and the textiles and the music … infusing [them] into daily life."

These influences will make their way back to Louisville's culinary scene, as well. Foko and its sister bakery La Pana Bakery and Cafe (at the Logan Street walk-up window) will be opening a location in the building across E. Kentucky St., says Gonzales, at the former Tim Faulker Gallery.

So not only will they be soaking up culinary inspiration from the trip — which may translate into creative new dishes for the restaurant — but they’ll be seeking ideas for "elements of interior and exterior design," he says, bringing vibrancy from Oaxaca to Shelby Park. They'll also explore how the communities there are connected with local farmers and artists, he adds, so that by the time they return, they’ll be back with culinary, community, and cultural influences.

For information about the trip, visit Foko's Facebook page or email wwlphd@gmail.com and joshgonzalez@fokofamilia.com. Price is $2,150 per person plus airfare.

Tell Dana! Send your restaurant "Dish" to Dana McMahan at thecjdish@gmail.com and follow @elleferafera on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Foko chef plans Oaxaca culinary tour to inspire new La Pana location