Pan Dulce Time!

It is that time of year. The time in which you have to decide which pan dulce you like the most!

Each year we have come out on the usual lists of the best pan dulces, but who really needs a list when you can just try them yourself? Now for those of you who love variety, we have 5 different flavors to choose from:

Chocottone - We take our moist dough and fill it with semi-sweet chocolate chunks. If you are a chocolate lover, this one is for you.

Nocciolatto - We take our Chocottone recipe and add roasted hazelnuts!

Dulce de Leche - Super moist panettone with actual chunks of dulce de leche in the dough, decorated with chocolate on top and more dulce de leche.

Traditional - For those of you who just want the classical pan dulce of your childhood. We add glazed fruits, raisins and some dried fruits as well.

Inolvidable - Unforgettable in English. This is our star panettone. We add almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, walnuts, raisins and candied orange peel all nestled in a moist dough made with orange blossom water and malt.

So, which one will be your holiday favorite?

An American Pan Dulce

Con este titulo es literalmente un Americano, no solamente un Yanqui...

What I mean is, an American in the literal sense, not just a Yanq...

Que quiero decir con esto? Yo no tengo una larga tradición de consumir pan dulce por ejemplo, ni alfajores, ni de hacer tramites como lo dicen acá. Igual, con el tiempo (ya tengo once años en Argentina) estoy aprovechando de todos los años que no pude hacer eso y con cada año me siento más Argentino.

What do I mean by this? I don´t have a long tradition of consuming Pan Dulce, nor alfajores, nor of standing in long lines doing "tramites" like they call them here. But, with the passing of time, I have eleven years in Argentina now, I am making up for lost time that I did not have being involved in all of these things.

Me agarró el corralito; me he quedado estancado en trafico por piquetes; me he mojado hasta las rodillas por las inundaciones del arroyo Maldonado; y me he quedado sin luz por varias horas en el verano, y puedo seguir dejando más ejemplos pero como ustedes viven acá seguramente ya conocen muy bien estas incomodidades.

I got caught by "the corralito"; I have been stuck in traffic caused by strikes; I have waded through knee deep water in my barrio due to the flooding of the Maldonado (that runs underneath Juan B. Justo); and I have been stuck without electricity during the hottest summer days. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

Tanta mala sangre paso por esos eventos que no puede ser justo que no aproveche y aprenda lo bueno también.

I have gotten so pissed off at these incidents that it´s just not fair that I also do not learn from the good that Argentina has to offer as well.

Hace poco, en una reunión de padres de donde van mis hijas a la escuela, estábamos debatiendo quien se ocupaba del asado que estábamos a punto de hacer. Me ofrecí como una opción y de inmediato uno de los padres dijo "un yanqui haciendo asado?".

Recently I was with a group of dads from my kid´s school and we were getting ready to make an asado. I offered to be one of the asadores and one dad stood straight up and said "A Yanqui making an asado?".

Claro, lo dijo con sonrisa y buena onda. Por suerte hubo otros padres que han probado asados de la mano de este yanqui y le dijeron que no solo sabia como hacerlo, lo sabia hacerlo muy bien. Esto también porque tuve mucha practica.

Sure, he said it smiling and jokingly. I mean we are friends. Luckily, I had some others in the group who vouched for my asado skills and assured everyone that not only did I know what I was doing, but that I am actually pretty good.

Si estas leyendo esto y te digo que un Yanqui también hace uno de los mejores pan dulces de la Argentina, seguramente el primer pensamiento seria "un Yanqui haciendo pan dulce?" con una sonrisa y buena onda por supuesto.

Now, if you are reading this and you are Argentine and I tell you that a Yanqui is also responsible for making one of the best pan dulces in Argentina, surely your first thought might be "A Yanqui making a pan dulce?", albeit smiling and jokingly of course. 

 Photo courtesy of Beatrice Murch Photography.

