By Mariama Adan , Thursday Sep 29, 2022
Chris Hall’s first tortilla roller can still be seen in the corner of his small unit in Lawrence Hill. Cranked by hand, Chris and his wife Kerry were able to make 100 tortillas at maximum capacity.
This unit is now dominated by a tortilla machine imported from Mexico, with up to 4,000 tortillas rolling off the production line on a busy day.
Masa Tortillas is the only tortilla bakery – known as a tortilleria – in the South West, with their produce being sent out across the UK as well as being able to buy at source from the Lawrence Hill Industrial Estate on Russell Town Avenue
Independent journalism is needed now more than ever.
The business is an extension of what was originally The Little Taquero, an award-winning street food business serving tacos.
After the birth of Chris and Kerry’s son, Brodie, there was a constant juggle between tortilla production in Backwell and family life in St George.
So Masa Tortillas was born, with Chris making fresh tortillas three days a week, starting at 6.30am from Wednesday to Friday, using the Mexican machine that immaculately cuts and toasts both white and blue corn tortillas.
Toasted tortillas freshly made – photo: Martin Booth
“When we first started the van, we wanted to show people what real Mexican food was compared to Tex-Mex,” Chris told Bristol24/7 on a recent morning, the smell of corn lingering in the air.
Masa Tortillas is not just focusing on Bristol; their tortillas can be found in restaurants and street food markets from all across the UK, including Dos Dedos in Bath, restaurants and street food markets in Brighton and Portsmouth, and even in the Highlands of Scotland.
The tortillas made here are gluten-free, GMO-free and preservative-free, catering to a diverse section of society who enjoy authentic South American cuisine.
Moreover, the ingredients used to make these tortillas are all imported from Mexico, turning indigestible corn into digestible flour to use as the building blocks for these tortillas, a significant contrast from many other retail tortilla products found in the UK.
The business also offers other South American ingredients to go alongside the tortillas including dried chillies, hot sauces and Salsa Stories’ salsas made in the unit just the other side of a dividing wall.
Chris explains that the idea of a tortilla subscription service came around during his time in the Pacific coast of Mexico, where the local tortilleria would frequently deliver freshly made tortillas around the neighbourhood.
“I wanted to replicate that as much as I could, so what we started to do was a subscription, and the boxes we’ve got fit through letterboxes, so people can always have a stock of fresh tortillas.”
Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Get Bristol24/7's top stories emailed direct to you in our daily and weekly newsletters
Selling fresh coffee and sweet and savoury treats
By meg h g Thursday, Oct 13 2022
The team at Root say that they feel "a great weight of responsibility"
By martin booth Thursday, Oct 13 2022
The "hellish" themed restaurant closes with five-star reviews
By mia vines booth Wednesday, Oct 5 2022
The bar chain has opened in the city centre
It will be the first permanent premises for the popular pop-up
By martin booth Tuesday, Oct 4 2022
Locals say it is a "core part of the BS3 community"
By martin booth Friday, Sep 30 2022
Get Bristol24/7's top stories emailed direct to you in our daily and weekly newsletters
Bristol24/7 CIC. © Copyright 2022. Company no: 08904329. Future Leap, 1-3 Gloucester Road, Bristol, BS7 8AA