We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Pineiro’ Kitchen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Pineiro’ below.

Alright, Pineiro’ thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Pineiro’s Kitchen was founded in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pineiro’s Kitchen has been operated by two strong women ever since, who share a special bond. Mother, Christina, the Operations and Finance Director, and daughter, Yesenia, the Chef and Culinary Instructor, are the proud Co-Owners of PK. At the time, both Christina and Yesenia were laid off from their full-time careers due to the worldwide pandemic. This created uncertainty within themselves, but they eventually figured it out. Daughter, Yesenia reached out to mother, Christina to teach her how to make her first pastelito. A Pastelito is the Puerto Rican version of a Empanada. Each day during March of 2020 through August of 2020, this mother-daughter duo made and sold a total of 100 pastelitos a day. Because of this, their community of Lawrence, Massachusetts, saw their love towards each other and it quickly began to spread throughout their community and allowed others to come together, during times that seem so uncertain. Their ultimate goal was to one day open a Pastelito Bar and Cafe, but that all changed when Yesenia began Culinary school in August of 2023. At first, the idea of a cafe made sense because she has always been passionate about bringing people together through food. As she continued her studies, she realized that her purpose was much more greater than a cafe. They went from specializing in creative Pastelito shaping and unique fillings, to creating a cooking program that allows children to “Find Their Inner Chef.” With their seasoning from their island of Puerto Rico, they are able to bring their favorite dishes to life. Because of their new business switch, PK has partnered with many organizations, such as Newburyport Youth Services, Si Se Puede, Inc., and CTI Youth Services to allow others find their inner chef. Their goal is to continue to make others feel at home, the Pineiro’s way, whether it’s through their Pastelitos or through one of their cooking classes. Pineiro’s new goal is to continue to strive and bring culinary arts to every child, regardless of their disabilities or beliefs, as the art of cooking is a life skill everyone should know. At PK, it’s more than food. It’s about the journey from beginning and end, as they open their arms to welcome everyone into their family, by teaching recipes that have been passed down for many generations.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As far as she could remember, Yesenia has always wanted to become a Chef. At an early age, Yesenia’s grandfather and Christina’s father, Sr. Jose R. Pineiro taught them that food brings people together. Food is so much more than feeding the body, but it feeds the mind and the soul when it’s made with love. Yesenia’s favorite dish growing up was her grandfather’s homemade Chicken Soup. This soup always made everyone feel better, whether if it was to fight off a nasty cold or to unwind from a long day. Because of Jose’s dedication in the kitchen, Yesenia always dreamed about having her very own cooking show on Food Network. She dreamt about what her hair and makeup would look like, to what the setup would actually be. She always dreamt about having her grandfather by her side and she couldn’t wait for that moment. Unfortunately, those future dreams no longer existed when both Christina and Yesenia received the news on May 31, 2013, that Jose had passed away after a long fight with liver cancer. Their world was turned upside down and Yesenia’s love for the kitchen slowly drifted away. At that time, Yesenia started her career in Education and Christina continued her career in Operations and Customer Service. Little did they know, their careers would slowly bring them back to their purpose in life. During the COVID-19 virus, Yesenia accidentally found her love for the kitchen again. After getting laid off from her job as a Toddler Teacher, she knew that she needed to get back into the kitchen. At that time, she turned to her mother, Christina Pineiro for guidance. Yesenia asked her mother to teach her how to make her VERY FIRST Pastelito at the age of 21. By March of 2020, this awesome mother-daughter duo not only made, but sold 100 pastelitos a day until August of 2020. That’s when they started their journey into catering and began offering a variety of Puerto Rican dishes. As their business became extremely popular within their community, Yesenia realized that she needed a name that would stand out from the rest. She looked at her mother and remembered that it all started in her mother’s kitchen; Pineiro’s Kitchen. This brought back Yesenia’s dream of becoming the greatest chef in the world. Pineiro’s Kitchen bloomed into something much more greater than they ever imagined. Since 2020, Pineiro’s Kitchen have made and sold over 25,000 different shaped and flavored Pastelitos. In June of 2023, Pineiro’s Kitchen was featured on Boston 25 News as they were named Top 3 in a competition called “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Star: Feed Your Dreams,” to win $2,500. They showcased their Top 3 popular dishes and of course, their Pastelitos were one of them. They weren’t the overall winners, but they most definitely represented their hometown of Lawrence, Massachusetts. In July of 2023, Pineiro’s Kitchen was also featured on the Radio show called Hot 96.9, where they spoke about their experiences on the previous show they were featured on and the next steps for their business. At that time, catering played a huge part in who PK were, but in Yesenia’s heart, she knew that their was more to this business. In August of 2023, Yesenia started Culinary School with a goal to gain even more knowledge in the field. Once Yesenia graduated Culinary school in February of 2024, she finally understood what her her calling really was. Christina and Yesenia had a sit down and decided that cooking classes for children should be added to their services, along side catering. In October of 2023, Pineiro’s Kitchen signed their first 35 week cooking program with the SES Annex, a school of exceptional studies for students with autism, located in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Since then, Pineiro’s Kitchen cooking program called “Finding Your Inner Chef,” has become PK’s NEW identity. With Yesenia’s 10 plus years in Education and Christina’s 25 plus years in Operations and Customer Service, they have brought their knowledge together to create an experience that every person can embrace. They devote their time into creating an atmosphere where every student is encouraged and empowered to expand their creativity within the kitchen. Pineiro’s Kitchen has created a movement where no child should be denied the access to a cooking program, regardless of their economic backgrounds, disabilities, or beliefs. Because of that PK has created an anual 5-Day, FREE summer program that offers children the opportunity to embrace the Art of Cooking and the access to express themselves with different ingredients and different cooking techniques. Pineiro’s Kitchen is hosting their very first free cooking program on June 24th through June 28th, and because of the help of their community, they are able to offer this to 7 children that range from ages 10 through 17. This is just the beginning of what Pineiro’s Kitchen has to offer and they are ambitious to see what the future hold for their cooking programs.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Pineiro’s Kitchen was built on love. Love towards each other and love towards our community. Our supporters have always felt at home because of this. Not only do we have a strong foundation as a family, but our faith with God has made Pineiro’s Kitchen who we are today, as God is in the center of every business meeting and in every business decision that is made. Pineiro’s Kitchen firmly believes that “Love is patient and kind. Love is not mean, rude, or arrogant (1 Cor 13:4-5),” and because of that, we have created a welcoming environment for everyone to be who they are without feeling judged. Love always win, but it starts within and through that, Pineiro’s Kitchen has created a positive reputation for both ourselves personally and our business.

Any advice for managing a team?

Managing a team is always hard because every person has their own opinions and views, but at the end, every person has to stand on the morals of the company. It is very important to hear everyone’s ideas and somehow incorporate it into the everyday operations. A person that is managing a team has to also have a sense of understanding and communication. It is extremely important to also remember why they joined the team in the first place. They brought something special to the company and sometimes, miscommunication ruins many different relationships, both personally and professionally. With that being said, every company has a specific way to show their team members gratitude and appreciation. At Pineiro’s Kitchen, we encourage our team to follow their dreams. We rewards outstanding work by celebrating every milestone that gets us closer to our ultimate goals. We provide support, love and encouragement to everyone on our team and it’s because of them, we are still here.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sites.google.com/view/pineiroskitchenandcooking/home?authuser=0
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pineiroskitchen.cooking?igsh=MWI0bHQzdTE0aWVzbg==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pineiroskitcken?mibextid=kFxxJD
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pineiroskitchen.cooking