Original subtitles

Paul Hollywood is on another culinary voyage of discovery...

My God!

...to a country that is as yet a mystery to him — Mexico.

That does not look like any clam I've ever seen.

Mmm.

Cheers.

I've never been to Mexico, but I love Mexican food.

Well, at least, I think I do.

It's hugely popular in the UK, but I've got a feeling

that real Mexican food isn't going to be what I might expect.

Do you know what this tastes like? Sea water!

I know there'll be chillies.

I can't feel my tongue.

I know there'll be tortillas.

They're the best tacos I've ever had. Yeah?

And I know there'll be tequila.

Taxi for Hollywood!

But that's pretty much where my knowledge ends.

I think I'm going to need help.

Paul's about to discover a very surprising country.

What a way to get around.

I know you're happy, but your face doesn't know you're happy.

I've just bought these trainers yesterday.

I'm leaving half my rubber on your cafe!

This is making me very nervous. This... Argh!

He'll eat some very surprising food.

You've still got some of the meat, the guts. Yeah, don't say that, please.

Being Paul, he'll obviously be sniffing out every bread,

pastry and cake he can find.

That's delicious. It is.

You should open up a shop in Cornwall.

And of course there will be a mariachi band.

MUSIC

For his last week in Mexico,

Paul is concentrating on what they drink.

Let's raise a glass to Mexico.

And we're talking all forms of liquid refreshment, from booze to pop...

It does taste nice.

...and from soups to sauces.

I can't do this.

Paul's first stop on his lip-smacking, thirst quenching, ace tasting drinks tour

is the beautiful city of Oaxaca in the south west.

This place is the food capital of Mexico

and as local food guide Omar Alonso explains,

it's the go to place to try a proper Mexican obsession — chocolate.

All I see around me are chocolate shops.

It's one of the most important things in our diet in Oaxaca.

Also within Mexico. It's everywhere. Look, look, look, look.

How about some churros? You like churros?

I do but I can't have any now. It has chocolate in it. It's too early.

In Mexico it's never too early for chocolate, Paul,

although we're not talking about a bar of fruit and nut.

They drink their chocolate here

and it's pretty much a required part of any Mexican breakfast.

I haven't tried the hot chocolate here yet,

but I'm guessing that the chocolate I'm going to try today

is going to be very, very different to the chocolate I have back home.

I think so.

In Oaxaca, you don't have to buy a jar of chocolate off the shelf.

At one of the numerous chocolate houses in town,

you can have your own bespoke chocolate paste made for you from raw cacao.

You can just eat it like a snack. It's delicious.

To me it tastes like wet dirt.

You know when it starts to rain and the dirt gets wet, you know that aroma.

I've never eaten but I'd be wanting to! Wow, wet dirt, yeah.

So we're going to go with a traditional one, which is the one in the bottom. Yeah.

So that one has one kilo of cacao. Yeah.

25g of cinnamon and two kilos of sugar.

Yeah, just the two kilos!

And remember it's Mexicans who we have to thank

for inventing chocolate.

You see, 4,000 years ago, it was the ancient Olmecas

who originally turned cacao into a chocolate drink

and it's engrained in Mexican history.

I expected it to come out like powder,

but it doesn't, it comes out looking like melted chocolate. Yeah.

The Mayans praised chocolate as the drink of the gods

and the Aztecs used cacao beans as currency.

The smell is very distinctive. Yes.

It smells like a good chocolate.

You know the smell of a low cal chocolate to a high, you can smell it.

Yeah. I wouldn't know the difference

because I have never smelled bad cacao.

LAUGHTER

You've just been spoilt, you've been spoilt.

Apparently, 16th century Aztec ruler Montezuma ||

drank 50 cups a day out of a golden goblet

to enhance his sexual powers.

No wonder Paul and Omar are so keen to taste their bespoke mix.

OK, so I think we should make some.

How much chocolate are you putting in?

Quite a lot. Erm, it's three per cup.

That's a lot. You're not diabetic, are you? No, no, no. OK, good.

Maybe you will be after this!

LAUGHTER

The paste is mixed with just hot water

and stirred with a traditional whisk called a molinillo

to make it nice and frothy.

Little bit of foam. Ah, that's good.

This is the size of the cup of chocolate that we drink every day.

I can smell the cinnamon. Yes.

Oooh. It's a delicious drink. It is delicious. It's really smooth.

I don't know how sweet you think it is, but for us this is the right way. No, that's sweet enough.

Omar told me that to enjoy the full Mexican experience

of hot chocolate, we had to do a bit of dunking.

This is how you do it, you just...

