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.

On my last trip to Mérida this spring with my daughter and a friend, Sterling pulled rabbits out of hats to accommodate an unfortunate but unavoidable schedule that put us in Mérida over Easter weekend. We started at Los Dos, where he began with an introduction to Maya history and ingredients. Making use of a stupendous mural that makes it look as if you're sitting smack in the middle of Mérida's central plaza, he renewed my admiration for the Maya's wily ways of honoring their traditions while seeming to obey the Spaniards' directives on matters of religion, work and cooking.

The Maya didn't hesitate to incorporate Spanish ingredients into their traditional fare, from sour Seville oranges to sugar to beef to all manner of spices. I was surprised to learn they didn't have dairy products before the conquest; they got calcium from plants like chaya (a spinach-like vegetable) and from cooking with the ubiquitous limestone that forms the entire Yucatán peninsula's foundation.

Our first stop was a visit to the huge, cacophonous central market, where Sterling chatted with his favorite vendors and clued us in on how to choose the best produce. The suburban factory where Ki Xocolatl, sold in the Centro, is made, was next. Owned by a Belgian couple, it combines the prized Maya criollo chocolate vanilla with European chocolate-making processes; I am forever hooked on their dark semi-sweet chocolate with red pepper, cardamom and vanilla.

More fusion was in store at Monique Duval's bakery, where she was experimenting with a new starter she had devised. The transplanted Canadian makes such a variety of organic, whole-grain bread that the offerings barely fit on two large chalkboards on the wall. The tours end with lunch at a small, family run restaurant; we ate at Chaya Maya in the heart of downtown, a simple place that specializes in regional Yucatecan dishes made with super-fresh ingredients. Highlights for me were an ambrosial cream of chaya soup and liberal scoops of sikil p'aak on light, crispy tortilla chips.

Duval's bakery hosts the new Mercado Fresco de Slow Food, Mérida's first weekly farmer's market. Each Saturday morning, vendors display their organic spinach, kale, chard and herbs, locally grown cashews, free range eggs, organic peanut butters, local honeys and fresh fish from Celestún — to name but a few. It draws a pretty even mix of Yucatecans and extranjeros, and has become quite a social event — great for getting some local flavor in a, well, convivial atmosphere.

More slow food in Mexico

In a country that has the highest per capita consumption of Coca Cola in the world, with fast-food joints in even the most remote villages, it's heartening to know that slow food has been spreading throughout Mexico. Here are a few other cities where you should be able to find a tasting, a farmer's market or two, and some special events.

Puebla

Puebla, which hosted the 2007 Slow Food Congress, is also home to the Museo del Agua. In addition to demonstrations, cooking classes and a market, the museum's 20 hectares is resuscitating ages-old terracing methods to cultivate corn, beans and an endangered variety of amaranth. Visitors may have lunch with the farmers.

Puebla, which hosted the 2007 Slow Food Congress, is also home to the Museo del Agua. In addition to demonstrations, cooking classes and a market, the museum's 20 hectares is resuscitating ages-old terracing methods to cultivate corn, beans and an endangered variety of amaranth. Visitors may have lunch with the farmers. Mexico City

An event showcasing seven different types of tamales from all over the country is typical of the Condesa-Roma convivium's activities, which bring food lovers together with restaurateurs, chefs and food producers. Leader Ruth Alegria, who formerly founded a cooking school and owned a restaurant chain, organizes culinary tours of the city.

An event showcasing seven different types of tamales from all over the country is typical of the Condesa-Roma convivium's activities, which bring food lovers together with restaurateurs, chefs and food producers. Leader Ruth Alegria, who formerly founded a cooking school and owned a restaurant chain, organizes culinary tours of the city. Guadalajara

A recent tasting sampled nine traditional Mexican beverages using maize, cocoa and agave as a base — complete with presentations on the growers' myths and rituals, harvesting, and how these drinks found their way around the world. Cordon Bleu-trained chef Rose Marie Plashinsky Minikata is the leader.

For other Mexican destinations where Slow Food is at work, see slowfood.com.