Soldiers and officers stationed at the Fort of San Diego experienced a unique blend of cultures through food and its preparation.

This kitchen merged Spanish culinary traditions—based on pork sausages and preserved meats—with the emerging cuisine of Guerrero, which featured turkey meat, green pozole from Chilapa, and regional maize dishes such as "picaditas" and square "gorditas". This fusion of flavors was enriched by prized Asian spices unloaded in Acapulco, including pepper, cinnamon, and cloves. Local seafood like snook, shrimp, and clams added their distinctive tastes and aromas, along with the vibrant colors and flavors of tropical fruits—golden papayas, green limes, and ripe mangoes.

Colonial recipes often combined ingredients such as saffron, guajillo chilies, garlic, and "epazote"; squash blossoms with pork backbone; potatoes with cheese; and chocolate with coffee. These dishes evoke images of carts and hopeful women bringing their goods to the fort—of daily connections between Acapulco and the garrison that faced the sea. Most importantly, they reflect a culture formed and sustained through something as meaningful and universal as food.