I went to a food festival where Latina chefs shared their culinary journeys — and fed my Boricua soul

• I spoke with Latina chefs about their culinary crafts at a Latin food festival in New Jersey.
• I tried dishes such as Puerto Rican nachos and empanadas, which took me back to my childhood. 
• This article is part of "Festivals of Flavor," a series celebrating Latin festival cuisines.

On a warm, sunny April day in Paramus, New Jersey, the Westfield Garden State Plaza parking lot transformed into a Latin food festival.

I grew up in Puerto Rico and moved to central Jersey after Hurricane Maria in 2017. My family didn't venture out much, so I had never attended an event like this in the state. The festival, which was organized by Mega Bite Events, featured dozens of food trucks and family-friendly activities, including chalk drawing, bubble blowing, and a bounce house — or, as I called it when I was little, "el brinca brinca," meaning "the jump jump."

As a Boricua — someone of Puerto Rican origin or descent — I was excited to try all the dishes each vendor had to offer. It felt nostalgic: Before I moved to the US, I had a blog about female-owned local businesses called Femme Now. It was my foray into journalism; I interviewed founders and business owners, showcased their products, and collaborated with other creatives for photo shoots. So, at the festival, I was especially eager to try the women-owned eateries.

One such restaurant was Empanada Lady, which serves never-frozen empanadas with fillings such as chorizo, chipotle chicken, and plantains. The food truck reminded me of the chinchorros, or small food kiosks, in Piñones, Puerto Rico, where I would visit with my family and friends and eat fried street food by the beach.

The empanada lady herself is Cynthia Soto, the owner and a Dominican chef who started making empanadas for local merchants in 2009 while in culinary school.

"I used to work and go to school for two years straight, and all of a sudden, people started knowing about my empanadas," she told me while frying a batch. "I used to get up at 5 a.m. and make them in my house."

Beloved by farmers markets across New Jersey and Long Island, Soto uses a secret ingredient to make her empanadas stand out.

Soto's energy was electric as she worked her food truck at the festival. When I asked for her best-selling empanada, she eagerly handed me a brown bag with a cheeseburger empanada and a pernil, or pork shoulder, one.

The empanadillas — as I've always called them — were the freshest, most delicious, authentic ones I've had in the states. They also took me back to eating a pizza empanadilla for breakfast with my brother before school.

Another food truck I visited was BatterMeUp, which serves customizable mini crepes, waffle pops, and pancakes. Inside the floral, lilac-painted truck were the founders, Franny Reyes and Kathy Quiroga — Dominican Peruvian cousins who started BatterMeUp during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

"Every time we have something savory, we're like, 'OK, what's for dessert?'" Reyes told me. "Sweets have always been our thing."

Since starting the business, they've been especially popular at food festivals because they're often the only dessert-focused food truck.

According to Reyes and Quiroga, there isn't a best-selling menu item as their desserts are equally popular. But they recommended the strawberry-cheesecake waffle pop — a warm, delicious sweet treat with fresh strawberries. I've never been a fan of waffles, but this confection instantly changed that.

Entrepreneurship runs in Reyes and Quiroga's family as their relatives had businesses of their own. They even enlisted the help of their two young cousins, Karla and Bianca, to take customers' orders at the festival.

"Our favorite part of owning and running BatterMeUp is that we get to work with family," Reyes said. "BatterMeUp will be a franchise one day, and we hope to have family helping us run it."

It was easy to see that BatterMeUp is family-oriented. The cousins' dynamic inside the truck was fun and productive, and I could feel their Latin family energy. Reyes said she hoped her venture with Quiroga "can inspire others within the Latina community to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams."

The last food truck I visited was Latin Bites, which spoke straight to my Boricua heart. It featured a Puerto Rican Cuban fusion menu created by the owner, Margarita "Amores" Fernandez. The chef, who grew up around the two cultures, offered fried street food, including lobster empanadas, sorullos (corn fritters), alcapurrias, and bacalaitos.

By the time I got there, the alcapurrias and bacalaitos were all gone. One of Fernandez's employees told me those dishes were always the first to go, and as a Boricua on the East Coast, I know why: It's rare to find classic, authentic alcapurrias, which are fried cassava and plátanos stuffed with savory beef, and bacalaitos, which are cod fritters.

When I moved to the US, I couldn't find these two fried foods anywhere — not even from street vendors — and it was a real culture shock. So it hit close to home when Fernandez said her favorite part about running her business was "making people happy through food and letting people experience my culture."

While I missed out on the alcapurrias and bacalaitos, I was able to try the Puerto Rican nachos, per the recommendation of two Latin Bites employees. I was expecting traditional nachos, but to my surprise, I was served a plate of tostones, or fried green plantains, with mayo-ketchup sauce and seasoned chicken on top. The seasoning — a specialty, the employees told me — was spicy, salty, and incredibly tasty. I'm usually averse to spicy food, but I couldn't get enough of it.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much when I heard about a Latin food festival in Paramus. I wasn't sure if it would be worth the long commute from central Brooklyn, where I live now, but I can confidently say it was. It brought up fond childhood memories and left me inspired by the Latina entrepreneurs cooking up delicious food with a side of cultural pride.