People used to shout at me when I used to dunk my croissant into coffee.

This is a regular breakfast in Oaxaca.

This is the difference between, at the moment, Mexico and the UK.

Here you're taking the raw ingredients... Yeah.

...grinding it yourself so it's fresh. Fresh. Wow.

If you have this breakfast you can conquer the world.

I'd have that for breakfast in the morning. Yeah. It's fantastic. Yes.

In Mexico, chocolate is important for cooking too

and next Omar wants to show Paul a Oaxacan speciality

with cacao at its core — black mole.

What's the literal meaning of 'mole'?

Mole is a sauce.

This one has a lot of different ingredients.

Chocolate plantain, bread, anise, spices,

almonds, pecans, peanuts.

OK, you taste the chocolate in this one?

Yes, I think I can.

It's very mild, but there is something in the background

which you couldn't identify unless you said,

"Do you recognise it?" Ah, I can, that's what it is.

This traditional dish is being served by two traditional chefs.

Nicol and Donaji are muxes,

recognised as a third gender in Oaxaca.

In their culture, the muxes are considered a blessing

when they're born in a family.

Are they cooks... They're great cooks. Great cooks.

Make—up artists, artisans, weavers,

it's a very important community for us.

And they've mastered this art of the mole. Yeah.

I think it's a great flavour, it's silky.

You do get that little hint of cacao in there as well.

You can scratch that off your list now, black mole with chocolate from Oaxaca.

Absolutely. Tick, next.

Having ticked black mole and chocolate

off his foods I must try in Mexico list,

Paul is now moving on to another Mexican staple

and this is where things will definitely be hotting up for our hero

because next on the agenda, chillies.

The average Mexican eats 18kg of chillies every year

and they pop up in almost every Mexican dish to add a little spice.

So far, I've had spicy tacos, spicy sweets and even spicy sushi.

My mouth's on fire!

In fact, they love chillies so much over here

that the 1986 Mexican World Cup mascot was a chilli called Piquet.

Usually I grab a drink if something's too hot,

but you have to be careful over in Mexico

because guess what, they put chillies in drinks too.

And today Paul is sampling a selection of chilli infused drinks

along with a renowned and extraordinary expert,

taciturn chilli eating champion Miguel Angel Mota Losoya.

Preparing the burning beverages is chef Romulo Mendoza.

So, Romulo, this is your restaurant. Yes, it is.

The house has been in the family for about 120 years.

Wow. But it's been a restaurant about ten years now.

Right, and what do you specialise in?

In chillies. Right, of course.

Romulo loves his hot chillies,

but is starting Paul and Miguel off on something pretty benign —

a Margarita cocktail.

Well, a Margarita cocktail infused with chilli.

Oh, and with an arbol chilli floating on top.

OK, Miguel, are you ready?

Si. Salud.

Yeah, I think that's quite nice.

It's got a nice flavour to it, it's quite fruity.

You do get a slight kick of chilli in there.

Right, o|

Wow. Impressive.

Don't go to the toilet straight away, it'll be quite painful.

Round two is another cocktail —

a Mexican beer cocktail called a Michelada,

which is Worcestershire sauce, clam juice, lime juice,

a big glug of tabasco, and then, beer.

This is honestly a hugely popular drink in Mexico.

Oh, wow. Salud.

Now, that's definitely hotter, that one.

You can get the bitterness with it, as well,

I can feel my lips burning, which is quite a pleasant experience.

I think it could be, it's like on the si...

He's a thirsty boy, our Miguel, isn't he?

If this is getting hotter and hotter,

I'm quite scared about the next drink, if I'm honest.

Be afraid, Paul, be very afraid.

Erm, Romulo, could we have our next drink, please?

Of course. This is ridiculous.

Next is a whole poblano chilli with the top chopped off,

full of tequila,

and with chilli powder sprinkled around the rim.

What? You're going to take a sip,

and then, you're going to take a bite of the chilli.

It'll be a drink and a snack at the same time.

OK. Salud.

Salud.

The heat in chillies comes from a compound called capsaicin.

It's thought that capsaicin is an evolutionary step

to stop us mammals eating chillies and destroying the seeds.

Birds, on the other hand, are immune to the heat in chillies —

and this is a good thing for the plants,

because the birds don't destroy the seeds as they pass through them,

and will spread those seeds very successfully by flying

a long way away before taking a toilet break.

That's got a bit of heat in it.

STRAINED: It's got quite a lot of heat in it.

Yeah.

How you getting on mate, all right?

Nice one. Yeah...

Yeah, you enjoy yourself buddy, tuck in. Ooh.

Yeah, do you want some of mine?

