The name Maru Botana is as popular in Argentina as Karlos Arguiñano is for us. This renowned pastry chef, famous for television programs in her country such as Sabor a mí or Maru a la afternoon, started “at a very young age with baking. I immediately realized that nothing made me happier than cooking,” she tells us from Buenos Aires, in a conversation we have via Zoom. Despite the early discovery of her vocation, Botana studied Business Administration; At the same time she began to sell the cakes that she made in her free time. She finally got seriously behind the stove with the help of the famous chef Francis Mallmann, who was the one who encouraged her, over time, to carry out her own culinary and business project.
The rest, as they say, is history. Botana’s seven pastry and gastronomy establishments gather in their country today in endless queues to enjoy their famous recipes for dulce de leche, passion fruit cake, meringue or even a tasty roast beef sandwich. All these delicacies can now also be tasted in Barcelona. Maru – who, in addition to being a cook and pastry chef, a writer of books that are on the bestseller lists, a mother of a large family and a television star with more than 2 million followers on Instagram, is an entrepreneur incapable of discouragement – ??has not hesitated to cross the ocean to open a very special establishment on Roger de Llúria Street, 114, led by Argentine chef Soledad Nardelli, which also has a savory menu with quiches or the essential Milanese.
When Botana was thinking about expanding his business beyond his homeland, he first considered the option of settling in New York, but he soon realized that the Big Apple did not make him “vibe” in the same way as Barcelona. “I discovered the city for the first time when I went to visit my son, who was studying there thanks to an exchange,” he explains. I found the people of Barcelona very friendly and open. I immediately felt identified with your culture and realized that there was a very similar way of thinking and living. At the same time, I met several Argentines who told me that there was no type of proposal like mine in Barcelona, ??so I decided to get to work.”
Botana managed to “assemble a divine human group”, which has been in charge, in a short time, of turning its establishment into a benchmark for Argentine gastronomic offerings in the city. The support he received, from the beginning, from Banco Santander had a lot to do with this. “I was lucky enough to meet Ana Botín in a solidarity initiative to help disadvantaged people in La Matanza,” she tells us. “She seemed to me to be a wonderful and talented woman, who did not hesitate to put her team at my service. Her vibe was spectacular. They empathized a lot with my project. The support and advice I received was truly key to making it happen.”
The Buenos Aires pastry chef is a good example of how perseverance and hard work are essential to achieve one’s goals. As she herself points out, sometimes, “it’s not easy being Maru Botana. “Combining at the same time the different facets as a person, brand, mother, cook, communicator”… Her love for cooking has led her to enjoy success, but she has also experienced hard times personally: In 2008, her sixth child died at cause of sudden infant death syndrome. “In those moments I felt like my life was ending,” she confesses, “but I decided to move on. I had two more children, opened more bakeries, continued writing books and continued with my passion for entrepreneurship.”
In her case, the secret to obtaining recognition is – as she herself reminds us – very simple: “I love pampering people through cooking. Listen to my clients so I can make them happy.” Maru cooks at work and also does it in her free time: when she comes home, she continues preparing food for her family.
This type of family atmosphere is what all those who come to its establishments perceive. Although their businesses are growing, their hallmark is based on maintaining close and careful treatment with clients.
The cook and businesswoman can never sit still, so she keeps thinking about new projects. Her next goal is to continue opening other stores in Europe – she confesses that Madrid is probably the next step – and she continues planning solidarity initiatives such as a possible women’s cooperative in Mendoza. For Botana, it is a joy to confirm that, more and more, women dare to carry out business projects that, like hers, continue to grow and conquer new markets. To help shape her future dreams, she continues to count on the complicity of Banco Santander, a fundamental ally to move forward in an unstoppable career.