El Sur

El Sur was started by Marianne Despres, who graduated from the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and worked at some top French restaurants, including the French Laundry.  She launched El Sur in 2012 as a nod to her Argentinian heritage and French training, selling empanadas out of a vintage 1970 Citroen H-van. Headquartered in San Francisco, everything is handmade in their commercial kitchen and they operate a café, 2 trucks and a catering business. El Sur’s empanadas were inspired by Marianne’s Argentinian background and she developed the recipes based on her French culinary training and experience.  The purveyors for El Sur are carefully chosen not only for their quality products, but for their shared commitment in creating a healthy food system. The beef is sourced from Five Dot Ranch, a local ranch run by a family who has been in the cattle business for seven generations. The dough is made in house, the beef is hand-cut, and each empanada is folded and crimped by hand. El Sur's mission is to create lasting food memories by connecting people to an authentically crafted food experience, use only the best ingredients from purveyors who share their commitment to sustainability, deliver their empanadas with speed, reliability and convenience, and to foster a healthy work environment on a foundation built on communication, trust and respect.