HE LAUGHS

I think mine was a hot — I think I had a big clump in it on the top.

So, I'd done all of the drinks and didn't die.

Result — I was feeling pretty chuffed until you guys said,

"We're moving on to pure chillies."

And so that you can revel in the pain Paul is about to experience,

let me explain the Scoville scale,

which gives increasing numbers to specific chillies

to denote their spiciness.

Jalapeño, for example, start at around 2,500 Scoville units —

which is nothing compared to Paul's first chilli.

We're doing Serrano peppers.

Serrano.

What's this on the Scoville scale?

10,000 to 23,000.

That's a hot one, that's not...

Are you guys winding me up?

That's a hot one.

The spice keeps coming with the Chile de Arbol.

That's ridiculous... I can't feel my tongue!

This one was 15,000 to 30,000.

No! Are you reading them right?

Finally, it's time for the show—stopper.

The bad boy of Mexican chillies, the one and only...

Habanero — one of the spiciest naturally-occurring peppers

on the planet.

What are these on the Scoville scale?

These are 100,000 to 350,000.

HE COUGHS That's crazy.

You're a sick man, Miguel.

How you can eat seven of these things and rub them

on your eyes...it's just...

It's not normal.

Are you part bird, Miguel?

I can't even shake your hand, no way, there's no way!

HE LAUGHS

Bravo, champione.

Boulanger extraordinaire Paul Hollywood is on

a food tour of Mexico.

I'd have that for breakfast in the morning. Yeah.

He's now concentrating on what Mexicans drink.

Salud. Cheers, Salud.

And, as celebrated chef Claudette Zepeda explains to him over a taco,

Mexicans have a particular obsession with one specific bottled beverage.

Cheers. Thank you.

One of the quintessential taco beverages is a Mexican Coke.

You said Mexican Coke.

Yeah, so there's a very big distinction between Mexican Coke

and your traditional can.

Er, Mexican Coke is always served in glass,

but it uses cane sugar instead of the high—fructose corn syrup.

Oh, the fructose. Yeah, this is all cane sugar.

It does taste nice. Yeah.

I love it in glass anyway, cos I think it holds the bubbles more.

Yeah, it's definitely a trendier thing to drink

out of a glass bottle.

And talking about trendiness,

Mexican Coke has developed a big following north of the border,

with a growing number of hip Americans now claiming

that it's healthier because of the cane sugar,

but also that it tastes better than their home-grown Coke.

An opinion shared by our own diminutive Chancellor,

Rishi Sunak.

Mexican Coke tastes amazing, and I totally recommend it.

Yeah, I'm a Coke addict! I'm a total Coke addict.

Coca-Cola addict, for the record. I was going to say...

Just for the record.

So, you'll see more and more "hip" places offer Mexican Coke.

It does taste different, in my opinion.

They go by taste, rather than, it's a cool thing to do.

Well, it's a little bit of both, it's a little hipster,

and at least you know that it's real sugar.

It's still sugar. Sugar, sugar.

Quite right, Mr Hollywood.

And Mexico is the biggest consumer of sugary drinks on Earth.

They even drink 50% more Coke per person than

their American neighbours —

and that all contributes to a very real health crisis in Mexico,

with sky-high obesity and diabetes rates.

Many times, these kind of drinks,

they're cheaper than water.

You can't get potable water, but you can get a Coke. Yeah.

You know, so you see a lot of kids as young as two or three,

with a can of Coke.

Obviously Coke's — you see it everywhere in Mexico,

every billboard, it's on the side of the trucks,

I mean, more common than I've ever seen before.

In one region of Mexico,

the citizens drink on average two litres of Coke a day each.

Some even believe Coke has healing powers.

And it's used in religious cleansing ceremonies.

You see it in more rural areas.

Yeah. You see how it really, kind of, takes the spirit out of

certain places, cos the kids are...

It's like they're drugs. Absolutely.

Coca—Cola says it's committed to a responsible marketing policy

which complies with the laws and regulations in Mexico.

Now, as I've said, Paul is all about the drinks at the moment.

So, for the purposes of this next bit,

we're calling soup a drink —

because we really wanted this in the show.

Food-loving gringo Ford Quarterman,

who Paul first met in Oaxaca,

has now brought him to sample a liquid lunch that

goes back generations.

So, you're going to like this dish, Paul.

This is called Caldo de Piedra,

which translates literally to "stone soup".

The soup is traditionally prepared by men from the indigenous

Chinanteca community on the banks of the Papaloapan Driver,

in northern Oaxaca.

