New Mexican takeout place serves a small start to a big dream for couple
King Pakal, a family endeavour that serves up a simple menu of classic Mexican dishes
An international couple is getting a small start to a big dream in King Pakal, a new Mexican takeout restaurant at non-profit community centre The Ville.
Hugo Leon de Gante has been dreaming of King Pakal since 2012. The 29-year-old has worked as a cook in Montreal for about 10 years but always hoped to start his own authentic Mexican restaurant and turn it into a franchise. The endeavour has turned into a family affair.
De Gante is from Mérida, Mexico, in the Yucatán Peninsula, a place known for its Mayan culture and gastronomy.
Behind the little start to de Gante's big dream is his mother, a Fredericton businesswoman who's lived in New Brunswick for 11 years.
When Leticia de Gante heard The Ville was looking for someone to fill their kitchen space, she originally was going to take it on and start another business but then persuaded her son to move from Montreal to start King Pakal in New Brunswick rather than Quebec.
De Gante moved to Fredericton in April with his wife, Milena, and their two-year-old daughter.
"I'm very happy. I'm very proud of him," said Leticia de Gante. "I know him, he's very strict and responsible about food, and he loves what he does as well and that is the important part."
She said when he was younger her son wasn't interested in cooking, only eating. That changed when he moved to Manchester, England, in 2006 to learn English and got a job working in a restaurant.
"Then he was calling me everyday. Everyday was like, 'Mom how can I do shrimps, how can I do fish, how can I do a special [dish] like albondigas, or pollo pibil, or ceviche?' They were my expensive calls explaining how to cook and it was the beginning. Since then he just loved to cook."
King Pakal is de Gante's first restaurant, named for the Mayan king with the longest known reign in the history of the Americas.
His wife, Milena, is originally from Russia. She runs the counter and also designed the logos and artwork on the walls inside the kitchen. She's currently testing a prototype for a burrito holder that will allow people to take their food to go without making a mess.
"The three main difficulties when people eat burritos is to keep it hot, keep clean and to be able to store it if they don't finish it," Milena de Gante said, holding the hot pink prototype with the King Pakal logo on it.
In addition to burritos, the menu lists tacos, fresh guacamole and jamaica, an iced tea made of hibiscus flowers that is a popular drink in Mexico. Customers can choose from fillings of chicken, beef or pork, all seasoned with spices and ingredients imported from Mexico.
Hugo Leon de Gante calls his partnership with non-profit The Ville a "win-win situation."
"The Ville has a project of urban farming, so they will be providing us with cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh garlic. So we will try to use these local products … and it will help us to have fresh ingredients all the time," de Gante said.
"We have no shortcuts, just the fresh Mexican style," de Gante said, while scooping avocados out of their shell.
King Pakal also has a small shelf of Mexican groceries customers can buy to cook with at home. Milena de Gante said they are developing recipes to give to customers so they can recreate authentic flavours at home.
The place is small, with just a counter up front for customers to order from and a kitchen behind, but shelves of Tupperware containers filled with spices, herbs and dried peppers indicate a whole new world of flavours to be discovered for those looking to try something new.
Various lounge areas in The Ville are available for King Pakal customers to sit down and eat, and executive director Jeff Macfarlane said there will soon be more picnic tables outside for people to enjoy their food.
"That was one of our goals when we first got started, trying to create a local watering hole within the community, of healthy farm-to-table food," said Macfarlane.
King Pakal rents the space from The Ville. Employees there are happy to have a new lunch spot available to them.
"At the end of the day, [it's about] creating a safe space for people to launch their business and connect them with our other partners," Macfarlane said. "So whether they launch here and end up somewhere else, the goal is to incubate and help the community thrive."