From left: Maria Vigil, Andrea Aldana and Olga Botzoc
Andrea Aldana, Maria Vigil and Olga Botzoc took jobs about a year ago at East Nashville’s Marché Artisan Foods, washing dishes, prepping food and working the line. They didn’t know one another at the time, but a few similarities helped them soon form a bond: They come from the neighboring countries of El Salvador and Guatemala, they’re women in a male-dominated field, and they really love to cook.
In between washing hundreds of plates on busy brunch mornings and chopping apples for French-style tartines, they make foods from their home countries — for themselves, for staff and just for fun.
“A pan will show up on the eye,” says chef du cuisine Alex Hill. “Food will be in it. You’ll smell it. Then there’s plates, and they’re just passing it out. Nothing was ever said. It just happened.”
Hill remembers a Latin chicken soup in particular that had the staff raving. He put it on the menu, and customers raved too. Co-owner and general manager Heather McCormack recalls a batch of pupusas that Botzoc brought in; they were as good as or better than any others in town. As Aldana, Vigil and Botzoc cooked — and staff clamored to taste — McCormack pitched in to help cover costs. After time, Hill approached his bosses about hosting a pop-up dinner with the trio of women from back-of-house as the ones in charge.
“I jumped at the chance to help,” says McCormack. Because the restaurant isn’t open for dinner, she says, “Marché sits empty most nights and is the perfect space for them to practice their craft and make some money while doing it.”
At the first dinner, which took place in October, they hoped to feed 30 people but ultimately doubled their goal. “We were excited about that but also nervous,” Aldana says. “We didn’t know how people would accept our food. Surprisingly, it went really good. It was our first time making dinner for that amount of people. I work on the line, but it’s not the same to be in charge of everything.”
The next dinner is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 3, at 6 p.m. And while dishes will differ from those on the first menu, they might include tamales, sopa de res (an El Salvadorian beef-and-vegetable soup), seasonal vegetables prepared in a Latin style, ponche de frutas (a warm drink made with fruits like apple, pineapple and raisins) and desserts.
“We’re mixing both cultures,” Aldana says, “and they’re similar in some things.”
Hill’s idea to feature other staff and encourage them to stretch, grow — and even leave for better opportunities — comes as part of the culture at Marché, even as restaurants strive to keep good staff.
“I’d been a line cook for like 20 years,” Hill says. About four years ago, he moved from Montgomery, Ala., to Nashville and a year later started working at Marché. Then one day, chef-owner (and wife of Heather) Margot McCormack approached him about taking over. “One day Margot just handed me the reins and said, ‘Here, you seem to know what you’re doing. Let’s see what happens.’ All I can do is extend that.”
Heather McCormack says she indeed wants people to follow their hearts and dreams — just as she and Margot did. A good example: Hill will be gone for three weeks in December to help stage food photos for a national company.
“Could there be a better time for Margot’s chef de cuisine to be gone?” asks Heather McCormack rhetorically. “Of course. But holding people back fosters resentment. We have actors, photographers, artists, et cetera. Everyone is encouraged to do more if they want, but it’s also OK to be a line cook, dish washer, server or host. We support that as well. In the end, happy people are happy at their jobs, and I think it shows in our service and food.”
December’s pop-up will highlight the role that immigrants play in the food industry at a time when migrants are fleeing violence in the countries where Aldana, Vigil and Botzoc grew up.
“We’ve had some people in the kitchen with some really sad stories,” McCormack says. “They come here not to ‘steal’ jobs from Americans. They come for the same reason our families came to America. They want the American Dream.”
Though Hill says he doesn’t put much thought into where staff comes from, he does say that Aldana, Vigil and Botzoc “take care of him big-time” in making sure various duties around the kitchen get done. “They’re here,” he says. “They want to work. The only thing I think is, ‘What can I do to help?’ ”
As for Aldana, Vigil and Botzoc, they say it’s hard to imagine a longer-term goal at the moment, but of course they dream of having a business of their own someday.
“Maybe it turns into something more,” McCormack says. “Maybe they are just enjoying sharing their food from home. I know what it’s like to be away from home, on a much smaller scale. I’m from Nova Scotia and miss my culture, music and food. I love that they want to share their countries with us.”
Aldana, Vigil and Botzoc all learned to cook from family in their native countries. Aldana, for example, worked as a pastry chef out of her home in Guatemala. Though she makes smaller treats at her newer home in the States, she hasn’t made a wedding cake in about seven years.
“They give us this opportunity,” Aldana says, “and we’re so thankful about that.”
Tickets to the Dec. 3 pop-up cost $30 and include three courses and choice of nonalcoholic beverage. A full cash bar is also available. For more information, visit the Facebook event page.