The raw ingredients, including fish, tomatoes, onions, and coriander,

are all caught or sourced fresh

and put in hollowed-out boulders that act as cooking pots.

Cesar and his son had to get

special permission from the elders

of their indigenous tribe to sell stone soup in

their roadside restaurant.

So, they get these special stones out of the river,

and they select them very meticulously.

And they put them in the fire for hours, and they heat up red—hot,

and they drop them in the bowl and just let it sizzle.

So, it sizzles, and it just cooks everything.

It's like putting it on a strong heat. Oh, here we go.

Wow. Pretty cool, huh?

So, that's boiling that water,

and the boiling is cooking the fish.

That's right, it's cooking everything.

It's cooking the veggies and the fish.

They use between 1-3 rocks.

It takes a couple minutes, and then, it's ready to go.

That's incredible, keeps the gas bill low, doesn't it?

Yeah, I would imagine. What an ingenious way of cooking.

Well, this is romantic, Paul, a nice little two-top.

It is, isn't it?

You would never think that, just 3-5 minutes ago,

this was just water, cold water,

and just raw cut—up veggies, and raw fish.

Gives "instant soup" a new meaning.

Yeah, that coriander gives a beautiful flavour to it.

Mind you, in the States, you'd call it cilantro.

Y'all call it coriander? We call it coriander, yeah.

Well, y'all invented the language, but we perfected it, so...

HE LAUGHS

It's ingenious, it is very clever.

It's got just the right end of salt in there, as well.

And they've obviously, over the years, mastered it and tuned it

to be able to create this dish.

It's when you hit that stone... Yeah. Very odd, isn't it?

I mean, that's a hell of a rock to have inside a broth.

Oh, yeah, still hot.

Definitely one of the more interesting plates

you'll eat around here.

I find it absolutely incredible.

And talking of incredible, do you want to see

the world's biggest collection of tequila bottles?

Well, so does Paul — and it's here at the |xi'im restaurant,

on the Yucatan Peninsula.

They've got almost 4,000 bottles of tequila in that place.

That's officially a Guinness world record.

The most exclusive one in there is the first-ever bottle of tequila

which came from the distillery called La Rohina.

Apparently it's priceless.

Mexican law states that tequila can only be made in

the state of jalisco and four other limited areas.

And worldwide, the tequila market is worth £8 billion.

While Paul's had a glass or two of tequila already on his trip,

he's yet to try the really fancy stuff.

Buenos Dias. Buenos Dias, hello.

Jorge! Hello, Paul, how are you doing?

Hello, nice to meet you. Hello.

|xi'im's sommelier, Jorge, wants to introduce him

to Extra Anejo — which is aged for at least three years

in oak barrels.

So, that changes the colour, it changes the flavour, as well?

Yes, and I have to warn you — the alcohol will be

a little bit more aggressive.

And here, a glass of aggressive tequila doesn't come cheap.

So, what are you looking at in cost, for a glass of this?

The most expensive tequila that we have is this,

the Do bell Cinquante. OK.

3,000 pesos. About £120? Yes.

£120 for one shot.

That's about 20 quid a sip.

I really do like this one.

But of course I would — it's £120 a shot.

With the program me budget blown,

Paul's attention turns to the top shelf.

I notice you have a line across the top — Real Minero?

Yes, Real Minero. And that is tequila?

No, Real Minero is mezcal.

Right, pay attention for this bit.

Tequila and mezcal are both made from the agave plant.

But whereas tequila can only be made from blue agave,

mezcals can be made from any type of agave plant.

So, much like Scotch or bourbon are types of whisky,

tequila is actually one type of mezcal.

To me, the best expression you can find of mezcal is Real Minero.

And you say they're based in Oaxaca, near Oaxaca?

Yes, in Oaxaca. I need to go to Oaxaca.

And cut.

To Paul in Oaxaca, again.

In a big truck.

With a cowboy hat on.

Paul's new friend, Omar Alonso,

who took him chocolate drinking,

also happens to be old friends with Real Minero

distillery owner, Graciela.

And they're going to show Paul how you make mezcal —

starting with an agave plant.

And Edgar takes his underpants off a lot.

How many of these would he cut down normally in a clay?

Oh, wow.

Once all the leaves are removed,

you end up with the heart of the agave.

It's these hearts that are roasted to make mezcal.

For that, you need a big fire.

Looks like volcano, doesn't it? It does, it does.

At this point, Paul's dragged in to help prep the fire

for the agave hearts.

What's the pay? HE LAUGHS

mezca I. mezca I.

The fire is basically a load of wood

surrounded by hot stones.

But you can't just lob the hearts directly onto those,

or they burn rather than roast,

so my job was to pack down a protective layer of

agave fibres with my feet.

