Mexico: One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless

Deep in the Sian Ka'an nature reserve is a remote village named Punta Allen, Rick and Chef Juan Pablo join a team representing the local sustainable lobster fishing cooperative for an afternoon at sea. The day's catch? A Caribbean lobster.

Chef Miriam Peraza and Rick tour the bustling Mercado de Lucas de Galvez in Merida before visiting the remote town of Yaxunah. At Manjarblanco restaurant, Miriam reveals her secret behind classic panuchos, sopa de lima, and queso relleno.

Join Rick in Playa del Carmen where roadside vendors and stands serve authentic Mexican food. At Le Chique, Chef Jonatán Gómez Luna dazzles Rick with feats of molecular gastronomy. Also, Rick reveals how to execute the perfect taco party.

The Caribbean Sea provides bountiful fish, aptly translated on the plate through ceviche. Meet Chefs Pedro Abascal, Xavier Perez Stone, and Diego Lopez who reveal their own delectable ceviches, and visit Rick's new restaurant, Lena Brava.

At Hartwood restaurant, Chef Eric Werner explains the fascinating farm-to-table supply chain that provides Hartwood's live-fire kitchen with fresh ingredients. The rustic simplicity inspires Rick to shop for produce and cook up a storm.

In the Yucatán, cooking over fire is a way of life, and Chefs Juan Pablo Loza, Federico Lopez, and Eric Werner demonstrate their mastery cooking with flame. Back at Lena Brava in Chicago, Rick prepares spatchcock chicken al oregano.

Chef and Author David Sterling takes Rick on an inspiring whirlwind tour of the Yucatán peninsula, including to the rustic wood-burning ovens at Panadería Liz in Merida. Then, it is back to the gorgeous kitchen at Los Dos Cooking School.

Federico Lopez, one of Mexico's most talented chefs, joins Rick at the enchanting Mercado Municipal to extol the virtues of unique Yucatecan produce. They also visit Temozón for smoked meats, and with their basket full, it is time to cook.

If you could define the singular challenge facing Yucatecan chefs, it is about honoring the past while pushing forward. Perhaps no one is more emblematic of the effort than Pedro Evia, co-owner of Ku'uk, a molecular fine dining palace.

Chocolatier Mathieu Brees and Rick travel into the jungles of Ticul for a tour of cacao groves, then to the Ki' Xocolatl chocolate factory in Merida. After all that chocolate daydreaming, Rick makes a trio of cacao-inspired dishes.

Rick discusses Chef Pedro Abascal's reliance on local farms to supply his hotel restaurants, before visiting a lamb farm in Tizimín, and C-Grill restaurant. In Chicago, Rick heads to the outdoor Green City Market to gather ingredients.

Cooking in underground pits is an elemental part of Yucatecan cooking, and is downright sacred. In Yaxunah, Rick witnesses the process of making cochinita pibil. He also visits the smoky ovens in Temozón, stoking Rick's inner pit master.

Chef Roberto Solis' approach to food has always been different. At his restaurant, Nectar, Roberto shows Rick how to make three of his restaurant's favorite dishes. At home, Rick makes tostadas of charred octopus with escabeche, and more.