Most men get that gleam in their eyes when the subject is football, muscles cars or perfectly proportioned women. For David Sterling, it’s perfectly fermented, high-cacao content chocolate, a fresh, moist mound of ground achiote seeds, and the optimal balance of squash seed, tomatoes and onions in a bowl of  sikil p’aak.

Sterling, an Oklahoma City native who came to Mérida and started Los Dos, the first Yucatecan cooking school, in 2003, has become a fan of and an expert in the traditional cuisine of his adopted home. Even more, he’s become enamored with the Maya people and their tenacity in keeping their culture intact, which includes cooking some of the world’s oldest recipes for their everyday meals. Starting a convivium (which you and I know as a chapter) of the international Slow Food movement was a no-brainer.

Slow Food International, which began in Italy, is best known for its activities in Europe, but the movement has spread to 132 countries. The aim is to preserve culinary traditions, focus on organic regional produce, and encourage healthful eating – in other words, the opposite of fast food. Though Mexico is a relative latecomer, it was a natural, and nowhere more than in the Yucatán, where tradition still rules.

Mexican slow food 101

Slow Food Yucatán’s first endeavor was to publish a directory of sustainable, organic food growers and artisanal food producers in Yucatán. Projects on the drawing board include rooftop gardens in Mérida, raising funds to help farmers learn organic growing and find a market for their produce, and distributing healthy lunch kits and nutritional information to school children.

For visitors, though, the prize is tastings and tours to local growers and food producers. Los Dos has added a Slow Food Yucatán tour to its lineup of cooking and tasting classes and tours. There are two versions: a day tour in Mérida and a five-day package that also takes in Valladolid and includes cooking classes. The itinerary, which changes with season and availability, may include rum, chocolate, herbs, honey or chicharrón.