Meet the Mexican chef who’s been cooking for Pope Francis all week
Joe Ibarra prepared Pope Francis’ meals throughout his time in Mexico.
It’s not every day that the Pope walks into your kitchen to congratulate you on your cooking, but that’s precisely what happened to Mexican chef Joe Ibarra this week.
Ibarra, who ordinarily runs Mexico City’s Brazilian steak restaurant Don Sazón, had been asked to prepare the pontiff’s meals at the Vatican’s diplomatic headquarters throughout his stay in Mexico.
“He thanked us this morning and told us that everything had been delicious and that he was very satisfied,” Ibarra told me over the phone on Pope Francis’ fifth and final day in Mexico.“He’s a very warm, humble person who’s very close to the people.”
Ibarra and his team of five chefs served up a mix of Mexican, Italian, and Argentine fare that drew a positive response from the Catholic Church’s first-ever Latin American leader.
Joe Ibarra posing with the Popemobil at the Vatican embassy in Mexico City.
“Last night for dessert, we served up Argentine alfajores and he went crazy for them. He absolutely loved them!” Ibarra said. “He even took home two or three loaves of a Mexican wholemeal artesanal bread that we baked for him.”
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