Pero no se asusten. La panadería es más cercana a una ciencia y yo no tengo esa experiencia. Para eso hay una mano profesional y muy Argentina detrás de los pan dulces. Lo que yo traigo a la mesa, como nos gusta decir en el gran norte, es inspiración.

But, don´t fret. Baking is actually much closer to a science and I don´t have that type of background. For the actual baking we have pros running our production. What I bring to the table is inspiration.

Yo miro el mercado y veo negocios y persona con  tradición de pan dulce y los respeto y lo reconozco. Igual, tenia ganas de entrar al juego, pero tampoco quería hacer algo que ya estaba establecido. No quería ser uno más que ofrece algo que ya tiene sus proveedores y sus clientes.

I look at the market and I see bakers with long traditions of making pan dulce. I respect them and I recognize what they do. However, I still wanted to get into the pan dulce game, but I did not want to do what was already out there; I did not want to be just another one of the what was already there.

Me enfoque en que es lo que no me gustaba de los pan dulces en el mercado (fruta abrillantada por ejemplo) y lo que más me gustaba de los mismos (frutas secas) y también escuchando a mi alrededor los comentarios de muchos Argentinos que cada año entran a la experiencia de compartir un pan dulce, que por tradición y costumbre les gusta, pero que a muchos les paró de apasionar. Quizás con los años se van cambiando los gustos como nos pasa a todos y no se dan cuenta que quizás sus gustos están pidiendo un cambio, algo un poco más sofisticado y fino.

I focused on what I did not like about the pan dulces I saw (candied fruit for example) and on what I really liked (dried fruit like nuts, raisins soaked in cognac and candied orange peel for example) and I also listened to what the locals had to say who each year went through the pan dulce motions. Out of tradition and custom they would sit around and share a pan dulce that has longed stopped fascinating there taste buds. Maybe they remembered how much they liked it as kids, but now they have matured. There taste buds were not as excited anymore. They were looking for something a little more grown up and sophisticated.

El pan dulce Inolvidable nació justo en busca de ofrecer algo nuevo, más sofisticado y fino en las góndolas Argentinas. Nosotros no tenemos un gran presupuesto como para gastar en marketing. Pero sí tenemos grandes reservas de paciencia. Desde 2002 estamos horneando lo que hoy se esta reconociendo como uno de los mejores pan dulces de la Argentina. La receta es Argentina, los insumos son Argentinos y con cada año la cantidad de gente que prueba nuestro pan dulce crece y se multiplica.

We came up with our "Unforgetable Pan Dulce" as a response to that yearning. We do not have a marketing budget so we have relied on word of mouth since the very beginning. Since 2002 we have been baking what is now being considered one of the best Argentine pan dulces. The recipe is Argentine, the ingredients are Argentine and with each passing year more and more Argentines are getting to know our pan dulce.

Este año agregamos un pan dulce con chocolate semi-amargo y avellanas; lo llamamos Nocciolato. También agregamos una variedad con solamente chocolate semi-amargo con una cobertura del mismo chocolate y decorado con chocolate blanco. También, porque la gente lo pidió, un pan dulce con fruta abrillantada. A ultimo momento hicimos un pan dulce de dulce de leche.

This year we added a pan dulce with semi-sweet chocolate and hazelnuts; we call it Nocciolato. We have also added one with only semi-sweet chocolate that also has a semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate icing. We have also, because some people have asked us for it, created a more traditional pan dulce with candied fruit. I think it's because they want their traditional pan dulce made by Sugar & Spice. At the last moment we also made one with dulce de leche.

Promoción fue valida hasta 15/12/2011

...y que es lo "Americano" en todo esto? Bueno, yo siendo un yanqui solamente veo lo que hay y pienso en lo que puede haber basado de donde vine y agrego un poco de inspiración a la receta. Mi deseo es de hacer algo nuevo. El equipo de Sugar & Spice son una mezcla de nacionalidades, hermanos y hermanas de las Americas y hace que estos pan dulces literalmente se puedan pensar como pan dulces Americanos.

