Sofía Jiménez, Tutuli Mexican Bakery

A family recipe with a community purpose

The first coyotas Jiménez sold were filled with guava and made from her grandmother’s recipes. Coyotas are a pastry from Sonora, Mexico; for Jiménez, that family baking tradition also offered a way to raise money for the free meals she was providing during the pandemic.

Foodwise says Jiménez wanted to build a larger meal-distribution effort, with a nonprofit and paid help. She began by selling the pastries to family and friends, then reached customers beyond that circle. She later worked with nonprofit Mandela Partners to launch Tutuli Mexican Bakery and gain access to more local farmers markets.

Tutuli is based in San Leandro, and Foodwise says it continues to participate in local fundraising. The bakery’s name means “beautiful” in the Yaqui language, according to its seller profile.

Further reading: Sofía Jiménez, Tutuli Mexican Bakery : Foodwise ↗ · Tutuli Mexican Bakery at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market : Foodwise ↗

Fruit from farms and a backyard

Jiménez’s sourcing makes the farmers market a fitting place to encounter her work. Foodwise says she uses local ingredients, including fruit from growers such as Yerena Farms as well as from her own fig trees and raspberry bushes. Those are examples of her bakery’s usual sourcing, not an announced ingredient list for the demonstration.

The market brings farm products and foods made by purveyors together, while keeping a distinction between them. Foodwise explains that certified California producers sell agricultural products directly to shoppers; breads and other goods that are not farm-produced or sold by a farmer are offered in an adjacent, non-certified portion of the market. A visit can therefore connect a shopper with both growers and the people who make food from ingredients they source.

Further reading: Tutuli Mexican Bakery at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market : Foodwise ↗ · Ferry Plaza Farmers Market Visitor Info & Services : Foodwise ↗

Watch the demo, then explore the market

Foodwise describes Jiménez’s appearance as a cooking demonstration featuring seasonal ingredients from Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. It has not named the dish, so the coyotas in her bakery’s story should not be taken as a promise that she will make them at the classroom. Foodwise provides recipes and samples at its demonstrations; it has not announced a hands-on activity for this session.

Saturday is the market’s largest day, with produce, food products and prepared meals around the Ferry Building. There is time to shop before or after the demonstration. Signs at seller tents describe farming or production practices, and Foodwise publishes weekly market updates for anyone looking for a particular seller. Tutuli is listed for Saturdays, though that does not confirm what it will have for sale on October 31.

The Foodwise Classroom is part of the outdoor farmers market, not the shops inside the Ferry Building Marketplace. Foodwise operates the outdoor market year-round, with smaller market days on Tuesday and Thursday as well.

Further reading: Sofía Jiménez, Tutuli Mexican Bakery : Foodwise ↗ · Ferry Plaza Farmers Market at the San Francisco Ferry Building : Foodwise ↗ · Ferry Plaza Farmers Market Visitor Info & Services : Foodwise ↗