Pati's Mexican Table

Pati is in the magic town of Maní to learn about something sacred to the Mayans - bees and honey. A group of women who protect the endangered Melipona, a stingless bee native to Yucatán, invites her to join in a Mayan energy cleansing ritual.

In Tekit "The Capital of the Guayabera" Pati encounters a tale of sons going against their father's wishes to follow their own path. Pati meets a farmer's son who went against his father to build a family business making the iconic Guayabera shirts.

Pati explores the streets of Yucatán's capital, Mérida. She tries "the best tacos in Mérida" at Wayan'e. The aroma of freshly made cookies lures her to Dondé Fabric, where their globitos and bizcochitos are an important part of Mérida's mornings.

Pati visits Chef Wilson Alonzo in his hometown of Halachó to prepare a traditional Cochinita Pibil in an underground pit. Pati helps Wilson prepare the achiote marinade, along with his grandmother who taught him traditional cooking.

Pati arrives in Motul, a town in the history books for Yucatán's once thriving henequén industry and for the egg dish Huevos Motuleños. Pati meets Doña Evelia, who put Motul back on the map with her world-famous recipe.

Temozón is the birthplace of Yucatán's signature smoked meat Carne Ahumada and everyone in town claims to have a relative who invented it. Pati strolls around town to try different versions of Carne Ahumada.

Pati returns to Mérida to meet sisters, Delia and Maria Elide, who love to cook and laugh and are famous for recados - pastes of spices and aromatic herbs that season Yucatecan foods. In Uxmal, she learns about ingredients that make recados unique.

Today no trip to Yucatán is complete without seeing a beautiful cenote, natural freshwater pools in caves. To learn more about Mayan communities, Pati visits Cenote Xocempich with lawyer Zoila Cen, who has dedicated her career to helping Mayan people

An ingredient Pati constantly uses is salt and Yucatán has one of the most unique salts. The Las Coloradas salt, which means blush red, gets its distinctive color from red algae. Felipe Perez takes Pati to the pink lakes where the salt is produced.

In Yaxunah, Pati discovers Yucatán's "league of their own." She joins the Amazonas, a softball team of indigenous women, for their morning practice. As they built a name for themselves, they overcame the mindset that women belong in the kitchen.