What if the best way to discover Frida Kahlo didn't end in front of one of her paintings?
Until 3 January 2027, Frida: The Making of an Icon at Tate Modern invites visitors to see the artist from fresh perspectives. At Marketianguis, we believe that journey can continue through the flavours, ingredients and traditions that shaped one of Mexico's richest cultural worlds.
Marisol Carvajal of Marketianguis with a self-portrait by Frida Kahlo. Photo: Marisol Carvajal.
Thousands of visitors have already queued for this long-awaited exhibition. It brings together original artworks, photographs, letters, clothing and personal objects. Together, they reveal how Frida Kahlo transcended the art world to become one of the most recognisable cultural icons on the planet.
The experience doesn't end when you leave the museum. It begins again at your table.
Tehuana dresses and huipiles on display. Photo: Marisol Carvajal.
Behind every self-portrait, every Tehuana dress and every flower crown lies a Mexico shaped not only by art, but by aromas, ingredients, bustling markets and treasured family recipes. It is a Mexico you can discover with all five senses.
That is why we believe Mexico's greatest stories are not only meant to be admired. They are meant to be tasted, worn, taken home and shared.
Frida's Kitchen Tells Her Story Too
Few artists have become cultural phenomena on the scale of Frida Kahlo. Her image appears in books, fashion, design, film and popular culture around the world. Yet one of the lesser-known sides of her legacy is her deep connection to Mexican cuisine.
Long before UNESCO recognised traditional Mexican cuisine as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in November 2010, Frida understood that a dining table could also express identity, history and memory.
At the Casa Azul, her home in Coyoacán, shared meals brought together artists, intellectuals, family and friends. Cooking was another way of building community and celebrating Mexico's extraordinary diversity. This everyday side of Frida's life is one the London exhibition invites us to rediscover.
Frida did not simply paint flowers, fruit and still lifes. She lived surrounded by ingredients that remain at the heart of Mexican cooking today.
Among them, mole stands out as perhaps the dish that best captures Mexico's culinary heritage. It is rich, complex and made with dozens of ingredients, including chocolate, chillies and aromatic spices. Mole represents the meeting of Indigenous and mestizo traditions.
Family accounts suggest that Frida often prepared mole for gatherings at the Casa Azul, and that it was one of Diego Rivera's favourite dishes. As with her paintings, every recipe carries its own story of memory, affection and tradition.
Alongside mole come the staples of everyday Mexican life: slow-cooked beans, freshly made corn tortillas, dried chillies, cacao and spices. They are still the backbone of the country's cuisine today.
Her kitchen had a sweeter side too. Frida never wrote a cookbook revealing her favourite sweets, but the letters, photographs, and memories gathered in Frida's Fiestas: Recipes and Reminiscences of Life with Frida Kahlo help recreate her kitchen's atmosphere. The book is by Guadalupe Rivera, Diego's daughter, and Marie-Pierre Colle.
The kitchen at the Casa Azul, Frida Kahlo’s home in Coyoacán, Mexico City. Photo: Marisol Carvajal.
Among the treats mentioned most often are ate (a traditional fruit paste), amaranth alegrías, coconut cocadas, candied pumpkin, buñuelos, polvorones, flan and tres leches cake. They were far more than simple desserts. They turned every celebration into an encounter with Mexico's memory and identity. Many are still made today by families who have passed the recipes down from one generation to the next.
Many of these authentic flavours are waiting for you at Marketianguis, where our mission is to bring the richness of Mexican food to the British public.
When Food Becomes Art
The stars of Viva la Vida are neither Frida nor Diego: they are watermelons. Bright red and bursting with colour, they fill almost the entire canvas. It is one of the last works Frida signed, just days before her death in 1954. More than a still life, it celebrates everything that defined her world: colour, the land, the fruits of Mexico and the belief that life is worth celebrating, even in the midst of pain.
Viva la Vida (1954) by Frida Kahlo. Photo: Marisol Carvajal.
Watermelons are not alone. Her canvases overflow with pineapples, papayas, mangoes, coconuts, prickly pears, pomegranates, melons, bananas and oranges. Each one goes far beyond decoration, becoming a symbol of fertility, abundance, life and belonging.
For Frida, food was part of the same visual language through which she built a deeply Mexican identity. Like her traditional dresses and Indigenous jewellery, the ingredients on her canvases and on her table told the story of her country.
Every Mexican product tells a story too. Some begin in an artisan's workshop, others in a family kitchen. Many, like those linked to Frida Kahlo, keep inspiring people around the world through the simple act of sharing a meal.
The story doesn't end here. Keep discovering Mexico through its flavours, craftsmanship and traditions with Marketianguis.
Written by Alicia Quiñones in collaboration with Marketianguis.