OK.

I can feel the rocks. Like you mean it!

Kick it like you mean it.

I just bought these trainers yesterday.

LAUGHTER

I'm leaving half my rubber on the...on the agave.

It has my sweat in it.

Next, the agave hearts are packed in.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Smash it.

This one?

Where does it go?

Remember that you have to smash it, OK?

I had one job.

What, that way?

Sweating my nuts off.

You've earned two shots of mezcal so far.

Finally, the whole fire is covered with Earth, blessed,

and left for five days.

When ready, the roasted hearts are chopped, then pulped

to extract the juice inside.

After fermentation for up to two weeks,

the liquid is distilled twice.

And finally, it's ready to taste.

HE EXHALES

Taxi for Hollywood.

LAUGHTER

It's actually 50.7% alcohol.

But it doesn't taste as strong, but you definitely feel the warm.

It doesn't taste as strong. LAUGHTER CONTINUES

Well, you know what we call that?

We call it "happiness".

It's a good thing. Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

It pops all over the place, but in a very delicate way.

It's incredible to see the success that Graciela is having,

especially when she's working in an industry that's still

massively dominated by men.

As a woman, how do the other distillers of mezcal treat you?

Incredible job. Let's raise our glasses to Mexico.

To you, also, thank you. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

What's the drink equivalent of a feeder?

Whatever it is, Graciela's one of them —

she just kept topping me up.

Do you feel it less alcoholic than the first one, for example?

|'m...yeah. LAUGHTER

And topping me up.

That seemed a little bit cleaner, sharper.

That's because your palate is already used to the alcohol content,

so you know the first one is a shock.

And topping me up.

Hang on, are we going up in vol, or down, alcohol...?

Oh, now we went up, and now we're going down.

LAUGHTER Ahh. Literally, I'll be...

In about ten minutes, I'll be going right down.

I've learned a lot today, and I've had a fantastic time.

Muchos gracias. Gracias.

Paul is nearing the end of his time in Mexico —

but quite rightly, he feels his trip would not be complete

without a visit to one of this country's myriad ancient monuments.

Mexico is home to 35 UNESCO World Heritage sites —

mostly dating from the Mayan and Aztec civilisations.

And they are stunning.

Paul's ruin of choice is the ancient Mayan city of Mayapan,

on the Yucatan Peninsula.

It may all look very lovely,

but it's also very, very hot.

It's absolutely roasting in Mexico.

Fine if you're chilling on a beach,

but not if you're being chased around by a film crew

and didn't pack any shorts.

And it gets even hotter if you're walking up a pyramid.

No shade, no breeze, and 100 steps to walk up.

In jeans.

Brilliant.

On the upside, Paul's parched predicament does now lead us

neatly back to the subject of Mexican drinks.

Well, this is Mayapan, middle of Mexico,

and it's blisteringly hot.

But the Mexicans have a way of cooling you down —

and that's with aguas frescas.

Aguas frescas,

meaning "cool waters",

have been quenching Mexicans' thirst for centuries.

Typically made from a mix of fresh fruit, water, ice and sugar,

they usually cost around 20 pesos — about 80p a litre.

And Paul's become a bit addicted to this drink

during his time in Mexico,

so the crew have learnt to always have an aguas frescas on hand

for sweaty moments like this.

Here you go. Thank you very much, Jake, that's lovely.

This aguas frescas is all about fresh fruit and water.

Ahh, and it does cool you down.

According to Mexican folklore, the drink was first made by

Aztec farmers travelling in canoes to the markets of Tenochtitlan,

or modern-day Mexico City.

Apparently, they'd gather fruits along the waterways and mix them

with ice collected from nearby volcanoes,

then use their canoe paddles to mash it all together.

Frankly, however aguas frescas came about,

Paul is clearly just relieved that someone invented it.

That's delicious.

Not a bad view, is it?

And what better way to follow an afternoon on a pyramid

than with a night on the pueblo?

That's "town" for those of you who don't speak Spanish.

Paul's meeting up with a gang of Mexican bloggers who love

their food and drink, but don't appear able to count.

We are five Mexican guys,

and we're here to show you the beauty of our culture.

We're Mexicans, we love food,

and we want to transmit all that to you guys.

Today, the 4-5 Mexican guys want to transmit to Paul

their specific love of Mexico's traditional bars, called cant in as.

I was quickly told there's only one way to start

a session in a cant in a — with beer.

Salud. Is it "Salud?"

Salud, which means "health". Health, yeah.

The first round was Mexico's most famous beer, Corona.