...and what is the "American" in all of this? Being an outsider and specifically an American I see only what is already there and I think about all the possibilities based on where I came from and I add a little of inspiration. All I want is to make something new. The Sugar & Spice family is a true American melting pot made up from our sister neighboring American countries so these pan dulces can truly be thought of as American pan dulces.

Feliz Navidad, Felices Fiestas, Felices Festivus y que tengan un prospero año nuevo!

May you have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, a Facetious Festivus and a prosperous New Year!

YoQueVos Likes Sugar & Spice too

And we also like them right back!

I am really liking all of these Top 10 lists that we are being included into!

This holiday season we were published in La Nación, Clarin, Elle, Viva, Joy Magazine, The Urban Grocer, BAFoodies, The Landing Pad, and we even made it to a hard cover book by Narda Lepes.


Now we made it to YoQueVos, which by the way I really, really love how they manage to find so many unique stores, gifts, foods, entertainment, etc.

Amongst all of their unique finds they included us in their list of the best gifts of 2010!


And to top it off, there newsletters normally come with discounts.

Do yourself a favor and sign up. You won´t regret it.

Narda Lepes Likes Sugar & Spice (and we like her right back)

I have always had a weakness for beautiful, strong, independent, proactive, intelligent women and when they can cook, well that is just the icing on the cake.

These are all traits that Narda and my wife share (they also both studied in Paris).

Yes, I am a very lucky guy.

The other one they share is that they both like Sugar and Spice products. Sure, one of them makes them and the other recognizes the quality, dedication and love that goes into making them.

Narda is a celebrated chef in Argentina. She began her TV career around the same time that Sugar & Spice started.

However, she seems to have just catapulted into the limelight, dropped from the sky to teach us about food, wine, and how to enjoy them.

And she just came out with a book titled "Qué, Cómo, Dónde".

After responding to so many people's questions every time she would go out to do her shopping, she realized that she could put together a guide that would help us find all those little gems that a seasoned pro like herself would get to know.

I started leafing through it and I was so excited to see that she actually made a couple of references to Sugar & Spice.

She also included us in her top 8 Pan Dulces.

This is not a collection of detailed reviews of different stores, bakeries, deli's, wine shops, café's, fairs, book stores, music stores, organic shops, fresh pasta shops, etc.

No, this is set up as a no nonsense guide. She briefly states what makes the place stand out and gives you the address, web site, phone number and hours.

It even comes with a little notebook so you can take notes and take it with you without having to take the whole book along.

I have already found out where I can score some authentic maple syrup from a Canadian expat. For that alone, this book has already paid for itself.

Just in time for the holidays, this would be a great present for those foodies on your gift list.

And from Sugar and Spice we are flattered that she has included us in her book.

Narda, if you see this... Te mando un beso grande y de parte de todos nosotros en Sugar, agradezco tu generosidad y buena onda que has tenido con nosotros.

Los 10 Pan Dulces Más Ricos / Top Ten Pan Dulces Buenos Aires

We made another Pan Dulce list again! This time Carolina Aguirre of Planeta Joy gave us some Top Ten List love and La Nación also published the article.

This is not the first time we have shown up on a Top 10 list.

Just last night I stayed up 'till 5am working at the Dot Shopping mall.

We were there actually supervising more than anything else.

We hired a window dresser to help out our new shop at the Dot Shopping mall. It came out fantastic! It was like opening a new store only one month into having a new store already.

I so wanted to take pictures, but the shopping mall turns the lights off and the pictures would not come out nice at all.

This would be my round about way of saying that you could also get our frequently Top Ten mentioned Pan Dulce there as well.

Now, I just need to take a nap.

2007 - Bacanal Top 8 Pan Dulces
2009 - Oh La Lá Top 5 Pan Dulces
2009 - Joy Top 10 Pan Dulces


********************

Este año volvimos a las listas de los mejores Pan Dulces! Este año fue de la mano de Carolina Aguirre de la revista Joy. Nos incluyó entre los 10 mejores pan dulces!

Esto no fue la primera vez que nos han incluido en este tipo de listas.

