Stephitas Best Success: “I was Humiliated for Selling Panades”

Stephanie Carcamo turned a humble cultural dish into a thriving business. Once mocked for selling panades under a tent, she now runs Stephitas Best from a permanent location, where panades remain top sellers. Rooted in Belizean tradition and inspired by the Spanish empanada, these crispy, crescent-shaped corn treats, stuffed with meat, cheese, or beans, have become her signature. In tonight’s Kolcha Tuesday, News Five’s Paul Lopez visits Stephitas Best to hear how one woman’s passion for panades helped her rise above the ridicule and build her own success.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Often called Belize’s answer to the empanada, panades trace their roots back to British and Spanish influences. Today, they’re a staple in communities across the country, sold on nearly every corner, much like fast food in the U.S. In Belize City, Stephanie Carcamo has turned this beloved cultural dish into her livelihood, proving that panades are more than just a snack—they’re a symbol of resilience and opportunity.

 

Stephanie Carcamo, Owner, Stephitas Best

“A couple of years back I was looking for nice panades, I could not find anywhere in the city. I remember growing up my mom used to make. So, I said mom, I think we should open a panades shop and open panades and salbutes. She said, ok I have to teach you and you can go from there.”

 

Carcamo sticks to the traditional panades recipe, but with a twist: she seasons her masa, adding a flavorful touch that sets her version apart.

 

Stephanie Carcamo

“With the panades, it is the masa. We usually get it at the corn factory. Then we get it and season it with baking powder, salt reccado. You have to know your measurements. So even as I say it you wont get it like that. We season it, get the masha, mash, and it is flat. Then we get our fish, we season our fish as well. The process for this fish is basically, you boil it until it is soft, take off the skin and season it with the season you want, cook it over again and this is how it stays. Then we put the meat. We nuh stingy with the meat. We should put a little more right. And then you just mash it.”

 

In just twenty seconds, Carcamo’s panades—crispy pockets of masa filled with fish—are fried to golden perfection. Corn, a staple of the Mestizo diet in Belize, not only flavors the dish but also ties Carcamo to her cultural roots.

 

Stephanie Carcamo

“For me, I am a mestizo, so corn is mestizo. So, that is basically it. I am a corn lover. I prefer corn over flour any day. I have had people come from LA, the United Kingdom, literally a lot of Belizeans that live abroad tell their friends to try it and they come and say Steph this is the best panades I have ever tried and it makes me feel good.”

 

Carcamo has turned her panades into a success story. What started as a small operation under a tent on Central American Boulevard in Port Loyola is now a full-fledged eatery called Stephitas Best. But her journey wasn’t always easy, there was a time when she was mocked for selling panades.

 

Stephanie Carcamo

“It is funny because at the beginning, I would have people try to downgrade me because I am selling panades. It was like, you the sell panades. But, I didn’t give up. I would tell my husband, I feel bad, because people are telling me that I am selling panades. And he is like, Steph don’t give up, do what you do, do the best you can do. I guess because they would see people on the street that sells panades and they would not give them that respect. I felt that I did not have that respect when I had a tent until I have my shop now to be honest.”

 

Carcamo attributes her success to her faith in God, her husband and of course the demand for this cultural favorite, panades. Despite expanding her menu, Carcamo’s panades remain the star of the show—evident in the nonstop stream of daily orders that keep her kitchen buzzing. Her story is one of economic independence built on the back of a simple traditional recipe. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.