Let's blog again!!

My dear friends. It's been a while since I wrote my last blog..

And even though there are many juicy reason why a fanatic writer (FANATIC not fantastic.... right Brian?) like me allowed this to happened, I'll pretend I saw you all last Saturday at the market.. and we are all still talking the same: what is with these cookies that are so incredibly good?  

LOVE!! That's what covers each one of those Maitelates you see at Comet Coffee, at the Produce Station, at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market, at Zingerman's Mail Order, at the Arbor Farms Market, at Every Day Wines.... at your place, inside your neighbor's son backpack, in the middle of the family table getting ready for Thanksgiving day!!!!!

I know what you are thinking.... sticky yummy dulce de leche sandwiched cookies enrobed in the best chocolate you've ever tasted? Right?? WRONG!!! Maitelates Alfajores are way more than just that... close your eyes when you eat your next one, and experience the love & fun we put in the mixer when we plan and made each one!

Believe me... without those two last ingredients, we wouldn't bother... why bother!

Maitelates was born and is today, a fantastic story with unique characters, beautiful locations and never ending scripts, written by we all... and THAT'S what makes ME loving it!!!!

As you know, I tattooed the name of the city where the whole Maitelates story began on my wrist .... just to remember forever what I learned in my sweet Ann Arbor: whatever you do, do it with your heart, do it with a smile... life is too short to not live it that way!

GO MAITELATES!!!

FORWARD!!!!

I'll see you all in January!!!!

Maite

Maite + Francisca = Maitelates

Hello again!  It’s time to put it together and get back to my good old habit of writing.. writing of course about things that make me happy, extremely happy, like all the beauty behind these pictures, like Maitelates, and all what that simple combination of characters mean in my indomitable- as Mo would say- life.  

Yes, I tattooed Ann Arbor on my wrist.

Yes, I flew back to Chile

Yes, Francisca is the cutest (and smartest!) Maitelates manager of the whole word!

Yes I miss you all!!!

Yes, I have the most beautiful children ever

And yes, even though the whole move and life change has been exhausting and confusing, I’m happy to realize that there is one thing that makes me focus, relax and put my confusion together.. that would be making Alfajores from start to finish, as I did almost every day in Ann Arbor. I can’t help it!

And it is not about enjoying sticky hands or being covered in flour while you don’t even have a place to put your suitcases YET.. it is about creating with my hands, something that I know for sure, will make someone else happy. Cutting dough to bake it later, tempering chocolate until the right shining point, making Alfajores,  brings my spirit to that sweet Ann Arbor in where I left unique memories and the most amazing friends.

M-A-I-T-E-L-A-T-E-S

I remember the day I put those silly letters together. If I only knew..

The magic of that funny name keeps bringing people together. The sweetness behind each Maitelates will make people happy forever, and that, that will always make me smile..

Francisca, amiga mia, keep it rock and rolling! Go Maitelates!!!! Go A2!!!! May the force make us all be back together!!  

A2, Alex & Agnes, the soul of the farmer's market

Barbara & Michael, the sweetest reason that made all possible 

Women Power!!!!!!

La familia Maitelates

La familia M & M

Salud!

Sandy & Atila, your everyday smile fix!

Steve & Fran, cool picture, cool friends!

Recap = Recapitulando

I've been meaning to be a serious company manager, and I should at least try to tell Maitelates story using a business-y tone.... but, to whoever is actually taking the time to read this, hi, I'm Maite, and the last thing I am is serious. I have a PhD in loving life, flavors, friends and all kinds of moments. 

Life brought me to Ann Arbor where Maitelates was born. Surrounded by an amazing community and inspired by local flavors, childhood memories, and a serious need to support my family, I took a dip breath and started making one of the most traditional treats from Chile: Alfajores. Alfa.. what? Yeah I know… unpronounceable, but delicious!!

MY Alfajores, which I not so creatively called Maitelates -a combination of my name 'Maite' and 'Chocolate' and a 'sleep deprived brain'- are filled with Dulce de Leche and hand dipped in good, good chocolate (not couverture!) that I myself temper and fight with every week…. yeah, it’s time for you to know that working with chocolate is one of the hardest things I have had to do in my life! What a moody guy! 

If you are still reading (thank you!!) you should also know that Maitelates has been overwhelmingly successful in a very short period of time… hard to believe, but true. Still, all I really want to share with you is that this amazing story happened only because I was lucky enough to invest in the best thing you can really invest in: people, good people.

