OAXACAN FOODS

Vendor: Ron & Zaida Kent
Location: Stanford, CA
PAFM Vendor Since: 2004
Website: www.oaxacanfoods.com


Zaida Kent helping a customer choose from the all the great options
Photo: Oaxacan Foods

Ron and Zaida Kent and their family, who sell delicious foods native to Oaxaca (Palo Alto’s sister region in Mexico), are newcomers to the PAFM, having joined in 2004. They started their business that year, “with the help of our good friend Pat Blumenthal,” a volunteer board member of the Market. “We started with our first product, authentic mole Negro [sauce] and expanded into our current line of thirteen items,” says Ron. Though they make frequent trips to Zaida’s homeland of Oaxaca, the Kents reside in our own back yard at Stanford University, where Kent is a chef at one of the row houses.

The Kents are “driven to offer the most authentic Oaxacan products outside of the State of Oaxaca,” says Ron. Their stand at PAFM reflects that determination: come by any Saturday of the season and not only will you see Zaida’s colorful native Oaxacan dress and taste their mole Negro, but you’ll also be able to sample their authentic Oaxacan chocolate drink, made from chocolate beans they bring back from Oaxaca and grind themselves, as well as a variety of Oaxacan tamales and antojitos (popular Oaxacan street foods) like molotes and memelas. It’s an experience customers find worth returning for.

Everything is so lovely at the Kents’ stand, you’d think that it all is set up by magic, but that’s not true. Ron remembers the family’s first day at the Market: “We almost did not make it. We stayed up all night producing six gallons of mole Negro. We went to the Market worried that people would not even know what mole Negro was.” No need for the Kents to have worried, however. “We were pleasantly surprised to find out that most people did know and we had a fine day.”

What do the Kents find special about PAFM? “The people!” says Ron. “The vendors, the volunteers, the customers. The best is close to the end of the end of the year when the volunteers make a fantastic lunch!!” He goes on to add, “We have made lots of friends at the Market and I couldn’t think of a better place to be on Saturday mornings.”