I've been asked several times why I call my chili seasoning Chili Maya.
Basically, there are 2 reasons I chose that name.
The first reason is that history tells us that the Maya people created a drink they called "xocolat" by mixing cacao beans with chiles, cornmeal and honey.
Notice that the Maya word "xocolat" is very close to the English word "chocolate" and that cacao beans are used to make cocoa and chocolate.
Also notice the Maya practice of mixing of chiles and cacao.
(pronounced kuh-KOW )
The second reason I chose the name Chili Maya is that I got the idea from a movie called "Chocolat," which is a story about a woman named Vianne Rocher who travels to a tranquil predominantly Catholic French villiage in the winter of 1959 to open a chocolaterie.
She faces much persecution in the village due to the fact she does not share the same religious convictions of her fellow villagers, where she serves her sinfully delicious confections, some of them considered to be aphrodesiacs, during Lent.
Because her confections are based on recipes her ancestors learned from the Maya people, she appropriately names her shop "Chocolaterie Maya."
For more fascinating information about Maya cuisine, go to
