Today we’d like to introduce you to Tara Brown.
Hi Tara, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
At Last Alitas was an idea born in 2019 in Madrid, Spain due to the lack of options for chicken wing eateries. With “alitas”, meaning wings in Spanish. At Last Alitas was conceptualized from a place of passion for cooking and culinary integration by way of introducing Southern American food in a foreign space. It began as a pop-up brunch party serving “Atlanta Style Brunch” with all you can eat Chicken & Waffles. As a result of its rapid success, I expanded my menu in the local bars to also sell a variety of flavored chicken wings with homemade sauces. After the insurmountable restaurant closures that were unforeseen in March 2020 due to Covid-19, I had to leave Spain and relocate back to Atlanta, GA. In October 2021, I was accepted into a 5-month pop-up shop program facilitated by the shopping and entertainment district of Atlanta called The Underground. After my contractual period ended, I continued having my pop-up shop around different pockets of the city and doing major city festivals to continue expanding my brand.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It absolutely has not been a smooth road. I’ve experienced extreme obstacles along that way that not only affected my business but my entire livelihood. The biggest of them all being COVID. That was such an unexpected plot twist that caused me to uproot six years of my life in a foreign country that I had called home and at that time created a business in.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I was a former bilingual educator living in Spain for six years. In 2019 I decided to leave the teaching field and fully commit to pursuing my passion of cooking full-time. I am a self-taught culinary artist and a true artisan in my craft. I do everything from baking bread, making ice cream, and assorted desserts like custards, pies, and cakes to cooking savory dishes and even crafting my own seasoning blends. Those who know me would tell you how I pride myself on everything I cook being from scratch and done with love and passion. My passion for cooking was passed down from my grandmother, a Hamptons, NY native who was known across Long Island for her sweet potato pies and fried chicken. I consider myself a professional home cook because although I am completely self-taught and did not attend culinary school, I have cooked in professional settings. I worked in a popular Atlanta bakery called Camicakes and I lived in Haifa, Israel for a 3-month sabbatical where I spent that time working as a kitchen apprentice in a vegan restaurant.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Considering my background as an educator and how studying abroad in college led to the opportunity for me to live a life in Spain, many might be surprised to know that I was totally against going to college. In high school, my guidance counselor persuaded me to apply to colleges as a backup plan after I told her that I had no intentions on going to school because I had hopes of opening my own bakery. I am such an education advocate and college advocate, it’s funny to think that at 17 I almost did not experience the very thing that catapulted me into my purpose a decade later.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: mocha_d_cooking
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AtLastAlitas/
