A Mexican dinner by the sea
From the Mexican Caribbean to Semaphore’s esplanade, Daniella Guevara Muñoz and Kor-jent van Dijk have created a home and community in their little slice of beach paradise.
When Daniella Guevara Muñoz is asked about her time living on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, she releases a wistful sigh.
“Living in the Caribbean for me was a dream come true,” says Daniella, who grew up in Mexico City. It was the 1990s and Daniella, then a marine biology student, would spend her days diving, snorkelling, researching coral fish and studying turtles, among many other things.
Nights were spent with friends, cooking Mexican food and creating a community.
It was here that Daniella met the well-travelled Kor-jent van Dijk (Kor is originally from the Netherlands, but grew up in Colombia and Chile, before returning to the Netherlands for school).
Kor was studying his Masters in marine biology when the couple met and they had a brief romance for a few months before Kor left for the Netherlands.
Kor-jent van Dijk and Daniella in front of their Semaphore home.
The pair moved on with their own lives, but kept in contact over the three years they were apart while Daniella was still in Mexico, working in the conservation of natural resources. They were reunited in the early 2000s when Kor returned to Mexico for his PhD and they decided to make it official and move in together.
When Daniella and Kor first began studying in the area, it was still all dirt roads and white beaches. Later when they moved in together, Daniella became the director of the national park near their home.
“I was working for the government, trying to protect the natural resources for the local communities and, at the same time, the same government was giving permits to destroy mangroves,” Daniella says.
“It was too much in the end, so when Kor got the offer to come to Australia, we said yes.”
The fish ceviche tostadas coming together.
A McGregor & Young cocktail to begin.
Kor was invited to work at James Cook University in Townsville initially, and at the University of Adelaide, as a researcher for the School of Biological Sciences, where his speciality is plant genetics.
When the couple moved to Australia, Daniella made the decision to pursue cooking as a career, but found it hard getting into a kitchen, so she ended up working as a marine biologist on the Great Barrier Reef for a little while. Back in Mexico, Daniella would always be hosting dinner parties and she discovered a real love for cooking.
“A friend once told me I should charge for the dinner parties,” she says.
When Daniella moved to Adelaide, she saw potential in the food scene – there was so much produce and people were interested in eating different things.
“I didn’t know if I wanted a restaurant – I’m not a chef. I thought about what I could do to give it a go to see if I really liked it,” she explains.
Daniella created a dining experience in her home called Mi Mero Mole, where customers would sign up online to eat Mexican food with up to 20 or so other people they’d never met before.
Daniella Guevara Muñoz with La Popular Taqueria head chef Niko Rodriguez Miranda.
“We didn’t really charge,” Kor says. “We suggested a donation and people paid that or more and they’d bring their own drinks. Only once did someone not pay. But the next day, there was a knock at the door and they said they were sorry, they’d had too much to drink and they forgot to pay.”
Daniella would make tortillas in front of people and she realised so many people in Adelaide had never had traditional Mexican food. They found a space through Renew Adelaide and opened La Popular Taqueria in Port Adelaide in 2017.
“We thought the best thing to do was to make tacos, because it’s what most people relate to with Mexican food,” Daniella says. “But the main thing is we make our tortillas from scratch. We cook the corn and we have a stone mill, so we process it.”
The pork recipe comes from the Caribbean region in which Daniella and Kor used to live.
“It’s labour intensive. Most people think Mexican food is fast and cheap, but if you do everything from scratch, it takes you a long time, but the flavour is so much better.
“We have people coming to the restaurant saying they don’t know what to order because they don’t really like Mexican food. I understand why they think they don’t like Mexican food, because they’ve had it when it hasn’t been done particularly well. Changing people’s perspective of Mexican food is so nice.”
Tonight, Daniella and Kor are the gracious hosts once again, inviting guests from the Port Adelaide business community to come together for a Mexican feast in their Semaphore home.
Michelle Gration, Anatasia Costopoulos and Amanda McKinnon cheers Daniella and Kor’s hospitality.
A long table sits in the front yard, overlooking the ocean – the spot Daniella and Kor always set up their dinner parties. The table is set with plates from The Port Adelaide Emporium antique shop in Port Adelaide that the couple often shop at and glassware from Jackalope Studio Gallery, also in the Port.
“I wanted something old, a little bit Mexican – but not too much, or it becomes a theme,” Daniella says.
A sage green tablecloth pairs with olive branches from the garden, and magenta pops from the placemats. Colour is used boldly in the couple’s home, with several repurposed pieces painted in vivid shades of green by Kor, sitting alongside a blue sideboard and intriguing artwork on every wall.
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The sage and magenta setting; colour is a major theme for Daniella and Kor.
There are botanical drawings gifted to Kor by his mother, beautifully detailed maps and bright handmade embroidery from Mexico. The home is filled with splashes of character, including the charming black and white checkerboard kitchen floor.
This is the hub of the home – a room that is filled with love and care, and today, standing in it is La Popular Taqueria’s head chef, Niko Rodriguez Miranda, who has come to lend a hand. Niko, originally a lawyer, moved to Australia from Colombia two years ago. He’s helping Daniella to prepare tostada de ceviche – fish ceviche tostadas.
Tonight, guests will also be enjoying fresh guacamole, a spicy prawn consomme, grilled prawns, marinated steak, charred jalapenos, homemade tortillas and a pastel de tres leches cake for dessert.
Daniella’s incredible homemade guacamole.
Kor charring jalapenos for the main.
As the guests begin to arrive, the barbecue is heating up outside, ready to char the prawns.
The guests are nearby business owners Daniella and Kor have fostered friendships with and they’re all here on a warm summer’s evening to celebrate community.
Tom de Flart and Michelle Gration opened the Dutch Coffee Lab in 2015, using De Groot beans, but Tom decided to make the leap to buy his own roaster in 2021 and they now sell their coffee from the cafe on St Vincent Street. Amanda and Kelly McKinnon own LaserTat Tattoo Removal and Black Diamond Tattoo respectively.
In 2019, Amanda launched the Fresh Start Program, which makes laser tattoo removal more accessible to those in vulnerable and financially unstable circumstances, offering free tattoo removal to those who want to abolish unwanted tattoos.
A cheers between the Port Adelaide business owners as the sun begins to lower.
Dylan Nettleton and Anatasia Costopoulos are the owners of cocktail bar, 10 Gallon Hat. The couple returned home to Adelaide from Melbourne and brought the cool bar ethos with them, adding something new to the area, which has a strong brewery and pub scene. Anatasia is also a high school science teacher and the bar started as a passion project, but community support has seen it rise to success.
“Not everyone’s in it for themselves,” Dylan says. “These guys really want to see everyone succeed, as we do.”
Something else new at Port Adelaide, Scott McGregor and Chris Young have just recently opened McGregor & Young Distillery. While they’ve been producing for a while, the distillery with full bar and tasting room has just opened.
A spicy prawn consomme starter.
Much more than business neighbours, this bunch have become friends – some even going away together over Christmas.
The dinner has been a great time for everyone to reflect on their journeys and for Daniella and Kor, this coming year is set to be a big one. Much of their 2024 was spent preparing for a Mexican cookbook, which will be published by Murdoch Books towards the end of this year.
“These are my own recipes I cook at home. We want more people to know about Mexican food,” Daniella says. “The book is about simple food made with things you can find in the supermarket – Mexican food you can cook without being in Mexico. I love cooking – I know I’ll keep doing it for the rest of my life.”
The article originally featured in the February 2025 SALIFE magazine.
