Final preparation and plating happens on board the Tren Janal
By Alfredo Espinola
You’ve probably seen old movies where train passengers are enjoying a fantastic meal while watching the landscape roll by. A new culinary concept in Mexico is reviving that idea. The Restaurant Train Janal—a Mayan word meaning food—journeys through southeastern Mexico while passengers savor the flavors of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo.
The initiative was introduced as a new experience within the Maya Train’s offerings, with the aim of linking travel through this region to one of its most powerful cultural expressions: its cuisine.
“Traveling through the southeast also means getting to know it through its flavors,” said Josefina Rodríguez Zamora, Mexico’s secretary of tourism. She emphasized that gastronomy allows travelers to connect with the identity and traditions of each destination in a way that goes far beyond a simple visit.
A First Journey with Yucatecan Flavors
Janal’s first tour took place August 23, 2026 on the route between Mérida–Teya and Izamal. For this inaugural experience, traditional Yucatecan cuisine took center stage under the guidance of chef David Cetina Medina, an ambassador for Yucatán’s gastronomy and the creator of this inaugural offering.
Passengers enjoy a Yucatecan meal
The Yucatecan restaurant La Tradición prepared a tasting menu inspired by the flavors and ingredients that form part of the region’s culinary identity.
The Janal Train is a short, four-car model, one of which is equipped with an industrial-style kitchen and specialized catering systems. This allows guest chefs to cook and plate dishes on the spot while the train is in motion.
Since the menus consist of complex tasting menus based on traditional Yucatecan haute cuisine—such as cochinita pibil, sopa de lima, or panuchos—the chefs complete the most time-consuming tasks in advance at their home restaurants, ranging from the selection and preparation of local ingredients to slow cooking and necessary prep work.
The chefs perform the finishing touches, assembly, quick cooking, precise reheating, and aesthetic plating of each dish directly in the train’s kitchen.
Five States, One Table
The project aims to expand this experience to incorporate the cuisines of the five states that make up the Maya Train route: Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo.
The goal is for various chefs, restaurant owners, and culinary entrepreneurs from the region to have the opportunity to share their own interpretations of southeastern cuisine and, through them, introduce travelers to the culinary diversity of these regions.
“We evaluate individual proposals from various chefs, restaurant owners, and culinary entrepreneurs in the region,” Rodríguez Zamora explained. “Candidates submit a tasting menu designed specifically for the technical conditions of a moving train car. Before receiving final approval, the proposals undergo real-world operational tests on board, during which service times, temperatures, and the quality of plating are verified.”
When the Destination Also Arrives on the Plate
With Janal, the Maya Train adds a gastronomic dimension to an experience that already brings together landscapes and destinations. The journey ceases to be merely the trip from one point to another and becomes an opportunity to discover the region through its flavors.
The concept aims not only for travelers to get to know the Southeast, but also to sit down at the table with it.
Staff of the Restaurant Train Janal