Meet Lesley and Jody; the owners a charming café, new to Playa del Carmen, called Café Martin!  This very friendly Canadian couple moved to Playa del Carmen in 2005 with their 2 children!  They settled quite nice in Playa del Carmen and quickly felt that they were right at home.  They love living in Playa del Carmen and especially being so close to the beach.  So it was not a difficult decision to stay and live their lives in Playa!

Since then they have found their passion in cooking and baking and have wanted to share their creations with the whole community.

Sometimes if you want something done you have to do it yourself!
Playa del Carmen offers many options for delicious treats but Café Martin offers a special shine for the expat community.  When Lesley and Jody arrived, to live in Playa del Carmen, they found it difficult to find the things that they missed and loved to eat.  Lesley had a determination to still enjoy her favorite foods.  She said to herself “If I can’t find it, then I will learn how to make it”.  And that she did!

Lesley, and her husband Jody, starting experimenting cooking their favorite foods from back home in Canada until they got it all down to perfection.  Some of their favorites were pirogues, lasagna, meatballs, spaghetti sauce, shepherd’s pie, pizza, muffins, bagels, cookies, flavored cream cheese, and even ice cream!

Making Café Martin a reality!
They were soon to realize that they weren’t the only ones who were missing those delicious meals from back home!  Other expats from all over town started to contact Lesley to ask her to cook for them.  The excitement drew from the fact that they were making dishes that could not be found in other restaurants or cafes in Playa.  Some items like lasagna can be commonly found but other items like Pirogues or classic bagel breakfast sandwiches are unlikely to be found!  And with that, they started their delivery service!  The couple started to cook food in large batches and freeze them.  Then when and order came in they would have it on hand in ready for delivery!

Their delivery service became so popular that the demand for opening up a store was obvious!  They never had any intention to come to Playa del Carmen to open a business but after finding out their passion in food they knew they had to share it with the whole town.

Lesley’s theory – “Happiness is Homemade!”
We got a chance to try some of their delicious treats and I must say they have a gift!  We sampled cookies, muffins, bagels, pizza, lasagna, cheesecake and of course a Canadian loved dish, Pirogues!  YUM!  We took some items home to feed the family and it was a hit.  Fast, convenient, homemade fresh food made with love!

Café Martin opened its doors at the beginning of September and is very popular among the expat and local community! They are open every day at 7am serving excellent coffee, baked goods, sandwiches, and have a full freezer stocked with your favorite home cooked meals to take home!

In this video Lesley and Jody share their experience about living in Mexico, and give us a firsthand look inside Playa del Carmen’s newest food lovers craze, Café Martin!

Watch and enjoy!  For more information about what café Marin can bring to your table click here to go to their website or find them on Facebook!

-By Bea Lozano