OUR STORY

Our Story

Carmen Valle Luis’ story begins in a kitchen as most of the stories of great cooks do; her first childhood memories revolve in front of the heat of the family’s kitchen burner, along her mother and father. She was schooled in the Divine Shepard Convent in Oaxaca City. Soon she became the only student that knew the exact rhythm of the kitchen fire, the water pressure and where sugar has kept to make traditional “dulces de regazo”.

 

Carmen spent her teen years learning cooking, while multiplying bread for her fellow students that came from church goers who donated tasajo, tomatoes, sausages and sometimes, cream and cheese. The Convent’s recipes relied on the skill of the students and the generosity of the churchgoers. She met young Raúl Luis Zárate who early on stole her heart, she left the Convent’s kitchen to marry him and create what would be the first inception of Restaurante Coronita.

 

She came from Villa de Etla, he was born in Valle de Zaachila, together they prepared dishes that combined the wisdom of the Valley of Oaxaca. Raúl was in charge of the beer retail in Benito Juárez Market. He had the benefit of his wife’s daily visit with a basket with a homemade lunch. Doña Carmen soon took charge of the burner station in the market, and heated up or prepared lunch for many of the workers in the market. So her produce selection grew from Ejutla’s sausage, Etla’s quesillo and Zaachila’s barbacoa meat. This was the inception of the dish Antojito Coronita, the first of its kind to present the goodness of the land, in a vast variety of appetizers in one seating.

 

The young couple made a good living in the Benito Juárez and a name for themselves, with Raul’s financial skills and Carmen’s seasoning, to soon be able to open the Hotel and Restaurant Coronita of Oaxaca. The building, which is still our home today, opened in 1948 in Díaz Ordaz Street 208. Doña Carmen had then enough time to polish her recipes and tend to their clients, with four children of their own, she served lunch from 1 to 6 pm. Soon Oaxaca City got a taste of Coronita, as it has been called since. As time passed, Coronita extended its service from breakfast, lunch and early dinner, sharing the kitchen’s knowledge with Carmen’s children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, who now carry and share the passion for the traditional cooking of Restaurante Coronita.