Punto MX, Roberto Ruiz

Bases, products, techniques and creations. As ancient as they are contemporary. As sparkling as they are delicate. Dishes and cocktails. The cuisine of three concepts with a flagship that has gone down in gastronomy history for being the first Mexican restaurant in Europe to earn a Michelin star. All of this makes up the Punto MX universe. Everything is faithfully captured in black and white in the restaurant's first book.

448 pages, 125 creations (including 41 bases and 20 cocktails) with 342 preparations, 79 processes photographed step by step, and 800 images… These data are part of a brief numerical summary of MX (Montagud Editores), the first work by Mexicans Roberto Ruiz, Martin Eccius, and María Fernández (Punto MX, Madrid, one Michelin star). These staggering figures do justice to the project from which they originate… The trio of restaurateurs, with Roberto Ruiz at the helm of the kitchen, has gone down in gastronomic history in just a few years. Not only for having created several unique and genuine concepts — Mezcal Lab and Salón Cascabel are part of the fleet with Punto MX as its flagship — but also for having earned the first Michelin star for a Mexican restaurant located in Europe. Punto MX's trajectory is meteoric, resoundingly endorsed by critics: “The best Mexican restaurant outside of Mexico (and comparable to any of the best in that country),” states Carlos Maribona, head of Gastronomy for the ABC newspaper for over 25 years. “If Roberto Ruiz had his restaurant in Mexico City, his name would appear on the lists of great professionals of modern Mexican cuisine, alongside Enrique Olvera, Jorge Vallejo, and Edgar Núñez,” affirms José Carlos Capel, gastronomy critic for El País.

Throughout more than 42,000 words, Roberto Ruiz details in MX the keys to a unique culinary project through bases, techniques, and products. Solid and liquid cuisine go hand in hand to show how a true, ancestral Mexico, far from all clichés, is transformed into an absolutely contemporary proposal. All of this with European preparations, Spanish ingredients that stand out for their quality, and even 'hybrids'. Ruiz, who cooks completely organic plant-based ingredients, sources from his own garden located in the Segovian town of Navas de Oro. There, chilies – some of which are endangered in Mexico – and beautiful specimens of holy leaf grow, among others. Also corn, with varieties completely unknown in Spain. This, by the way, is one of the many emblematic products for Roberto Ruiz: for years, the tortillas of the MX universe have been the only ones in Europe that are made by hand and with nixtamalized corn. In fact, one of the 79 step-by-step processes in the book covers this ancient technique, as well as the rest of the steps that must be followed to obtain the tortilla.

The work of Roberto Ruiz, Martin Eccius, and María Fernández at the helm of the Punto MX universe is immense and constructive. “It has been a privilege to publish the world's first book about a Michelin-starred Mexican restaurant,” adds Jãvi Antoja de la Rosa, director of Montagud Editores and of the work.

The work of the trio of restaurateurs is also complicated. “Sometimes, all of this reminds me of a tangram,” explains the chef about the project. “You have to create one shape, and another, and another… with limited elements.” The book MX solves the puzzle for anyone who wants to immerse themselves in true contemporary Mexican cuisine. And with flying colors…

Mexican cuisine in over 100 terms

The book by Roberto Ruiz, Martin Eccius, and María Fernández is born with a firm vocation, inherited from that of Punto MX: to convey what, at the beginning of the restaurant, they rightly called “the Mexico of well-made things.” They are convinced that knowledge and culture are essential to pay tribute to their native country from Madrid.

The book MX takes up the gauntlet. Thus, in addition to meticulously showing the restaurant's vast cuisine, it explains in detail the Mexican culinary terms that appear on its pages. It does so in a glossary consisting of more than 100 entries, which include products, techniques, and preparations. All of them are essential to understanding Roberto Ruiz's creative process.