I think they wanted to ease me in gently.

With Mexican beer, you can 5-7, and it's OK.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

We have these big ones that are, like, a litre-size beer,

we call them caguamas. Caguama.

Obviously put the lemon in it, lime in it?

THEY PROTEST

We don't really do that here in Mexico.

They started doing it in the US... and Corona embraced it.

Ah, right, OK. So, it's like TexMex thing.

Yeah, exactly.

Corona is apparently the most valuable beer brand on Earth —

and, contrary to popular belief,

despite sharing its name with a very nasty virus,

didn't really see any significant drop in sales during the pandemic.

Although, judging by a number of photos that popped up on Twitter,

there were some Brits who couldn't tell the difference between

a pale Mexican beer and an actual plague.

So, this sort of environment, for me, is actually very similar

to the UK, in some ways.

In a pub, sitting down at a table, drinking beers with friends

is quite a common thing.

People really love to hang out with their friends and go out

for some drinks after work.

And cant in as are some of the first places where Mexicans

started going out drinking.

These iconic Mexican watering holes have been around

since the mid—1800s.

Originally male only establishments,

it wasn't until the 1980s that they cut the sexism.

And now, whatever your pronoun,

you can stride through their swing doors to drink —

and, indeed, eat.

Did you order this? ALL: No, no, no, no.

So, this is one of the magic things of cant in as —

you get free food without asking for it. Free food? Yeah.

While we'd consider ourselves lucky to get a few nuts in the UK,

Paul and his chums are tucking into a bowl of prawn broth.

They make their money by selling the drinks. Yeah.

And the food is just, like, an incentive for you to come, too.

Well, that would make you drink more because it's quite spicy

and quite salty. Yeah. It's clever.

These snacks, called Botan as,,

have always been aimed squarely at keeping the clientele drinking.

And it seems to be working with Paul and the boys, as they now move on

to their next drink of choice.

We are going to have micheladas.

Micheladas? Yeah.

Of course, Paul has already encountered micheladas and found

them digestively challenging.

So, while most of the boys go for the full-on

ta basco—and —clam —juice micheladas...

We Mexicans, we have a steel stomach.

LAUGHTER Yeah, I know that, yeah.

And that thing is a bomb.

...Paul sticks to the simpler beer-and-lime-juice version.

Cheers, salud. Salud. Cheers.

Do you know what this tastes like?

Sea water.

Sea water. LAUGHTER

It does, doesn't it, you've got salt,

you've got the bitterness, you go "what the hell is that?".

And then more free food arrived,

a massive pork knuckle each, basically a main course for free.

If I eat too much, I can't drink.

After a few more glugs,

the boys decide they now need something stronger

and in Mexico, that usually means just one thing.

Tequila. Of course.

The key word here is "first",

which one would you like to try first?

LAUGHTER.

Before I start hearing blue lights and the sound of going to hospital.

After a few of this, of this,

your Spanish will be a lot more fluent.

I'll be fluent. LAUGHTER

In a cant in a tequila comes with

a chaser of fruit juice called a sangrita.

Well, people usually do is they take a sip out of the tequila.

And then a sip out of this. Not a, not a shot.

So where did that come from?

Whenever I'm in the UK, we have tequila, we get this and go whack.

We're having really expensive tequila. So you enjoy it.

So we have to enjoy it. Salud.

So that's a sip of tequila...

...and that's the sangrita.

There's a nice balance between the two, so this is non-alcoholic.

Yeah, no, no, alcohol.

This is just a little bit of friendliness.

Then I looked around, oh, yep, more food.

They are intestines.

Oh, delicious.

And so it continues, more food...

It's got a nice flavour to it.

...more tequila...

Let's raise a glass to Mexico. LAUGHTER

...and a proper Mexican cant in a night for Paul.

But of course, in a clear lesson to us all,

the next morning sees a poorly Paul.

Fortunately his condition does now allow him the opportunity

to try one of Mexico's favourite traditional hangover cures.

En", pozoka Verde, pot favor.

Si, gracias.

Pozole is basically a cross between a stew and a soup,

usually made with pork, garlic and puffed up corn,

called hominy.

It's often seen as the height of Mexican comfort food,

although it's probably best if Paul doesn't listen

to this next bit.

As corn was so sacred to the Aztecs,

pozole was frequently prepared as a gift to the gods,

but sometimes the meat in the dish was actually human.

Captured enemy prisoners would be dismembered in

a ritual sacrifice

and that flesh would be mixed with corn to be served as

a communal meal.

The supposed powers of pozole range from healing hangovers to curing colds.

So has it worked for Paul?

I can't do this.

