Chef Gabriela Cámara's new book of recipes, "My Mexico City Kitchen," all centers around Mexico City cuisine, which before she opened her acclaimed restaurant, Contramar, there almost 20 years ago, wasn't much of a definable thing, Cámara shared on "Salon Talks."

"From Mexico City, one of the only dishes that are sort of traceable to this process of integration of different cultures is tacos al pastor, the big sort of kebab that's pork [and] that's sort of marinated and slow roasted, which is sort of a southeastern tradition," Cámara said.

Instead of a particular dish, flavor or style, Mexico City cuisine is defined by its good climate and unique access to many different types of traditional farms. "There's a huge bounty of ingredients in Mexico City," Cámara shared. "People grow vegetables or greens, and then they bring animals from farms around there. There's a feeling of liberty that, in terms of traditional food, that I don't think you have in other places."

Watch the video above to hear more about how Cámara's restaurant pulls together her take on the flavors of Mexican cuisine and watch Cámara's full "Salon Talks" episode to hear about how you can taste Cámara's cooking stateside in San Francisco, and soon, Los Angeles where she is opening a new restaurant with Jessica Kuslow of Sqirl.

For more food-centric episodes, visit our "Salon Talks" Food playlist