Inspiring Conversations with Maria Benucci of Pana’s Flavors

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Benucci.

Hi Maria, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Pana’s Flavors emerged in 2018 thanks to two foodies (Mafer and Jose). Venezuelan emigrants with the idea of ​​showing to their new home part of their culinary culture that we left behind as a result of a great exodus of Venezuelans. The idea was to present Venezuelan dishes not known in this state, from there came the idea of ​​showing a giant version of our famous Venezuelan empanadas (which today we call ”the largest in the triangle”) because of their size is 8 to 10 inches in length.

Jose is a nurse who graduated in Venezuela for more than 15 years, but at the same time, he is the third generation of a family of cooks. And Mafer, an architect graduate, also has a wide culinary heritage of Italian origin. We both combine different techniques and culinary knowledge to create pana flavors. Adding in this way our personal touch and seasoning to each dish. Our biggest goal is to have our own restaurant, but in 2021 we wanted to make ourselves known first in a more informal way, and we took the first step with the purchase of a food truck since in it we can reach different publics, communities and each corner of the triangle.

Once we acquired this restaurant on wheels, we added Carlos Benucci to our team. A brother, a brother-in-law, a partner who is also a Venezuelan emigrant with a great desire to show and enhance our Venezuelan culture. Today we have this small family business known to all as “Los panas”.

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?
In the course of three years we faced great obstacles, the first was inexperience regarding how to manage a food business, that led us to frequent different food trucks and thanks to that we made very good friends who gave us their help, support. and tips. And one of the most important pieces of advice they gave us was “be patient.”

Once the first part of our capital was gathered to start the business, we faced the second obstacle, the arrival of the covid – 19, which caused an economic downturn, cut our income and forced us to use our savings. In the midst of this situation, we had to make a very important decision, which was to leave our old job to look for a new option to generate income and be able to recover the lost capital. All these changes taught us in a very short time to value opportunities and to see these obstacles like great teachings.

Alright, so let’s switch gears to bit and talk business. What should we know?
Venezuelan food is known mainly for its arepas and empanadas, which have become known throughout the east coast of the United States thanks to the great Venezuelan migration, Panas Flavors in his quest to show something unique created the monster empanada, ‘If we are going to make an empanada, let it be a giant’ and our great inspiration came from the pearl of the Caribbean, our beautiful island of Margarita, where the largest and most delicious empanadas in Venezuela are obtained, known for their particular yellow color and their dough. Super crispy.

We are proud that our banner is ”the panas,” since it is a word with a very important meaning for all Venezuelans, a pana is a friend, a pana is someone who will always be there for you, it is family and in between from so much distance, a corduroy will always be your corduroy even if it is on the other side of the world.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
We are very happy to have materialized a dream that started as a small idea. Today we are proud to represent Venezuela through our food. Being able to offer part of our culture to this country that has received us with open arms is a great achievement for us.

Contact Info:

• Email: depanaflavors8@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/panasflavor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/depana.flavors.9
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/panas-flavors-raleigh

Image Credits
Our photographer was Veronica Touma. She is amazing and so professional IG: Toumaphotography https://www.instagram.com/toumaphotography/