Meet Tatiana Quintero Garcia | Chef & commercial engineer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tatiana Quintero Garcia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tatiana, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My thought towards my company began, because there was no Colombian food in the city where I lived and I started making empanadas for my friends, they began to order empanadas to buy and so I said… why not try to sell to more people.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My company is different mainly because of the dough of my empanadas, I put love and a lot of seasoning into it, it also makes it different because I make Colombian empanadas with Mexican ingredients and American ingredients, I have 10 flavors of traditional empanadas as fusions between American and Mexican.

What excites me the most is being able to create flavors that do not exist in my country and being the pioneer of fused empanadas; On the other hand, I am excited to see the faces of the clients when they try my empanadas and they look happy and satisfied, that makes me want to try more flavors and investigate more about sauces.

I got to where I am, working 40 hours in a company and investing my money and time in my company, they were hard years but of learning, I also got here thanks to First local and many friends who have helped me grow, reinvent and produce so many empanadas like my stands.

It has not been easy, I have not overcome all the challenges that I still have, and the ones that I have overcome have been thanks to my friends, family and effort.

The lessons I have learned are to work on patience, to be motivated on hard days, to be a leader, a friend and not a boss, and to learn to trust my decisions.

I want the world to know about my brand, that I have made it with a lot of effort, that it is created from the kitchen of my house, that it is legitimately created by my hands, although it has the authentic flavor of my grandmother’s seasonings, it has the secret touches that I have learned in Mexico and USA. that everything that is Empanada Empire has been created by a Pereiran, Colombian woman.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
definitely every Saturday you should go to the uptown farmer market to eat at 3rd floor smoke (the best pork in green sauce), Arepa Babe (the best arepas with chorizo) and obviously my empanadas. Eating in the evening will be perfect to go to: Casa Corazon for a delicious green aguachile, El Chullo for the rich milk of Tigre and if you want sushi a delicious sushi brokers place, to drink something delicious and fun: w hotel, the rose Garden and platform 18. to hang out is super go to: the little woody, Boondocks and Tempe lake.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First of all, I thank my maternal grandmother, Limbania, who was the person who raised me and taught me to cook (it is her flavor that governs my empanadas), my mother, and my sister, Franyela, who have been a great support in every part of my decisions and the motivation that helps me move forward and finally to my ex-mother-in-law Sara Harris, she always believed in me and supported me by giving me the most precious thing for my company (the empanada machine) without her it would have been more difficult to start producing a large quantity like we do it now

Website: www.empanadaempireaz.com

Instagram: @empanadaempireaz

Facebook: @empanadaempireaz

Image Credits
Karina Cordoba ( life_photography_arizona)