Josh loved the whole world that food implied

Josh didn't just love to eat, he loved the whole world that food implied, which meant at once a scientific, anthropological and hedonistic exploration of the pleasures of what ingredients could do in ways both expected and surprising. He loved to return to the familiar, so long as it was wonderful, but I think he probably loved most to experience the unfamiliar, especially if it challenged "normal" expectations of what people ate.  

Josh making tamales in Mexico, 2004

When I started Cocinar Mexicano, a cooking program in the village of Tepoztlán, he came to the first session, avid to sample every possible chile, raw and cooked, to get a sense of its exact potential used singly or in combination.  He was thrilled that we put chapulines on the menu---the sautéed grasshoppers that are a crunchy staple of the pre-Hispanic diet and continue to add spice to the Mexican table.  

One of the last things I was able to make for him was agua de jamaica jello, a jelled version of the classic drink made from hibiscus petals, when he could barely eat  and even liquids were difficult.  Yet what a smile he managed, and a thumbs up I will never forget when I told him what it was.  He had a tiny sliver, just to taste it.

In this shot from 2004, he's making tamales and clearly in his element, with corn flour up to his elbows.

Magda Bogin