Maitelates is and will always be a combination of a delicious recipe, family traditions, good local flavors, lots of work, and most importantly, all the love and support of a whole community that I have been lucky enough to be surrounded with.

Thank you Ann Arbor for making Maitelates real and so special.. (if you read until here, thank you again!)

Sweet Ema... sweet life!

Hi everybody!! Back in business!!!!! Happy, recharged and reloaded!!

I'm happy to introduce to you another one of my master pieces... and I'm not talking about another flavor... this time, all sweetness comes from a little Ema, who came on a cold January morning, and I'm delighted to share with you all..

She's the best! Adorable like Pedro, but with a special touch of delicacy that I can't just get enough of. Ema came dipped in harmony and wrapped in happy colors. Life is good, way to good and generous.

All happiness brought by Ema has made me wanting to go back to the kitchen and share with the world (thank you Zingerman's for helping me with the distribution) all those sweet flavors that blend so nicely in your mouth after each bite of one of my Alfajores.
And because life is always special, I also wanted to share with you another sweet moment.... you all know that my Alfajores are all about family traditions and memories from my people and my country, so here you go, my friend Rosa took a picure of three generations in the kitchen (my mom, my Ema and my -big- self), smiling around that one recipe you all love..

Welcome Ema!!!! Have a sweet and happy life.. you are in good hands.... te queremos mucho mucho....

BIENVENIDA!!!

THANK YOU!!!!!

This holiday season is and will be one to remember forever; besides a bunch of good and special other reasons, this holiday will be my last here in Ann Arbor!!!! The time has come for me and my family to go back to Chile. After seven wonderful years living in this magical town, this next June we’ll be heading back to our country. Life has been good and generous so far, and I’m sure it will continue being that way always.. life is just good!!

Through this blog I would like to thank all my friends and customers who made this dream -of actually becoming an ‘alfajorier’ , a pseudo business woman and a family supporter- come true. What started as a “what if” turned into a “wow, it’s working”, and ended up actually rocking this entire 2010. Each time you bought one of my Alfajores, you reassured and recharged my spirit, and here I am.. looking back… feeling so good!

Thanks Eric, Megan and Bob! Thanks Steven, Hilary, Rich and Helen! Zach, Julie, Diane, Carol, Jessica, Brian, Mary, Tim, Leo, Jennifer, Scott, Dan, Jeff.. so many names, soooo many friends!!!! Thank you Zingerman’s, Comet Coffee, Arbor Farm’s, Everyday Wines and the Produce Station!!! Thank you magazines and TV shows for making me feel like a rock star by accident! Thank you market vendors.. my dear Agnes and Alex, special thanks to you.

Now go celebrate this end of another awesome year with your loved ones. I’ll be doing the same with a grateful heart and the joy of the arrival of my Ema anytime now.  

Feliz Navidad everyone!!!!

Happy times are coming

Hola everyone!!! I just realized that the craziest time of the year is coming SO fast! My brain is still celebrating things from January! What happened this year! How come it is already November and my body has gotten SO big!!! Life is funny, you turn your attention for a second and trillion things happen….But hey! Don’t get all anxious about the Holidays and all the planning and decoration and traveling… Actually, it is pretty cool to look around and see how the cold breeze is taking over and houses (full of Kleenex), squirrels (full of fat) and everyone (full of clothes) are getting ready for the white season…

Personally, I’m getting ready for another big exciting change in my life. My not so little Ema is coming soon, pretty soon, and the spirit in my house is full of pink anxiety! Can’t wait to see her!!!

It makes me really happy to being able to share all good things with all of you…. Good news, good moments, good announcements, and of course GOOD MAITELATES! Make sure to get a “place your order” form at the market, place your Holiday order in advance, and that’s it! You’ll be done! No stress, no pressure, just joy… lots of joy, and good calories. Isn’t this time of the year supposed to be that way anyway???

Cheers!!!

What a week!!!!! First, the miners in Chile coming one by one from hell to life! Then, my son Pedro telling my friends that he is having a baby sister, showing pictures of her and acting like a big brother:  “this is my Ema”! 

And now this…. 

Zingerman’s telling the world that what I do is a SENSATION!!!! Please go and check THE LINK .. This week will remain in my mind as one of the most rewarding ones…  

Salud!

ZINGERMAN'S!!!

