| Last week was a phenomenal start to our 15-Year Anniversary Celebration. I’m still working through the final accounting, but it looks like our first week’s donation is going to make a meaningful impact for the Handicap Foundation. To everyone who came out, placed an order, shared our products, or supported us in any way—thank you. You’re helping turn this celebration into something bigger than us. We also welcomed a lot of new members last week, so if this is the first newsletter you’re receiving from us—welcome! Let me explain what we’re doing throughout the month of June. June is our Anniversary Month. For 15 years we’ve had the privilege of serving the Chiriquí Highlands, and this year we wanted our celebration to become an opportunity to give back to the community that has given us so much over the years. Every week during June, we select a different local charity and pledge 10% of everything we sell directly to that organization. This week, we’re honored to support Boquete Health & Hospice. Their mission is to support people with health and wellness needs by providing information, equipment, and volunteer services. They also provide support to individuals with life-limiting illnesses and their families so they can experience comfort, dignity, and compassionate care during life’s most difficult moments. In the 15+ years that we’ve lived here, we’ve seen firsthand what an enormous benefit an organization like this can be to a community like ours. Their work touches countless lives—often quietly and behind the scenes—but the impact they make is impossible to miss. Each week during this celebration, we also hear from customers who want to contribute even more. Because of that, we’ve added a donation option directly on our entrée page. If you’d like to participate, simply click the charity image and select the amount you’d like to donate. 100% of every donation goes directly to that week’s featured charity. Thank you for helping us celebrate 15 years by giving back together.
Cecelia and I were just reminiscing about what it was like when we first started our food business. Things were different back then. The BCP Market had just received a visit from the Ministry of Health (MINSA), and stricter requirements began being enforced regarding the documentation needed to legally sell food. Since many of the food vendors at the time were expats and didn’t have the required paperwork, they had to stop selling their homemade products. For a short period, the BCP Market didn’t have very many food vendors at all. We decided to find out exactly what was required and do whatever it took to make it happen and after months of preparation, meetings, examinations, and classes we finally did it!! We received our certifications and made our first appearance at the market, the response was overwhelming. What did we bring? New York Style Bagels. Seventy-five of them. At the time, we thought that was ambitious. Over the next six weeks, we discovered something special—a fun, welcoming community that embraced what we were doing and kept coming back for more. Those original 75 bagels quickly turned into 500–600 bagels (and over 15 flavors) every single week. That bagel introduction gave us the opportunity to slowly expand our menu. At first, we started with Chicago Deep Dish Pizza and quickly followed with meals were were intimately familiar with—Cajun and Mexican food—but it didn’t take long to realize the community wanted something more. People wanted a taste of home without the hassle. That’s when our Pot Pie was born. Later came our Lasagna. And little by little, what started as a table of bagels turned into the country wide business and international brand we have today. The best part about it, we could not have done it without you. So I want to continue our celebration with a great big THANK YOU to each and every one of you for helping this dream become our reality!!
This week we made one of the very first entrées we ever sold at the BCP Market 15 years ago. Over the years, we’ve made more than 4,800 gallons of this dish—and interestingly enough, it’s also the reason I taught myself how to make sausage. So what entrée am I talking about? Our Cajun Andouille Sausage & Chicken Gumbo!! This incredible, deeply flavorful dish is rooted in Cajun culture—a culture built on making the absolute most out of what you have, where resourcefulness wasn’t optional… it was simply part of daily life. Every great gumbo starts with patience. We begin with a dark roux, cooked until it develops deep roasted flavor and rich color (a process that generally takes several hours). Then comes the Cajun trinity—bell pepper, onion, and celery—slowly sautéed alongside freshly smoked, house-crafted Andouille sausage. From there, we add chicken and finish everything with a rich, flavorful stock that slowly transforms into something greater than the sum of its parts. The end result is a deeply complex, comforting dinner that brings a little piece of South Louisiana right to your doorstep here in Boquete. This week we made our gumbo just a touch heartier and gave it a little more body, creating a beautiful texture that clings perfectly to every bite. Serve it with a bowl of fresh rice, grab a sleeve of Saltine crackers, and for at least an hour or so… come experience what it feels like to be Cajun. 🤣
We have Paninis back on the menu!! This week we’re bringing back two favorites: The Italian Panini and our Rotisserie Chicken Panini. Let’s start with the heavyweight. Our Italian Panini begins with freshly baked hoagie bread from Sugar & Spice. From there, we start what I like to call flavor stacking. First comes a generous layer of roasted garlic aioli on both sides of the bread. Then mozzarella cheese. Then… the meat. Italian mortadella, pastrami, Italian hard salami, smoked ham, and classic pepperoni stacked layer after layer until the sandwich practically says: “Okay… that’s enough.” (We respectfully ignore it and add a little more.) Each panini is then brushed with our seasoned oil blend and pressed in our cast iron panini press until the outside becomes beautifully crisp and golden while the inside turns hot, melty, and ridiculously satisfying. The result is simple, quick, and incredibly delicious—perfect hot and surprisingly excellent cold later if you somehow manage to save half. And then there’s our Rotisserie Chicken Panini. Built on the same foundation of freshly baked bread, roasted garlic aioli, and melted mozzarella, this panini takes things in a completely different direction. We load it with a generous portion of rotisserie chicken and press everything come together into something warm, balanced, and packed with flavor. Compared to the Italian, it’s a little lighter—but don’t mistake lighter for less satisfying. This one delivers big flavor in a completely different way. Two paninis. Two completely different experiences. One delicious problem: Which one do you choose?
OK, OK… These newsletters seem to get away from me every week, but I have to mention at least one more entrée. Keira’s Chinese Dumpling Soup. When Keira first released this dinner several months ago, it immediately became a standout. Since then, the requests to bring it back have been overwhelming. Keira’s response? “Thank you.” And honestly… I understand why people kept asking. This soup starts with a beautifully balanced Asian-inspired broth built from sesame oil, soy sauce, rich chicken stock, fresh ginger, garlic, and a generous handful of green onions. Then something magical happens. As those ingredients slowly simmer together, they transform into something that’s warm, aromatic, comforting, and way more complex than the ingredient list would suggest. Truthfully, I could sit down with nothing but the broth and leave completely satisfied. But Keira doesn’t stop there. Next up… The dumplings.
Here’s what sets us apart. We’re obsessed with the experience. Our goal has never been to create meals that feel like reheated leftovers. We want dinner to feel intentional—like something you’d happily order at a restaurant and be excited to sit down and enjoy. With this dish, that attention to experience shows up in a simple but important detail. The chicken dumplings are packed separately and served on the side. Why? Because we want you to finish the dish at home the way it was designed to be enjoyed. You’ll heat the broth in a pot and once it begins to gently simmer, add the dumplings and allow them to finish cooking in the soup. As they warm through, they absorb all of those incredible flavors from the broth while keeping the texture exactly where it should be. The end result doesn’t feel like reheating dinner. It feels like a bowl of soup that could have just been served to you at your favorite neighborhood Chinese restaurant. That extra step may take a few minutes…but the experience is well worth it.
Check out our menu by clicking this link below and if you have any questions don't hesitate to send me a phone call or email.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.