Patricia Reverol-Urdaneta holds a pastry box with a plastic window that shows the savory tequen?os filled with queso blanco inside. They rest on a bed of red-and-white checked paper with a cup of homemade tartar sauce for dipping tucked in the side.
Her grandmother and aunts in Venezuela taught her to cook and bake, showing her how to stuff empanadas and pastelitos with cheese, beef, or chicken. She learned to roll pan de jamo?n, a ham sandwich filled with raisins, bacon, and olives, at her grandmother’s restaurant in Maracaibo, Venezuela.
After leaving Venezuela behind to come to America, she started her home-based business and became an entrepreneur.
“I’m bringing the flavors of my country to Iowa,” she said.
In Urbandale, she makes these snacks and sweets in her home business, Yumfood Venezuelan Snacks & Desserts. Pretty decorated cakes come with dulce de leche, pineapple, or chocolate ganache. Some of the sweets she makes include alfajores (caramel cookies), profiteroles, Swiss rolls, papitas de yuca (fried tapioca balls), and mandocas (a fried ring made from a ripe plantain).
How Yumfood got its start
Reverol-Urdaneta immigrated to the United States 14 years ago, landing in Tampa, Florida, for seven years before her brother convinced her to move to Iowa with her husband, Luis, and two children, Cesar and Carlota. Luis, a graphic designer, found better opportunities in Iowa.
She worked as an engineer in the oil refinery business in Venezuela, but works as a teacher’s aide at Western Hills Elementary School in West Des Moines when she’s not baking and cooking.
“I reinvented myself,” she said.
She delved into Yumfood during the pandemic, reconstructing family recipes and testing them with her family for six months before releasing them to the public.
“I tried to remember everything that I learned with my grandma and aunts, my family in my country, my flavors from my country, my culture,” Reverol-Urdaneta said.
She was so serious about the business that she took out a business loan from Bank of America to help trademark the name, design a logo, and take care of other business needs.
“Small businesses are the backbone of strong communities,” said Rafael Colon, vice president of business banking relationships at Bank of America. “It’s been exciting to watch Yumfood Venezuelan Snacks & Desserts thrive as they work toward achieving their goals and finding success at each stage while improving their community.”
The business continues to grow as she finds new customers, many from Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela. Customers can order through the Yumfood Instagram page at instagram.com/yumfood.us.
“I want people to try my product. That is my dream,” Reverol-Urdaneta said. “My aunts, my grandmas, my mother passed away around five years ago, and I have a lot of her too, in my recipes. So they are my inspiration. I think I can do that here in this country, and in the sky, maybe they feel happy for me.”
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Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at [email protected].