Do you do an egg muffin?

Paul Hollywood has reached

the last day of his Mexican adventure

and his trip is about to go out with a bang.

Well, a lot of bangs actually.

Paul's come to the town of Tultepec,

north of Mexico city,

for one of the most explosive parties on the planet.

Every year, thousands flock here to celebrate

the patron saint of fireworks, john of God.

Yes, there really is a patron saint of fireworks.

Paul hasn't just come to Tultepec for

the pyrotechnics though,

he's here to learn about a drink that fuels the festivities.

I've come to try pulque,

an alcoholic drink made from the sap of the agave plant.

That's the same plant that's used to make tequila

and the mezcal Paul enjoyed at Real Minero.

Taxi for Hollywood. LAUGHTER

Introducing him to this third agave-based drink

of the week is comedian, actress and pulque expert...

...who knows where to find

the backstreet bars where this traditional tipple is served.

It's right here, it looks like a normal house, right?

Yeah, it does. Well, it's not.

Oh, this is nice.

It's really nice it's, um, I would say a secret pulqueria.

What's that, a skin disease? SHE LAUGHS

Pulquerias are actually

the bars where pulque is traditionally served,

and they've been lining Mexico's streets since the 1500s.

So have you tried pulque before?

No, no, I haven't.

Are you curious?

I am for sure.

You look more worried.

I am a little, I am a little bit worried.

It's fine because it, it has alcohol so.

Well, yeah, that makes it a little bit fun.

And we are gonna need that for our next activity.

I wanna see your face... Why? ..when you try it.

The texture is, is really special.

Smells like, a sort of fishy lemonade.

Kind of yes.

You don't like it?

Um, the flavour is OK, it's the texture.

I like the texture.

You like that texture?

It's weird, I know, but...

Geez. It's like a, it effervesces,

it bubbles on your tongue, a bit like lemonade.

Yes.

It's not a horrible drink.

I was being polite, it was a bit horrible.

I think this is a really cool drink.

Yeah.

After the pure pulque,

Eva moved us onto pulque cocktails.

Hers had coconut and condensed milk in,

and mine had cinnamon and red wine.

Red wine?

And don't get me started on the size of that mug.

In here we drink it like this.

You drink it like that? Yeah.

This is real, like really regular here.

We like our drinks big...

Oh. You OK?

You can't drink it, can you? It's ridiculous.

I think mine, mine is better, I don't know why but I, I think...

It is better, right? Mine is better.

I love coconut. That, that's delicious.

That's like tanning lotion, isn't it?

LAUGHTER

Pulque reached peak popularity in the 19th century

and still accounts for 10%

of the alcoholic drinks consumed in Mexico today.

This is almost like protein.

So it's good for you, it's a health drink, bar the alcohol.

You can have this for breakfast and be strong as a cow, like, mm!

HE LAUGHS

So apparently feeling strong as cows,

Paul and Eva head off to see some other bovines that are central

to the upcoming festival.

Toritos are the huge papier-mache bulls loaded with fireworks,

which are paraded through the streets during the day

of the festival and then set on fire after dark.

Tonight, 400 of these will light up the town.

To see a toff mo up dose before it gets destroyed,

Paul and Eva are popping into

the warehouse of props builder Artsumex.

This is amazing.

It's crazy, right?

This talented team don't just make ballistic bulls,

they also make incredible creations for stage and screen,

like some of the huge day of

the dead marionettes that brought a truly Mexican feel

to the opening of the James Bond film, Spectre,

and Paul is a bit of a Bond super fan.

I love James Bond. The initial opening of Spectre,

was probably one of the best openings on any Bond movie.

You kind of look like James Bond.

Err. A James Bond that can bake.

Yeah, yeah I'm like a fat James Bond.

SHE LAUGHS

I mean, it's an amazing artwork.

So how many fireworks are actually be, gonna be on this bull?

There is gonna be 288 feet—seeking fireworks.

What?

Those are gonna make you run.

I've never, I've never heard of feet-seeking fireworks.

But then it turned out it wasn't

just my feet I needed to worry about.

They're gonna put, like a crown on top of it,

that's gonna light up and turn around the sky.

It goes on the top of this? Yeah, it goes on the top.

Yeah, but you said it chases your feet,

it more like chases your eyeballs.

It could be feet-chasing,

eye-chasing, you know, ears—chasing. It's hard to know.

Yeah, this is, this is gonna be real fun.

And how long will it last, when they...?

Does it just go bang and that's it, or...?

Cuanto duran? Cinco minutos. Five minutes.

Five minutes. It could be less, it could be more,

it depends on the wind,

the wind is gonna be there for us, or maybe not.

