Diana Kennedy: The Eccentric British Abuelita of Mexican Cuisine

Today marks the release of Elizabeth’s Carroll’s punchy portrait of Mexican cuisine queen “Diana Kennedy: Nothing Fancy” from Dogwoof. At the ripe old age of 97 (95 in the film), Diana is still a force to be reckoned with. Be it on a brisk walk in the hills of Michoacan or speaking from the podium of a trendy LA food conference, her rock star charisma commands respect and interest in equal measure. But heaven forbid you should cross her as she hurtles to market in her weathered truck or, worse still, you forget to salt the rice… “it just doesn’t taste right!”.

First and foremost Diana is a recognised champion of Mexican food, and not just by Americans. Everyone in Mexico, from revered food critics to local chefs and even the government, who have awarded her the Order of the Aztec Eagle, consider her to be a national treasure. It’s hard to doubt that when she confidently marches through local markets, scolding stall-holders for the poor quality of their produce, instructing them not to use artificial colourings and occasionally, turning down their offers of tequila. Not only is her integration remarkable, but watching a loud, eccentric British nonagenarian throwing her arms up to greet a local cook or barking in fluent Spanish at a bad driver is also particularly entertaining.

Back at her beautiful home in the forested Michoacan hills, we discover her wider approach to life and her love of the natural world. In the garden, she boasts of never having cut a tree down and points out some of the fabulous plants she uses in her dishes. As she bemoans modern city-dwellers’ lack of knowledge of the natural world and extols the need for individuals to reduce their plastic waste, you’re struck, not for the first time, by her modern opinions and open-minded approach to the world around her.

Although it will disappoint viewers looking for a deep immersion into the cuisine itself, Carroll successfully steers the narrative in and out of cooking. Kennedy is also a traveller, a botanist, even a celebrity, and this is cleverly demonstrated in sharp, interesting tangents.

Throughout, Carroll successfully picks out invaluable nuggets of wisdom from Kennedy’s enthusiastic projections, be it about love, death, or simply tamales. The result is a short but wonderfully sweet (or should I say spicy) documentary portrait of an awe-inspiring personality, still making her mark on the world.

“Diana Kennedy: Nothing Fancy” is now available to watch online, here.