Isabel Espinoza
Isabel Espinoza displayed hot sauce from her company Salsa Dzemul, featuring her grandmother's image on the label.
By Ed Avis
Restaurants looking for interesting products with Latin twists had a lot to choose from at the Western Foodservice Expo in Los Angeles, which ended on August 29.
The Latin-related products were scattered throughout the show, but the greatest concentration of them was in the Sabor Latino section, which hummed with activity throughout the three-day show.
Sabor Latino
The Sabor Latino section included a number of vendors from Mexico who brought interesting, small-batch products that probably cannot be found in other places. The catch with many of these vendors is that they are not well distributed in the U.S., though all of them can supply products to U.S. restaurants in one way or another.
The State of Yucatan brought five suppliers from that state:
Salsa Dzemul: A line of hot sauce made with Xcatik and habanero peppers, as well as some base products, such as pouches of crushed habanero. The packaging is beautiful – it shows an image of the grandmother of Isabel Espinosa, who was representing the company at the show. www.salsasdzemul.com
Botanas Torritos: Tasty snack crackers made of corn and wheat flour, such as Charros and Torritos, that bar patrons would enjoy with a good Mexican beer. www.botanastorritos.com
Semilla de Dioses: A powerfully flavored regional condiment called Red (Annato) Marinade.
Semilla de Dioses
Semilla de Dioses offers Annato seasoning.
The product, made with annatto seed, onion, garlic and other spices, is produced by a Yucatecan women’s cooperative society. The ingredients all come from local suppliers and are ground on stone. Ideal as a marinade for pork, beef or fish. www.semilladedioses.com.mx
Chunhuas: Salsa and honey. The salsa, called Maya Chunhuas, comes in five varieties, all with a habanero base. The honey, KA-AB, is organic, rich, and flavorful. www.chunhuas.com
Cascam: Honey – sweet, rich, all-natural. http://mielcascam.com/
Other vendors in the Sabor Latino section included:
Agro K’iin: This company exhibited a variety of Yucatacan products, including Habanero
Agros K'iin
Agro K'iin offers a wide line of products from Mexico.
Sauce, Habanero Xcatic Sauce, and Kut Sauce, which is habanero sauce mashed in a stone molcajete. All have interesting flavors that could add an authentic touch to your menu. The company also sells corn kernals in a bag – very convenient for esquites appetizers – and habanero paste. www.agrokiin.com
Magaya Foods: This company offers a line of gourmet bakery products that could really enliven your menu de postres. The El Ombú Dulce de Leche, for example, comes in several varieties, including a sugar-free version, one designed for baking, a traditional version, and others. Magaya also offers vanilla and guava products. www.magayafoods.com
Olisea: Olive oil from Spain. If you use olive oil in any of your dishes, this high quality oil from a third-generation family company in Peal de Becerro is definitely worth trying. www.iloveaceite.com
Century Pacific: This company drew a constant crowd with their delicious samples of dishes prepared with tuna, sardines, corned beef, sausages and other products from the Philippines. www.centurypacific.com.ph/
Cremimex: This company also exhibited a large line of Latin products, including Tamales de Elote, three varieties of crema, and two horchata drinks. www.cremimex.com
Naturas Foods: This company had a constant stream of show attendees who wanted to try their powdered aguas frescas products, including horchata, Jamaica, tamarindo and others. Naturas Foods
MyCubanStore.com: This company showed their line of durable, colorful guayaberas. The company is headquartered in Miami and makes the shirts – including customized embroidering – in Mexico. www.mycubanstore.com
Sabor POS: Nearly every restaurant has a point-of-sale system; this one was designed by a family that owns Ecuadorian restaurants in New York and easily handles Spanish language. http://www.saborpos.com/
Martin Purefoods: This company, which sells meat products such as sausage and barbecue, aims to grow in Mexican restaurants. http://martinpurefoods.com/mpmain/
Rudolph Foods: Fried pork rinds, chicharones, are popular snacks at Mexican bars. Rudolph Foods offers quality rinds and rind pellets, which a restaurant can use to create its own fresh chicarones. https://store.rudolphfoods.com/
I Love Micheladas: This local LA company served its michelada mix from its customized VW van, the Michimobil, parked in the exhibit hall. http://www.ilovemicheladas.com/
Beyond Sabor Latino
There were a number of other vendors of Latino products outside the Sabor Latino section. Among them:
La Casa del Chile: The handmade chiles rellenos this company makes in Mexico would be at
Chile Relleno
La Casa de Chile's Chile Relleno from Mexico saves restaurant kitchens a lot of work.
home at any Mexican restaurant’s menu. They’re made with a roasted Poblano pepper, stuffed with Asadero cheese, and coated with a light egg coating. They have no preservatives and come frozen. The taste is fresh and delicious. Available through Victor Sanchez at La Vista Sales, VHSanchez@msn.com, 909-618-5545,
La Meridana Hot Sauce: This company from Yucatan is offering a full line of high-quality hot sauces based on habanero. The flavors include Habanero Papaya, Habanero Mango, Green Sauce and Red Sauce. The Red Sauce is made from fresh habanero peppers, tomatoes and herbs, and the Green Sauce includes onions and coriander. The Papaya and Mango versions have a touch of sweetness to offset the heat. www.lameridana.com
La Meridana
Cathy Mora, Jesús Gamboa, and Gina Gamboa Peniché in the La Meridana booth. La Meridana offers a line of hot sauces from Yucatan based on habaneros.
Mexican Cheeses: The California Milk Marketing Board facilitated the exhibition of a wide range of Mexican cheeses, such as Cotija Queso from Rizo Bros. and Asadero from Cacique. Both companies carry many more Mexican cheeses. Check them out at www.caciqueinc.com and www.rizobros.com
For the Bar
Several exhibitors showed Latin-themed products that can spice up your bar:
Kelvin Slush: This company is coming on strong with a line of premium, organic frozen cocktail mixes that can lift your bar scene. Popular mixes among Mexican restaurants are their Margarita Mix, Piña Colada, Citrus, and Frosé. The latter is made with organic peach and strawberry juice and can be used for sangria, hurricane cocktails, and others. www.KelvinSlush.com
Premium Blend: This company, which specializes in wine-based cocktails that simulate spirits-based cocktails but can be legally served in restaurants with beer/wine-only licenses,
Santos Tamarind Cocktail Smoothie Mix
Premium Blend now offers a Tamarind Cocktail and Smoothie Mix.
displayed several new products in that category. These include Rhumbero Spice, which is a replacement for spiced rum and can make cocktails such as Barbados Punch and Spice Sailors Punch, and Cinnamon Wicket, which is similar to Fireball Whiskey. Another new flavor that Latin bars would love is Tamarind Cocktail and Smoothie Mix. www.premiumblend.com
Pops Rumpopo: This is a creamy, rum-based liqueur that’s perfect for cocktails such as the Pops Colada, Pops 61 Hurricane, and Pops Cocoa-Tini. Sweet, cold, and delicious. www.popsrumpopo.com
Don Chelada Michelada: Making micheladas is an easy way to increase profit margins on beer in your bar, and Don Chelada offers a convenient mix for that. The company also offers beer salt for a michelada rim spice. www.donchelada.com
Hella Cocktail Co.: Hella, from Brooklyn, offers a line of cocktail mixes made from real fruit, cane sugar, and whole spices, including bloody mary and margarita mix. The company also offers five bitters and three syrups, including hibiscus. www.hellacocktail.co