“My dad and I talk at least a dozen times a day,” says Ailin de los Santos. “I said to him: ‘I am going to make you famous, Papa,’ and he was like, ‘That’s hilarious.’”
But she did.
Inspired by the weekly asados (barbecues) her family hosted—and in particular by the chimichurri they served at it—she and her father, Elvio, in 2013 founded Elvio’s Chimichurri, which makes a Chimichurri Sauce and Chimichurri Rub.
“I come from a household where every day was like Sunday, and Sundays were like super Sundays,” de los Santos says. Before each gathering, she and her father would make a fragrant, herbaceous chimichurri from a recipe that originated with her grandfather, a gaucho on the Argentine Pampas.
“We’d have people from all over the world come to these barbecues—young, old, from lands far away—and everyone’s always reaching for the chimi,” de los Santos says. “The secret ingredient is love, and I know how cheesy that is, but I really believe it because you’re so intimate with what you’re making.”
And people noticed.
“In the summer of 2015, we literally became famous in Argentina. My dad grew up very poor, so it was such a full circle moment. Now my dad will tease me: ‘Hey, it’s been a long time since I've been on TV.’”
