Atlanta native Tara Brown was teaching English in Madrid for three years and noticed an essential piece of American culture was missing from the rapidly globalizing Spanish capital: the classic Southern-style brunch. And that’s why she created Atlast Alitas, her very own pop-up feasts in the heart of Madrid.
Recognizing this vacuum prompted Tara to give notice and resign from the school where she was teaching in order to pursue her passion: cooking and creating a community around food. Tara used the popular hospitality platform Workaway to volunteer and train in the culinary arts in Haifa, Israel and brought the knowledge gained during this stay back to Madrid.
In collaboration with La Pasa Gin Bar, Tara hosts pop-up “Wing & Beats Nights” that are DJ’d by local artist Profesoul on Friday nights. On select weekend days you can come to her pop-up all-you can eat “Chicken & Waffles Brunch.”
This mouth-watering feast is the real deal, and can offer the American abroad a taste of home. Alternatively, to people from outside of the United States who have never before experienced the blend of sweet and savory that is chicken and waffles, Tara offers a heartfelt window into the gastronomy of the southern United States. Tara creates her own sauces from scratch: Lemon Pepper, Jack Daniels BBQ, Honey Sriracha and Buffalo Hot.
Tara’s culinary ambitions do not end there as she seeks to expand to catering events and to eventually open her own restaurant in Madrid. The pursuit of an international experience in the culinary world was what brought Tara to Haifa, Israel. There she studied under the chef Koby Carolla, co-founder of the social vegan restaurant Robin Food, whose team rescues discarded fruit and vegetables from Haifa’s central market every day at 6am. The rescued produce are adapted into various dishes in an ever-changing daily menu. Patrons here pay as they please, deciding for themselves the value of their meal.
Chef Carolla taught Tara how to lead by example in the kitchen and how to be spontaneous and innovative with whatever ingredients are available. After three months of cooking with and living alongside an international team of Workaway volunteers, Tara returned to Madrid from Israel, empowered to begin her project.
The owner of La Pasa Gin Bar, Adolfo Lorenzo, agreed to collaborate with Tara without much convincing. In addition to granting her access to the kitchen and space of their two locations on Calle San Bernardo and Calle Huertas, he has been sponsoring the costs of the events, which has allowed Tara to reduce risk as she grows her brand.
Tara was the first to introduce the combination of fried Chicken and Waffles to some of her international patrons in Madrid and Haifa, who had never before fathomed such a combination. Tara’s expert opinion on the best way to actually eat this meal is to use your hands to make sure both the sweet and savory flavors are equally represented in each bite.
Atlast Alitas
You can stay up-to-date via her Facebook page at Tara Brown and her instagram: @brownskin_mochadiva and be sure to come to her next pop-up brunch party at La Pasa Gin Bar!
If you would like Tara to cater your next party she can be contacted at Tara.brown93@yahoo.com.
Photography by Joel Potter