Right, I think I, there could be a bit of wind around me. to be honest.

This does all come with a serious health warning of course,

because fireworks are dangerous.

Tultapec produces 80% of Mexico's fireworks

and sadly has seen a number of fatal accidents in recent years.

At the town's San Pablito market in 2016,

300 tonnes of fireworks exploded killing over 40 people.

And every year hundreds of visitors to

the festival are injured after being hit by fireworks,

but apparently scars are seen, by many of them,

as blessing from the saint.

With the crowds now starting to build,

it's time for Paul and Eva to head off to the festival in style.

This is how we're gonna get to the festival.

Oh, brilliant. Do you like it? Oh, brilliant.

Does this guy know he's gonna carry a big weight?

TRAILER CREAKS I've broken it already.

SHE LAUGHS I'm gonna kill him.

Look at him, he can't move it.

After a push start, they're off.

But despite the fact that they're heading off

to watch one of the greatest spectacles Mexico has to offer,

Eva Maria's not sure Paul is quite in the mood yet.

| know you're happy-

but your face doesn't know you're happy.

HE LAUGHS

You need to smile, you need to smile. I know, I know.

You need more pulque.

Yeah, some more pulque.

Before long, Paul and Eva are right in the thick of it.

It's got a real festival vibe about this.

Everybody's here, it's the smell and the sounds and it's,

you feel it building up to something, don't you?

It's crazy, there's so many people here.

You look worried. SHE LAUGHS

Are you worried?

It's the noises, I'm going...

TUK TUK SQUEAKS After a somewhat squeaky ride...

I'm gonna buy him some oil.

...Paul and Eva reach the party.

As day turns to night, the crowd and the tension grows.

Look at that, how dense that crowd is.

Everybody's dancing, everybody's drunk.

I mean, in the world that we live in,

which is all about health and safety,

you know, is that all right? You know, no!

When the first bull made its way into the middle of

the crowds, I was genuinely nervous.

They're all moving in, look at them.

And then...

Whoa.

Geez.

It's like they want to get burnt, they just wanna get burnt.

That's mad, look at that one.

Whoa. Wow!

HE LAUGHS

Imagine that thing going towards your face.

I think this one's ours, this one coming in.

Yeah, that's the one, right? Oh.

Whoa, whoa, oh, ho, ho. No way.

I'm scared I'm gonna lose an eye.

Look at, look at them.

They were screaming "fuego, fuego, fire, fire, fire.".

I think we should scream fuego.

Fueg0.Fuego. THEY LAUGH

Look at them all.

Nutters, absolute nutters.

The smell, it's so strong, isn't it?

It's so dangerous.

I almost didn't know where to look.

In one direction, you've got a bull that's toppled over...

No.

...firing rockets across the ground.

No way, that's terrifying.

Then over on the other side,

you've got another that's caught fire.

The fire brigade's just standing there going,

"Err, shall we have a coffee?".

Take your time, boys.

It's going crazy now, I mean, maybe it's the pulque.

They have to be drunk.

Yeah, they can't be sober.

These people have been drinking pulque all day.

That's still lit when it comes down, it's big. It is.

It's very, very big.

So you're having fun?

Yeah, yeah, I am. I am too.

Absolutely, and it shows on my face.

THEY LAUGH

That's one night I'll remember for the rest of my life.

SHE SCREAMS

I mean, this is a, a fantastic time to end my three weeks in Mexico.

I'm just pleased Paul's made it through that alive.

Fuegog

SHE LAUGHS Salud.

Salud.

Love it.

Well, what a flaming good way to end Paul's Mexican escapade.

It's been three wonderful weeks of fun,

food and fabulous experiences,

and Mexico has definitely left

a lasting impression on our very happy traveller.

Mexico is a place of friendliness, it's alive,

it just enjoys life. Wherever you go, it's buzzing.

I fell in love with the Mexican people.

Everyone's got a smile on their face, the people are so friendly.

Thank you so much for inviting us.

The food is unbelievable.

That's delicious. It is.

Street food at your fingertips,

cook comes straight from a Michelin star restaurant.

That's quite hot. Is it tasty though?

Best tacos I've ever had. Yeah? Fantastic.

And the big thing is it's fresh.

It's beautiful.

The salsas are incredible,

some of the moles I've had are incredible.

Black mole, tick. Next.

The avocado,

I had some of the best avocado I've ever had in my life.

Wow! Oh, that's delicious.

I played fireball hockey

and it was something which I'll never forget.

I'm exhausted.

You have to go to Mexico.

I'll certainly be coming back.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media