EATS // in the kitchen Out of the frying pan and onto the page.
LOCAL AP‘PEEL’
PEEL INTO PLANTAINS
When you’re craving a salty snack, plantain chips can hit the spot. And while there are plenty of readymade, brand name ones at your neighborhood supermarket, one local woman is making these wholesome treats on a smaller, but way more delicious, scale. STORY: SHEMIR WILES PHOTOS: FRED LOPEZ+MATTHEW GAULIN
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f you’re from Peru or Ecuador, you probably know them as chifles, or perhaps platanutres if you hail from Puerto Rico. And if you represent Cuba, they are mariquitas de plátano, or mariquitas for short. At one time, plantain chips (as they’re called in the States) were only familiar to those from or with a connection to Latin, Caribbean, and African cultures. However, now they have reached worldwide commercial success, mainly because big name potato chip companies took this popular Afro-Caribbean and Latino snack and began mass-producing it for a cool profit. Nevertheless, if you’re a true lover of green plantain, nothing compares to the irresistible taste of a freshly fried and salted plantain chip. And more and more people locally and throughout Central Florida are discovering this gastronomic treat at the hands of Leesburg resident Ivis Osorio, co-owner of Tia Chips.
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What I make are handmade, gourmet chips. When I think of the future, I’m excited. I really believe in our product.”
Ivis and her husband, Guido, started Tia Chips in 2008, but the initial idea came to Ivis in 2007 when her tía (aunt) came to visit from Miami and brought a bag of plantain chips. “I was eating the chips and as I put one in my mouth, I thought, ‘Something is gonna happen with this chip,’” she says. “Then when the economy crashed in 2008, my husband lost his job in the furniture business, and I was working in real estate. We decided we needed to do something to make more money, so we went into catering.” Being of Cuban descent, the Osorios specialize in Cuban cuisine. However, the moment that gave Ivis the push she needed to pursue making plantain chips for cash happened when a client requested Mexican food. “He asked if I could make tortilla chips and salsa for an event. I told him I could make the Cuban equivalent, which is plantain chips and mojo sauce,” she
says. “Needless to say, it was a hit and I remember telling my husband, ‘I think we got something here.’” So with 12 bags of plantain chips, the couple took their product to the Leesburg Saturday Morning Market and completely sold out. To them it was a sure sign they, indeed, had something special. But to make Tia Chips a reality, the Osorios first had to find a commissary kitchen they could use to make their chips. “I Googled ‘commissary kitchen’ and found the closest one was in Groveland. That’s how I meet Jackie Noble, who owns the kitchen,” she says. “I called her and she told me to come in. She’s taught me everything from insurances to placing nutrition labels on my bags. She has been a big help.” With a kitchen secured, Ivis and Guido started small using green plantains from the grocery store and a mandoline to carve the chips thin. However, as Tia Chips grew, the need for more produce
