If selling Mexican food to the Danes sounds like a big ask, then Rosio Sanchez is the woman for the job. Born in La Vilita, Chicago (a village known as the Mexico of the Midwest), she has earned her stripes as the Taco Queen of Copenhagen after initially relocating to the city to take up a role as head pastry chef under René Redzepi at Noma. Now Rosio is heading to our shores to host the opening event at Visa Wellington on a Plate – so Kiwis can discover for themselves just what makes her tacos so globally loved.

In 2015, she opened her first Hija de Sanchez taqueria in the Danish capital and the tasty street food from hot climes caught the imagination of the Scandi set so much that she now has two of the casual eateries, plus a contemporary restaurant, Sanchez, where she pushes the Mexican boat out further with a five-course tasting menu.

Rosio considers herself fortunate to have had such a good grounding at Noma. “We had great interest in the restaurant from the start because of my professional background; I am very grateful for that,” she says. Even so, the whole concept of eating food that didn’t involve a knife and fork was extremely foreign to the Danes. Rosio won them over hands-down (excuse pun) with her commitment to using authentic ingredients. She imports corn from Oaxaca and stone-grinds it into masa to make her fresh tortillas. It’s why her customers are regulars and her taquerias have quickly knitted into their neighbourhoods.

Rosio firmly believes that a great tortilla is the essence of a great taco – “You can eat any sort of version for breakfast, lunch or dinner!” – and she’s looking forward to sharing this knowledge and all-round deliciousness at the Cuba Street pop- up event at Lorettas during WOAP.

Mexican at heart, this world citizen is keeping an open mind as to what she might discover in Aotearoa. “I have learned not to have any expectations when travelling and just to let it all seep in,” she says. So get along to say hola, tap into a taco or two. visawoap.com
CLAIRE MCCALL