TUCSON: Chef Abel’s Tortillas

I was first introduced to Abel Ramos by JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort executive chef David Fransua. Impressed with this young Tucson tortilla maker he had seen on Instagram, he invited 11-year-old Abel to speak as part of the annual Tucson 23 Mexican food festival events.

Abel made a lot of new fans that day as he shared his slide show “Chef Abel’s History of the Flour Tortilla.” He spoke about the history of the tortilla, the story of White Sonora wheat, and how he got into the tortilla-making business with the help of his grandmother Sandra Robles. His tortillas, based on a family recipe, are made with stone-ground White Sonora heirloom wheat, salt from the Sea of Cortez, filtered water and avocado oil (his grandmother started using avocado oil in her tortillas for its health benefits when her husband was diagnosed with cancer).

What started out as a 2018 summer project quickly grew into a full-fledged business. Within six months, Abel and his grandmother were making 400 handmade tortillas a night, with Tucson outlets such as Barrio Bread and the Tucson CSA carrying his delicious tortillas. Now they’ve reached a point where they need professional equipment to keep up with the orders, so Abel’s tortilla company is currently on hiatus as his family tries to raise funds. This time, we all can be a part of this industrious entrepreneur’s next chapter! Check out the video and press release below to see how you can help Abel and his Nana purchase some much-needed cooking equipment on Indiegogo:

Chef Abel is ready to up his tortilla game. 

TUCSON, AZ (November  12, 2019) Today, Abel Ramos—the 12-year-old entrepreneur behind Chef Abel’s Tortillas—announced the launch of his new crowdfunding campaign through Indiegogo. The goal of the campaign is $5,000, which will go to purchase new equipment that Abel will use in his brand-new kitchen space. 

“This has been an exciting adventure for me,” Abel said. “But now I’m ready to take on the challenge of making more tortillas in a better space.” Abel said the equipment he is planning to buy for his fledgling business includes a new griddle, a mixer, and if the campaign is super successful, an automatic dough cutter, and an automatic dough rounder. “I want to be able to quadruple the number of tortillas I can make in a day, so I can meet all of the orders we’ve been getting,” Abel said. “I also want to start making larger tortillas.” 

Rewards for the campaign range from home tortilla delivery for four months to special items such as a 2-night stay in historic Tumacacori, AZ, the birthplace of the Heirloom flour tortilla.

Chef Abel’s Tortillas, which launched in the summer of 2018, has been on hiatus since last month. Sandra Robles, Abel’s grandmother, said that the team is looking forward to relaunching the enterprise with improved equipment in a larger kitchen space. Sandra said that she and Abel have been impressed by how overwhelming the response has been to what began as a summer project. 

“We have really been heartened by how enthusiastic our customers have been about his tortillas,” she said. “The support from the Tucson community has been tremendous. Barrio Bread, Tucson Tamale Company, Food Conspiracy Co-Op, Tucson CSA, San Xavier Co-op and the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort have all been very helpful to us.” 

In addition to his tortilla-making business, Abel works to promote awareness of prostate cancer. It’s a cause close to his heart, since his grandfather passed away after battling stage 4 prostate cancer earlier this year. How fitting that he chose to launch this next chapter of the business during Movember, the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues.

You can be a part of Chef Abel's Tortillas and back the campaign by going here:   https://igg.me/at/Chef-Abels-Tortillas-2-0

About Chef Abel’s Tortillas: Chef Abel’s Tortillas has been providing the community of Southern Arizona with delicious handmade heirloom tortillas since the summer of 2018. Abel’s tortillas are vegan, non-GMO, and made without preservatives. The only ingredients are white Sonora heritage wheat, Sea of Cortez salt, pure avocado oil, and filtered water. Abel’s tortillas currently come in three sizes: 4 inch, 6 inch, and 8 inch. For more information, visit https://chefabelstortillas.com/.