Justo anoche estuvimos trabajando sobre nuestro nuevo local en el Dot hasta las 5 horas de la mañana. El local quedó muy lindo y no lo pude creer, pero fue como recibir un local nuevo, solamente un mes después de haber abierto un local nuevo.

Me hubiera gustado tomar fotos, pero el shopping apaga la mayoría de las luces y las fotos no salían bien con tan poca luz.

Básicamente estoy tratando de avivarlos de que los pan dulces también se pueden conseguir en el Dot.

Ahora necesito dormir un poco.

Muchas gracias Carolina!  Thank you Carolina!

The Holiday Rush of an Entrepreneur

Every year, since I started this business, I end up working more and more but with more company. It's not only the wife and I anymore, but a team of people both within my company and with my clients. We are all running around trying to make deadlines, readjusting our work plan with last minute adjustments that mostly seem to happen on a whim. Basically, we are tired and we are looking forward to the end of the holiday season.

One of the benefits of having this business is that I get approached by other entrepreneurs. There are people out there with ideas and they want to run them by someone that has gone through what they are currently going through. Being an entrepreneur is a lonely endeavor. No one really understands what you go through unless they have gone through it themselves, not even your closest friends and family.

I have seen all kinds of ideas and they have all been great.

I don't have too many opportunities to take a break until Christmas Eve, especially this year when this week we got flooded again at Sugar & Spice as well as in my home. I had to race home to help clean out the water and to calm my 5 year old down. She was a bit scared seeing all the water inside her house.

After I helped the maid clean out the water I rushed back to work to send out more orders and luckily the water receded there as well, but I did manage to sit down a couple of times and enjoy some gifts that some fellow entrepreneurs gave to me.

I also managed to enjoy a nap on Sunday. One thing to keep in mind is that if you ever take a nap around two little girls who are bored they are bound to do something to you. In my case I was lucky enough to have woken up before they got to the make-up part of their plan. They had quite a few giggles from what they did manage to do as you can see from this picture.


I am glad I got to be a dad even while sleeping on this one. I just have to keep one eye open from now on. There is no telling what they will come up with the next time around.



This morning I enjoyed a Santa Clause Cupcake from Palermo Cupcakery. My daughter thought that it would be a great idea for Gina to make Christmas themed cupcakes and she wanted me to share that idea with Gina. Gina thought it was a great idea as well ;-)

The girls loved them! (so did I)

During the week I did not get much time to even break for lunch. Luckily for me the girls from El Bagelazo showed up with a bag full of warm, freshly made bagels and a stollen! I just had to share them with some of my employees who had never tasted a bagel before. Again, they loved them and so did I.

I was lucky enough to catch a break one day this week and I promptly sat down to enjoy a home made beer. This is one of those yet to be created ventures. After I poured the beer, it looked so nice that I had to take a picture of it.

In this case, it was an IPA that was a little softer on the bitter end of the scale to make it more palatable to local tastes. Having said that, I must clarify that it is still satisfyingly bitter, just like a good IPA should be.

I think it is a great beer. It was hoppy, bitter and I had it refreshingly cold enough to combat the hot muggy day. It was perfect and I am looking forward to this project getting off the ground. I am sure that once he opens up for business he will let me know and I can post about it here.

Currently I am wrapping up the Christmas rush at our store. Meanwhile, I managed to send cookie samples to the USA, Chile and Spain as well as a shipment to France; I managed with the store flooding as well as my home and staying with our delivery schedule in spite of those set backs. It has been a very interesting week.

We have some Pan Dulces left so I am sure that next week we will put what is left over on sale. They are bound to go pretty quickly as usuall.

I was lucky enough to receive a visit from another expat entrepreneur Jed Rothenberg from The Landing Pad. He was telling me about his company's plans for expansion into the rest of the country. I wish him all the luck and success possible. I am glad I got to wish him a merry Christmas in person.

For the rest of you that I do not get to see in person I can only exchange greetings from a distance. I wish all of you happy holidays and a prosperous and safe new year.

