We were lucky to catch up with Belén Rodríguez recently and have shared our conversation below.
Belén, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
The Story of Quebracho Empanadas noun, \ kā-ˈbrä-chō \ Spanish, quiebra hacha, literally, the axe breaker.
A hardwood tree native to South America. Its highly dense wood produces long burning fires, making it the preferred type of firewood in Argentina for a traditional asado gaucho.
Los Domingos en Familia / Sundays With Family
Celebrating family and friends and replicating the experience of a family Sunday in Argentina is what truly lies at the heart of our business. Conversation, laughter and food all blend in this weekly gathering that revolves around the table, all put together by a host –the Argentine grill master– who proudly welcomes every guest to the house and makes sure everyone feels at home.
Meet Belén Rodríguez
She comes from the Argentine Pampas and like most families in the region, hers has a business in the beef industry. Growing up in this environment and seeing her dad grill almost every weekend since she could remember meant her career in Scientific Translation would at some point come to an end, as her heart was truly in the kitchen. She first started cooking for friends and family in the U.S. as a way to reconnect with her roots and to cope with homesickness, but the hobby quickly turned into a desire to switch careers and after a few years working at restaurants she decided to take a step back from the restaurant world to open something of her own.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
At Quebracho, we specialize in authentic Argentinian recipes ready for people to enjoy at home. We do so today by means of our empanadas, which I learned how to make with my grandmother Iaia (YAH-yah) back home in Argentina.
I moved to the US in 2012 and started cooking for friends and my American family as a way of coping with homesickness. This hobby quickly turned into a desire to start my own food business. We opened Quebracho as a Holiday farmer’s market booth in the winter of 2018. We slowly grew as a catering company, but when the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to shut down, I quickly took on the opportunity to start a consumer brand and continue bringing my grandma’s empanadas to more people.
So many of us need the practicality of a frozen item but don’t want to rely on highly processed foods. Our empanadas are a wonderful item that you can keep in your freezer and heat up in just 20 minutes for a wholesome meal. I kept the recipes virtually the same and didn’t add any preservatives, artificial flavors, or coloring. I also don’t add any sugar to the pastry or fillings.
We currently offer them in 3 simple yet extremely flavorful options: spinach with ricotta, cheese chicken with soffrito, herbs and béchamel sauce, and a saucy beef mix with earthy notes of cumin and paprika. Today, you can find them in the frozen section of 150 stores across six states, and we hope to continue expanding so that more and more people can enjoy my grandma’s recipes.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
I think one of the main reasons why we´ve been able to achieve such wonderful and strong relationships with consumers and partners is because of how intentional we are in creating and nurturing those relationships.
Whether it´s a new business connection or a customer we meet at a demo at a store, we place a lot of emphasis on learning about them, about what they do, their likes and dislikes, and really try to put ourselves in their shoes and trying to understand how they see us or our product from their vantage point.
We come to the table with an open mind, ready to take good or bad comments, willing to learn and change if there’s ever a recommendation or criticism. It’s really been this positive, forward approach that has allowed us to have long-lasting relationships and to keep creating new ones as well.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
We have been fortunate to qualify for pro-bono community assistance from 3 wonderful Twin Cities’ based organizations: NEON Minneapolis, Lunar Startups, and, most recently, 4 Access Partners. Without their help our company would not have made it as far as it did.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.quebrachomn.com
- Instagram: @quebrachoempanadas
- Facebook: @quebrachoempanadas
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodriguezbelenm/
Image Credits
Courtesy of Quebracho LLC