One of my favorite things to do is go off the beaten path and discover new food delicacies, like buried treasure.  That’s how I felt when Linda and I attended an event at Corner Copia Gardens a few weeks ago and found  Divine Empanadas, a food truck owned and operated by Aaron and Margaret Penton of Daphne, Alabama.

The day we “found” Divine Empanadas,  we ordered several flavors to take home for dinner that evening. We thought we’d died and gone heaven… they are that good!  Luckily, I had gotten Aaron’s business card and scheduled a time to meet and find out more. And I needed to order more empanadas!

Turns out, this is Aaron and Margaret’s side gig.  For seven years, they have been affiliated with Coastal Church in Daphne, where Aaron is the Music Director and Margaret is the Director of Coastal Kids Academy (pre-school). As part of the Worship Team, Margaret plays the flute and is a powerful vocalist. Aaron plays the keyboard and belts out a tune or two himself. They also create and record jingles for I-Heart Radio and perform at weddings as well. They do a lot of studio work and have an Contemporary Gospel CD. They also are avowed “foodies.”

Margaret and Aaron met through a mutual friend in Miami, where Margaret was raised. She grew up on traditional soul food but was heavily exposed to Latin American street food, especially in the Little Havana area known for its Cuban cuisine. She fell in love with empanadas at an early age. Margaret is the  4th generation of well-known soul food chefs with hints of Africa and the Bahamas thrown in.

The secret is literally in the sauce, Grandma Blanche’s Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce. Margaret’s great-grandfather, Bishop Lewis, the son of slaves, grew up in South Carolina and taught his daughter, Blanche, how to cook. She was a domestic cook and worked from Homestead, Florida to Key West, earning quite a reputation for her skills. Her daughter, Margaret’s mother, taught Margaret how to cook various dishes using the family recipe for the sweet and sour sauce which was perfected by Grandma Blanche. When Aaron and Margaret began experimenting with empanadas, they decided to use the sauce in a few of the empanadas.

“Latin and Caribbean countries have their version of the empanada. We just made an infusion of Latin and Soul for a twist in our empanadas,” says Aaron. “We just needed to bottle the sauce.” He and Margaret are preparing to launch Grandma Blanches  Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce in January. “We’ve been working on this for a while and are excited.” They have a bottler and a distributor ready to go.

Divine Empanadas is a side business at the moment, but their long-term goal is to keep the food truck and add a brick-and-mortar restaurant somewhere on the Eastern Shore. They hope to expand to all the cities they have lived in, including Seattle, Atlanta, and Miami with their home base being on the Eastern Shore. “It’s a food and community mission,’” says Aaron.

Devine Deliveries, a non-profit organization, delivers free food to the homeless, disaster relief sites, and fire and police departments. They participate in Operation Echo, an effort to stop violence in Mobile. They are close friends with Commander Kevin Levy of the Mobile Police Department. He is also from Miami and worked the Secret Service detail for the Clintons during their administration. 

Their vision is to create the Divine Institute. “Food brings people together,” says Aaron. “We want to bridge the communities we serve.” They want to do this by incorporating their knowledge of technology, food, and musical arts. “We want to be community energizers.”

Last year, Divine Empanadas was voted top three for the Best of Baldwin food truck category.  In the future, they’d like to travel and experience the International Empanada Festival which takes place in Latin America. In the meantime, you can find Divine Empanadas on Facebook and Instagram if you’d like to pick up some of their bowls and empanadas.

Their offerings include bowls like Shrimp and Rice, Chicken and Rice, Red Beans and Rice, and Conecuh Sausage, all with Grandma Blanche’s secret sauce. Empanadas come in a variety of meats and fruits including chicken, beef, pulled pork, chorizo, Monte Cristo, pizza, and even a Conecuh bacon and cheese. Their guava and pepper jack cheese is a favorite, as well as the peach, and cherry pineapple. They are creating a vegan line of empanadas at home and will introduce them as soon as it meets their high standards.

During Covid, neighborhood HOAs started calling for Divine Empanadas to come on certain days. They even served at an employee appreciation day for Chick-fil-A! For the time being, they are taking it slow. “We honor our guests,” says Aaron. “We are grateful and respectful. We appreciate people coming to see us and care about their thoughts. That’s just as important as the food.”

Check their Facebook and Instagram listings for dates and times. You’ll be glad you did!

Posted 
Oct 26, 2022
 in 
Epicurean Delights
 category

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