Member Stories
Claudy’s Kitchen
The Bronx
Claudia Berroa has been making and selling flan since 2012, initially selling in markets and street fairs under the name Claudy’s Gourmet. In 2020, Claudia opened a new retail location and restaurant called Claudy’s Kitchen in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx. Today, you can find her flan in more than a dozen stores across the city, including Zabar’s, Gourmet Garage, Union Market, and H Mart.
What does your company make?
We make the world’s best empanadas, Peruvian chicken, and flan in the Bronx. Our empanada offerings include chicken, lomo saltado, and green vegetables. Our flans come in several flavors, including vanilla, passionfruit, lychee, chocolate, coffee, and, in the fall, pumpkin. We also offer Peruvian classics such as papa a la huancaína, chaufa (fried rice), and yuca fries.
At Claudy’s Kitchen we try to bring you the best Peruvian food you’ve ever had. We do this by providing you meals that are all natural and, when possible, locally-sourced. We never use preservatives, MSG, or artificial flavors. Our food is always handmade and crafted with TLC.
What’s the story behind your business?
I am an Afro-Peruvian woman who immigrated to the USA. I have been living the American dream through lots of effort, hard work, and love for what I am doing. I started cooking in 2001 when I got married. My work was in retail until I got pregnant with my first daughter. Then I became a full-time stay-at-home mom. But I still wanted to help my husband with the bills, so I started making flan that everyone praised at dinner parties. I got picked up by one store, then another, and so on until we had a distributor and we were selling 3,000 a week. I feel I have reached my dream of owning my restaurant—but, with this pandemic, I know I have not tapped into its full potential.
What is your favorite product right now?
Our flan!