Feliz Navidad y prospero año nuevo!

My Date with Cristina Kirchner

I read somewhere that everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people. Six degrees of separation between us and everyone else on this planet. The President of the United States, a gondolier in Venice, just fill in the names. I find it A) extremely comforting that we're so close, and B) like Chinese water torture that we're so close because you have to find the right six people to make the right connection... I am bound to everyone on this planet by a trail of six people.

-- Memorable quotes from Six Degrees of Separation. Accessed Nov. 11, 2006 from IMDB.com

This week I was invited to a meeting at La Casa Rosada. The date was set for Tuesday at 5pm, that's tea time or mate time for locals. The reason she asked me over was due to being part of a group of small companies that are exporting to Lafayette in France.

Our cookies are on their way to France right now. Lafayette will have them as part of their Tasting Argentina event that will be from the 8th to the 30th of January.

We will be there along with Te de Jose, Gota, Havanna, Abuela Goye, Inti Zen, etc.

This is a big opportunity for us to start getting a presence in Europe. Last year we did the same thing with El Corte Ingles.

La Presidenta wanted to congratulate us and recognize our efforts. I took with me a Barbie Fashion Purse as well as our Pan Dulce. She really liked the Barbie Purse and said that it reminded her of her daughter when she was small since she was so much into Barbie.

Okay, it wasn't really a date, but I did get to have coffee in official koffee cups.  I just realized that I am also one degree of separation away from Obama, Fidel Castro, Lula, Morales, Chavez, Madonna, Maradona, etc.

I managed to take some pictures, but unfortunately I did not get any of her since I was talking to her and showing her my products. Meanwhile you can see the few pictures I did take below. The very cute girl you see is Carolina Cuenca of Fundacion Exportar who made this all possible. Thank you Carolina and the whole Fundacion Exportar group!

Ruta del Pan Dulce de Revista Joy

link to full article - Link a articulo original

El más equilibrado: SUGAR AND SPICE

Junto con el de Plaza Mayor, es el que mejor relación precio calidad tiene en el mercado. Para quienes no quieren gastar cien pesos en un pan dulce ni clavarse con uno de quince espantoso del supermercado, Sugar and Spice hizo un pan dulce que está justito en el medio. Es quizás la mejor masa de todo el ranking, de sabor muy natural, con la cantidad justa de frutas secas, naranjitas y pasas, pero además con una cubierta crocante y  pasta de almendras inolvidable. Se consigue por $40 el grande en su local de Guatemala 5419 (Palermo) o en supermercados, por un precio parecido.

Pan Dulce on My Mind

This is the time of the year that I am busiest, stressed out, and would have been pulling my hair out by now, but that was last year´s trick.

Patricia Gilmore is this year´s Pan Dulce Angel. She, and 18 volunteers, went around the city and gave any homeless person they could find an edible hug (a.k.a. Pan Dulce). I donated some pan dulces to her idea and you could read more about that by clicking here. She promises to organize this thing better next year. She could possibly have a database that would be valuable to the city... just thinking out loud.

This year we participated with Girl´s Night Out and we raffled off 5 Pan Dulces de Tus Sueños. There were also many other things raffled off and it turned out to be a very fun night. The weather was very nice, drinking champagne, surrounded by women. Too bad I forgot the camera at home.

Yo Que Voz, also participated and they have a promotion going on with our cookies as well.

Oh, La La (the picture above was taken from the magazine) just placed us among the top 5 pan dulces this year. You won´t find it in the link I provided though; it´s only in their printed magazine.

So far, we are on track to selling almost three times as many Pan Dulces this year as we did last year, and that is a great way to wrap up this holiday season.

Girl´s Night Out

This event is for all women, and for that woman in your life (if you are a guy reading this).

Go ahead, sign up, go have some fun drinking, socializing, shopping, eating, shopping some more and all the while knowing that you are also donating to a local charity.

For this event we are going to raffle off 5 of our Pan Dulce de Tus Sueños. You need to buy a ticket to the event be eligible for this raffle that they will organize.

