During the COVID-19 quarantine, people began to discover hidden talents or hobbies they had. Some were given for exercise, others for reading, others for painting ... for cooking. In fact, this is the case with Red Gem, a 28-year-old from Valencia with a law degree who decided that she would spend her time at home omelette. He has four brothers and they all follow Grandma's recipe. But why stay there and not go one step further? It was then that the idea of “queen ballWhich, in other words, are tortilla croquettes.
Queen Potato and their tortilla croquettes
“Suddenly, in full confinement, I started dreaming that I was making potato omelettes and that I was doing very well. And I thought, what if I do it? ”, Gema told Yahoo! News. No sooner said than done. It was in October 2020 that the Valencian woman decided to found her potato omelette company: Queen Potato. One of the reasons was that he trusted his skills in making this dish, and another was that "I realized that in Valencia there are no good potato tortillas." In addition, nowadays there are food delivery services of all kinds: pizza, hamburgers, sushi ... why not a good one? omelette?
But beyond their tortillas -which we will see in detail later-, Gem can boast of having given a twist to the original concept of this symbol of Spanish gastronomy. It has created the «queen balls » o tortilla croquettes, so that we understand each other. As its name suggests, these are potato omelette balls.
How did this idea come about? "I realized that there are also people who want to eat a potato omelette at 5 in the afternoon, but do not want a whole one," said the creator. The perfect snack for any time of day, in ball shape. In a pack of 10 -at 3 euros- or 60 -a 20-, Gema makes some 600 «queen ball" daily. And is that its mini format allows you to continue innovating: you can choose them with toppings or added ingredients, such as gorgonzola cheese.
The tortillas, with different cheeses
In a world like the potato omelette, evolution is almost necessary. In the end, what is sought is to stand out from the entire offer ... and Gema has succeeded. He started by selling some tortillas through Instagram and from a home bakery. Watching the pull of his work, the company was introducing new flavors. In the menu you can find varieties of all kinds.
If you are a meat lover, your choice is the queenred, which is made with 200 grams of hamburger from Hundred Burgers. If you are more of cheese, you also have a choice: Jacket -with Galician cheese and longaniza-, the Montesa -goat cheese-, the Mallorcan -with sobrasada and camembert- or the star of the house: the queen potato, with truffled cheese.
The variety is infinite and it seems that this has only just started with those gourmet recipes. At the moment, it produces an average of 70 tortillas a day. He's being very crazy. I am experiencing a very big boom ”, said Gema. And seeing what he is experiencing, his plans have a national and international vision, since his desire is to be able expand the sale beyond Valencia. He has already taken the first steps to know the tastes of the rest of the towns, starting with Madrid, where he set up a pop up.
If you are from Valencia or plan to travel to the area at some point, Queen Potato it is a most tempting option. Gema not only discovered during confinement that the potato omelette business could result in such success, but also transformed the traditional concept of one of the most typical dishes of the Spanish geography.
All the tortilla croquettes They are the perfect aperitif to enjoy in company, alone or however you like. Juicy, more made, with different toppings, alone ... The «queen balls» of Red Gem They are, without a doubt, a novelty that unites tradition - in the end, the tortilla recipe is his grandmother's - and a touch of innovation.
