This week we sat down (virtually) with Belén Rodríguez, incredible chef and founder of Quebracho Charcuterie & Pies. Quebracho has been a partner of Minneapolis Craft Market for the past two years.

Belén’s culinary experience in the Minneapolis food scene is extensive, working at Honey and Rye Bakehouse, Campiello Eden Prairie, Francis Mallmann’s 1884 Restaurante, and The Bachelor Farmer. Her natural curiosity and interest in butchering eventually led her to open her own charcuterie and pies shop, and our tastebuds are so thankful for it. Read Belén’s story below and then treat yourself to some charcuterie and empanadas!

QUEBRACHO

noun, \ kā-ˈbrä-chō \ Spanish, quiebra hacha, literally, the axe breaker.

A hardwood tree native to South America. It’s highly dense wood produces long burning fires, making it the preferred type of firewood in Argentina for a traditional asado gaucho.

MCM: How did Quebracho begin?

BR: Quebracho started as a pop-up in the summer of 2018. The concept was rooted in my passion for charcuterie and old world pies like pâtés en croûte. I grew up in a family whose business was in the beef industry and when I decided to switch careers from the translation world to the culinary field I realized I wanted to create a concept around the art of charcuterie.

I started by hosting a couple of backyard pop-ups for friends and family, then I signed up for a winter season with the Linden Hills Holiday Market, and we've been slowly growing ever since.

We are probably known best for our empanadas, which we sell at 5 farmers markets, two butcher shops and also in our online store, but since we moved to our new location at Market House Collaborative in Lowertown we've been slowly bringing our charcuterie back and have actually been playing with the concept of a catering and provisions store. We do a lot of charcuterie boards, crudités platters, and have a rotating selection of seasonal items, like our asparagus, prosciutto, and Gruyére empanada.

MCM: What has been your favorite part of the business?

BR: Apart from being able to connect with my passion, I'd say my greatest satisfaction has been people. I always said and will always continue to say that one of the main ideas behind this business was showing the concept of a family Sunday in Argentina, the welcoming environment, the connection with people. One of the things that has brought me the biggest satisfaction in the last few months has been connecting with my new employee Hope, such an amazing gal. She has tons of front of house experience but is new to kitchens, so teaching her culinary basics and seeing us grow together as a team has been very rewarding. I set very specific goals for this business when I was planning it and some of those were to create a healthy and safe space for people that came work with me – no public humiliation, no crazy hours, none of the toxic things you still unfortunately find in some kitchens these days. We are a very community driven kitchen with no room for negative energy.

MCM: Do you have a future dream/goal for your business or are you living the dream right now?

BR: Ahhh... goals and dreams, so many! I am living the dream in a way already. I get to do what I love! But still so many goals. I think of my professional goals for this business as secondary in a way to the community goals I'm trying to achieve. They are both important, but I feel I can't achieve a culinary goal without a happy team. I can't get to where I want to without other people, and they can't help me get there unless I am there for them, it's a continuous feeding cycle.

I seek stability, for everyone, first. Teaching compassionately, making sure we all understand what's going on. I also hope I can provide a fair and living wage for those that come work with me. You know kitchens are rough and the cost of living increases every year, so making sure I can stay ahead of that is a constant goal.

As for the culinary side, we are happy with the way things are now and always look for ways to evolve our concept.

MCM: Has the Twin Cities food community been influential to you?

BR: Absolutely! The Twin Cities food scene is so rich and there's a lot to learn wherever you look. I feel my creative process has been shaped by a whole array of experiences, from the highly technical during my time at The Bachelor Farmer to the flavors and the intuitive and family driven cooking I'd find at any of the shops on Lake Street. Even while I was a Spanish interpreter at Hennepin County Medical Center we'd have monthly potlucks and we'd bring typical dishes from back home. Our department had people from all over the world so you can imagine what our lunches were like; we'd have Somali food, Russian, Latin American, and Hmong, to name a few.

MCM: What in the world, positive or negative, inspires you professionally and/or personally?

BR: Right now I'm really really focused on community. I'm so thankful for the people that surround me and the community that I live in. I've been inspired by the many learning opportunities I've been presented with, and I feel there's a whole new world I'm getting to see that I had not seen in the 8 years that I've been living here.

MCM: If there was one message you could use food to communicate to the world today, what would it be?

BR: To me it would be trust yourself and trust your gut. In this world of social media, it is easy to lose focus. Things will happen in their own time, organically, when they are meant to happen. Be kind and patient in the process, and you'll see things flourish naturally.

MCM: Have you had to pivot in certain ways due to Covid-19?

BR: Oh yeah... We were doing a series of pop-ups at ABLE Brewery + Seedhouse at the time and we had a whole other series planned with Dangerous Man and it all got cancelled overnight. We had to scramble to come up with a pre-packaged product and an online store, but we managed, and here we are. We pulled through and discovered a whole new branch of our business.

MCM: How can folks order from you?

BR: There's many way to find us. If you are looking for empanadas, our three flagship flavors can be found at Lowry Hill Meats, Clancey's or any of our 5 farmers markets (Midtown, Northeast, Golden Valley, Linden Hills, or East Isles). They can also visit our online shop at QuebrachoMN.com

Meet Our Partner: Quebracho

@mplscraftmkt