For all who participate they are going to be giving away some goodie bags that will have Sugar & Spice goodies included.

Click below to get more details.

www.girlsnightoutbuenosaires.com

Radio Reminder - Pan Dulce (Panettone)

Mañana me van a entrevistar en la radio en el programa de Adalberto Rossi "Cátedra
Avícola y Agropecuaria" am750 entre las 7 y 8 horas de la mañana. El tema sera sobre el Pan Dulce.

Obviamente voy a hablar sobre el Pan Dulce de Tus Sueños.

********English*********

I am going to be on the radio again. What, you haven´t heard me on the radio?

I can´t blame you. I haven´t mentioned it before. I have been pretty bad about that so from now on I am going to try to let everyone in on those little events before hand.

Tomorrow, between 7am and 8am Argentina time, I will be interviewed on a show called "Cátedra
Avícola y Agropecuaria" on am750. The topic is going to be Pan Dulce (Panettone).

Obviously I am going to talk about the Panettone of Your Dreams.

Pan Dulce de Tus Sueños / Panettone of Your Dreams

Cuando decidimos hacer pan dulce no queríamos hacer uno más de lo que ya estaba en el mercado. Haber iniciado en el mundo de los pan dulces me dí cuenta que yo no era el único a quien la mayoría de los pan dulces no gustaban.

Me encontraba con más personas que me declaraban su disgusto por la fruta abrillantada por ejemplo, o que no les gusta el pan dulce seco y otros a quien sí les gusta el pan dulce seco.

Nuestro pan dulce esta hecho para mi, porque a mi me gusta un pan dulce con frutas secas como avellanas, almendras, nueces, castañas de caju, cascara de naranja y pasas de uva maceradas en coñac.

Este año decidimos dejar a ustedes decidir que ingredientes irán en su pan dulce, el *pan dulce de tus sueños.

* Por favor tomen nota de los ingredientes disponibles en el cuadro al inicio de esta nota.

El costo del pan dulce de tus sueños es de $65 pesos (x 1 kg).

• El pedido requiere una seña de 50% del valor con un anticipo de 7 a 10 días.
• Con su compra de su pan dulce puede recibir un descuento de 10% sobre el resto de los productos en nuestro local.
• Si piden un pan dulce sin ingredientes pueden descontar $10 pesos del precio.
• Si piden el pan dulce con estuche esmerilado por favor agregar $10 pesos al precio.

************

When we started making panettone, we did not want to make just another panettone that would get lost in the shuffle. We wanted to make one different from what was already out there. I soon met others that felt the same way I did about the majority of the panettones in Argentina.

They would tell me that they really disliked the candied fruit or how many of them where dry and some people actually preferred the dry ones.

Our panettone is made for me basically. I like my panettone chock full of hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, cashews, candied orange peel, and Cognac soaked raisins.

But this year we have decided to let you have a say as to how to make your panettone. You tell us what ingredients to make it with and we will make the *panettone of your dreams.

* Please note the available ingredients in the logo above.

The price of the panettone of your dreams is $65 pesos (1 kg).

• To place your order for your Panettone you need to leave a deposit of 50% of the value of the panettone and give us 7 to 10 days to have it ready for you.
• With your purchase of this panettone you can also get a 10% discount off your purchase of any other products in our store.
• If you order a panettone with no ingredients then you can subtract $10 pesos from the price.
• If you want the special plastic see through case then please add $10 pesos to the price.

Regalos Corporativos / Corporate Gifts 2008

Last year we were in a rush to try to get the new gifts out in time, but we didn´t make it. By the time we had finally settled on the format, the box, the variety, it was too late to place orders for the boxes.

So we have been sitting on these ideas, pictures, etc. for almost a year now.

What do you think?



Last year our Pan Dulce (Panettone) was included in an article in Bacanal and they not only put us on their short list of best Pan Dulces (Panettones), but we were the only one that was shelf stable on that list. The other Panettones were from specialty bakeries, and local famous cheffs.