Yeah, it’s true!!!! The rumor, about Maitelates becoming what so many of you wanted it to become, is actually happening. Good and important things are occurring. And, of course, I need to share the news with all of those  who have been an important part of this journey, I mean, all of you!

Two years ago, I was just starting to introduce my Alfajores at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market, when so many of you approached me and said, “This treat needs to be at Zingerman’s” And, as much as I loved my Alfajores and people’s reactions to them, never in a million years would I have believed that the “Z” thing would ever happen… Why? Well, I guess my brain was in more of a survival mode than a business one… 
All I knew about Zingerman’s was that whatever they touched, it changed people’s perceptions. Was I ready for that? No… not really… I needed to learn more, to explore further, to find exactly the best way to present and represent and refine Maitelates.

After all this time, after all these many wonderful things that have already happened to me, the day has come. Zingerman’s is offering to the world my finest version of what you (yes, all you) tried and admired a couple of years ago. Go tell your family, friends and pets… Maitelates made it, WE MADE IT!!!! 

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Maitelates presents (part III)

While watching the leaves welcoming the Fall, I thought it would be nice to squeeze the last drops of summer...
And what better than enjoying  pictures of a lovely lovely family, that traveled for hundreds of miles carrying the name of that YUMMY cookie you all love....

Here you can see my dear neighbor, friend, helper and always supporter, Liz with her son Aidin (the next Beckham) and her adorable Anahita. The pictures were taken in Newport, Boston and Montreal (Canada)

Love you guys!!!!!!

Maitelates presents (part II)

Hello!! Happy September!!!! I hope everybody is enjoying the beginning of school, classes, day cares, new jobs, new projects, etc! I'm enjoying everything as usual, specially the pictures of my dear friends wearing Maitelates shirts around the world!!!!

Here you see two of the cutest: Dianne and Francisca. Dianne is Agnes and Alex's Nemeth youngest daughter. Mother of two and the writer of the Nemeth's awesome blog! 

Francisca is a special friend that has been always there to give me a hand when I needed it. She is the second aboard in Maitelates' kitchen, and the best knitter I've ever seen. 

While Dianne took her picture here in Michigan, Francisca went a little farther.. her picture was taken in front of a sculpture called "the kiss" in Lima, Peru! How international is that!

Thank you ladies! Love you both!

Maitelates presents (part I)

This time I have little to say. I’ll let these beautiful pictures speak for themselves… 
Maitelates presents: MY FAVORITE PEOPLE!
Never in a million years could I adequately describe the feeling of seeing friends and good good people walking around town with the trendiest shirt of the summer… (if you don't have one yet, let me know)
Enjoy the pictures, as much as I enjoy living every chapter of this awesome adventure! 

Thanks everybody!!!!!
Pictures: Pedro (the best) -  Steve (goood friend!) - Bob (gran amigo)- Erica (best neighbor) - Zac (the tornado chaser) & Kyle;  (adorable) - Deena (come back!) - Hilary (my dear Hilary)- Gin & Margaret (lovely couple) -the happy Maitelates family! 

Sorpresa!!!!!!!!!!

I’m back! Alive, a little heavier, and happier than ever! I’m expecting another baby and even though my body and brain haven’t been cooperating, my heart is full of joy and energy. How good is that!!! Another Maitelates lover coming this upcoming January!!

So yeah, life keeps changing and improving, and while celebrating, I discovered something big: as much as I loved the flavor of my Belgian chocolate, being sick gave me some extra time to do a little research about chocolate. My Goodness!!!!!!! How can it be possible that most of that delicious combination of roasted cocoa powder, cocoa butter and sugar, comes from companies that exploit small farms of third world countries? No way, I don’t want to be part of that! Nor my Alfajores!!! So now what? Well… I guess is not that difficult; it was a matter of giving it some brain time (pretty limited during these days) to discover that there are many fantastic options out there, fair trade options, companies that pay and respect the work, and workers, of farms around the world that make it possible for you, and me, to get cacao beans of the most pure and ‘fair’ flavors.

Conclusion? Maitelates is introducing the new fair trade Alfajores now enrobed in either dark Ecuadorian Mindo chocolate (a good amount of 77% cocoa in each bite) or Semisweet Swiss Felchlin chocolate (another good amount of 60% cacao melting in your mouths with a creamy aftertaste that you just won’t forget). Each one has its own fantastic story and attributes. Stay tuned for more detailed stories and information on both! I encourage you to try both and keep choosing fair trade. You are choosing the best!

Thanks, baby, for making me sick! heh…