HOW TO THROW YOUR OWN TAMALADA
Good Food Awards finalist Alicia Villanueva shares her experience and expert tips
Two years ago, Alicia Villanueva of Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas was on top of the world.
The La Cocina-backed business owner had just inked a deal with San Francisco’s Chase Center to sell her tamales at the Golden State Warriors’ home. And her 6,000-square-foot factory in Hayward made large catering orders from Google and Facebook a cinch.
Then COVID-19 hit, and it all disappeared. “We lost 95% of our business to the pandemic and I started knocking on doors again,” says Villanueva, referring to her early days in Berkeley, when she would make tamales at night, after cleaning houses, and sell them to neighbors.
This time, however, those doors belonged to retailers. Whole Foods. Lunardis. Draeger’s. Piazza’s. Berkeley Bowl. And Monterey Market. When the pandemic started, Villaneuva’s tamales, which come in 10 flavors from classics like beef and Oaxacan cheese to pumpkin mole and a cactus-laced vegan tamale, were in 10 markets. Now, they’re in 55 — and counting.
Those markets “saved us,” says Villanueva, who refused to lay off a single employee. “We feel so blessed.”
This month, she is a finalist for the Good Food Awards, a prestigious honor that she still can’t fully believe. The Chase Center orders are back. And school districts, like Vacaville Unified, are calling.
“They are our true angels,” Villanueva says. “I love that our tamales are going into kids’ tummies.”
Things are looking up, especially this month, when Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas will fill some 40,000 orders for the holiday tamaladas rush. Tamaladas are gatherings centered around the making — and eating — of many, many tamales.
We asked Villanueva to share her expert tips for hosting a tamalada. Here they are, as featured in the
2019 cookbook “We Are La Cocina: Recipes in Pursuit of the American Dream.”
1
To prepare for the tamalada, assemble all of your ingredients, including the corn husks, and all the necessary equipment, including pots and steamer baskets.
2
The day before the tamalada, cook the fillings that you’ll be using — or invite guests to bring a filling. Soak overnight any beans you plan to serve as a side dish with the tamales.
3
The morning of the tamalada, place all the corn husks in a large, clean bucket filled with warm water to soak for at least three hours. Mix the masa, whipping it until fluffy. Cook the beans. They will simmer while guests arrive and tamales are being made.
4
When guests arrive, clear off your largest table and set out the masa, fillings and corn husks. Demonstrate how to pat the husk dry, how to add masa and flatten it with your hand or the back of a spoon, how much filling to add, how to roll the tamales and where to put each one when it’s ready to steam.
5
While your guests wrap, set up a pot(s) with the steamer basket (or pasta insert), add water to the base of the pot and bring it to a boil. When there are enough tamales to fill the steamer, add them and cook according to your recipe. Then set them aside, sorted by flavor, to cool.
6
When the tamales have all been wrapped, add the final seasonings to the beans and sit down to eat. 7
Steamed, cooled tamales can be placed into freezer bags and frozen. Just steam again when ready to eat.