For nearly a quarter of a century, Mexican immigrant Rosalba Morales has been perfecting her culinary craft, whipping up homemade tamales and other traditional fare from her native land that, nowadays, has reached international stature and been tasted by thousands of people all over the world. How did she do it?
Morales never imagined that something she began doing out of sheer necessity at just 11 years old would one day become the catering business Romos Foods and Salsas.
At a young age, Morales’s family faced hardships in their native town of Guanajuato. In fourth grade, Morales had to leave school in order to help care for her family, after her father was left paralyzed and her mother decided to immigrate to the United States in search of a job and a way to send money back to her family.
Morales was left to cook for her seven siblings, often having to come up with creative ways to feed many mouths with very few resources. “If I only had an egg, I would mix it with tortillas and salsas and make chilaquiles,” she explained.
From there, Morales’s duty to feed her family turned into a passion for cooking. She began experimenting with different ingredients and discovered that she had a talent for preparing a large variety of dishes, from simple tortillas or gorditas to more complicated recipes such as tamales and mole sauce, which can take up to a full day to prepare and requires the use of more than 30 ingredients.
Years later, the troubled economic situation that Morales and her family faced in Mexico led them to immigrate to California and, eventually, Georgia.
Her first job was at a McDonald’s. She started out in the kitchen and after six months she became assistant manager. Although the pay was not high, Morales loved her work.
“I left it because I needed to earn more money, but I loved it, because through doing that I found my true vocation: cooking to serve others,” she said.
At that point, Morales then began working in the kitchen of the prestigious Loews Atlanta Hotel, a luxury four-star establishment located in Midtown.
One day, she decided to take some homemade tamales to her coworkers. Upon trying one, Morales’s boss, the well-known French chef Olivier Gaupin, proposed that the tamales be included in the hotel’s banquet menu. Her first order was for 1,500. Since then, hundreds of comments of praise by way of tourists from all parts of the globe have reached Chef Gaupin, and now the “Rosy” tamale is featured on the menu of the hotel’s largest events.
“Despite the fact that I never studied cooking, I’ve accomplished that my tamale recipe has gone international. It hasn’t been easy; little by little I’ve had to refine it in such a way that it doesn’t lose its traditional Mexican taste but also has the gourmet touch that Chef Gaupin wants,” explained Morales.
Morales has provided her catering service for the hotel for three years, while at the same time creating other recipes. Her hope is to be able to offer typical Mexican dishes that also feature healthy and vegetarian options.
For Morales, the next step is opening a fast food restaurant, under the concept of gourmet Mexican takeout. She hopes to do so at a location close to Lake Lanier, which is frequented by some seven million visitors a year.
“I want to take my business public, with the intention that every person who tries my food get a taste of delicious, homemade Mexican food,” she said.
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