Bacanal Loves Pan Dulce (Panettone)

This is the end of the Panettone (Pan Dulce) season for us. When we started Sugar & Spice, the idea was to bring to the market what was missing. We did not want to make alfajores for example because you can get one in every corner. We made one exception and that was Pan Dulce (Panettone).

Most Panettone in Argentina is made with candied fruit and I just do not like it. I know it´s a matter of taste--to each his own. However, there were so few options for those of us who only liked the more noble inclusions like hazelnuts, almonds, cashews, and walnuts laced with orange peel and raisins soaked in cognac. Now it looks like there is some competition in the market place.

Bacanal went through the trouble of selecting their top 8 "most delicious and original" offerings and Sugar & Spice was among those chosen. We are rubbing elbows with the likes of Jean Paul Bondoux (Alvear Palace Hotel), Plaza Mayor, Beatriz Chomnalez (Ceasar Park Hotel), Las Violetas, etc.

If you click on the picture below you will be taken to the scanned images of the full article in this month´s Bacanal.

Growing a Forest

The great French Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshall replied, 'In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!'

John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963)

I was just thinking about how growing this business is kind of like growing a forest from scratch. I am still in the process of planting trees and the first few rows are starting to show promise. Meanwhile I have to keep planting while taking care of those promising saplings. But while I am waiting for those small sapling to grow I am going to try planting some bigger more advanced in age trees.

So what are some of those new trees like that are taking up so much of my time?

Jumbo supermarket is a new client of ours. They have our brand in their three top stores. They refer to them as their three P´s; Palermo, Pilar and, uh ...Unicenter. Okay, the word play is supposed to be location, location, location but you know I didn´t think this stuff up. I am just repeating what has been told to me. The pound cakes have been literally flying off the shelves. We actually had stock-outs (sold out) of these products. Everything else has been doing good. I mean it is selling, it´s just not selling out. This is mostly due to them underestimating how the pound cakes were going to perform. This coming weekend we are going to be sampling at the three stores (Thursday at the Palermo store and Sunday at both the Unicenter and Pilar stores -tentatively).

Exporting possibilities: We just finished participating in the first Alimentaria Mercosur Expo at La Rural. The expo was great because they had rounds of meetings set up with supermarket chains from other countries. These meetings were prearranged ahead of time so basically I got a chance to present my products to people that already expressed an interest in seeing them. I had to do my bit of homework and read up on them and their respective countries i.e. Peru, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Uruguay and Venezuela. We also had a booth set up so that also took a big chunk out of my day.

Now I am running around and arranging meetings with some of those people. Just this week I have to fly off to Uruguay and Chile. Next week I need to fly to Cordoba as a result of this expo as well. Falabella Chile already has our products in two of their stores: Parque Arauco & La Dehesa. I am going over there to meet some of the people at the stores, hopefully do a little training, and talk about how the sales are doing, and see what we could do to improve those numbers, if they need improving.

And to top this off I am doing all of this during November. Just in case you are not in the baking industry, November and December are absolutely crazy for us. This is Pan Dulce (Panettone) season and we make, what I believe to be, the best Pan Dulce on the planet. When I first came to Argentina I was not a big Pan Dulce person. I started trying out the various Pan Dulce offerings here. I tried just about all of them and I realized that there was one trait that just about all of them shared. They all were made with candied fruit. I hate candied fruit.

We make ours with almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, plump juicy raisins and glacé orange peel. Okay, that last one is actually a candied fruit, but one thing is a candied orange peel and something entirely different is a varied colored piece of fruit that you can´t discern a taste from. Anyway, the nuts and fruits are immersed in cognac and we top the whole thing off with a crunchy almond topping.

Last year Falabella ran out of it with one whole week left until Christmas. This time they are ordering a few more and Jumbo is also going to offer them as well. One little guy getting into the Pan Dulce game for us is LeShop.

Hopefully, one day, I will be able to see the trees for the forest and the forest for the trees.