Country: Guatemala
Dish: Pepian
Location: Norcross
Stop #31
Whether it’s a craving for tamales or the allure of freshly baked bread that draws you to the counter of Mi Bella Guatemala, you’ll find a restaurant deeply rooted in family tradition.
“This is as close as you can get it back home,” Arturo Cordova said, sitting down with At the Table ATL over a dish of pepian.
“What we have here is called pepian,” Cordova said. “It’s chicken with a paste of sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, and bay leaves.”
Pepian marks just one of the traditional dishes the Cordova family hopes to preserve now that they are living in the U.S.
“How does this dish represent Guatemala?”
“It’s a tradition that’s been going in Guatemala for a very long time,” Cordova explained, “through generations of different families cooking it.”
It is Cordova’s father Luis who owns Mi Bella Guatemala and taught his son, who was born in the U.S., to cook.
“I learned because of my father,” Cordova said. “My father taught me how to cook a little bit. As the family grows, they want me to learn all the different types of food, how they make it and what not, so I can pass it to my kids as well…so we don’t lose that tradition here in the States.”
“How does this dish represent Atlanta?”
“It’s different for people to understand what Guatemalan food is,” Cordova said. “Guatemalan food is like home style food that families carry throughout the years.”
At the Table is a digital series produced by 11Alive's Matt Pearl and Liza Lucas. Metro Atlanta features the food of dozens of nations. We want to eat through them all! Follow us on Facebook and share your favorite food stories.