From Puerto Rico to Longwood: How a mother's recipe became a family legacy

LONGWOOD, Fla. - Before there was a restaurant, there was a mother, eight children, and a kitchen filled with the flavors of Puerto Rico.

For Abdiel Dejesus, that is where the story of Mi Casa Kitchen begins. His mother, Margarita, moved from Puerto Rico to Orlando in 1979 with her eight children.

He says she came looking for a better life for her family.

A mother’s recipes

Margarita brought the recipes passed down from her own mother. They were the dishes Abdiel grew up eating with flavors tied to family, memories and home.

Those recipes would eventually become much more than family meals. They would become a family business.

From the family table to Mi Casa Kitchen

The backstory:

Abdiel grew up watching his mother cook and eventually began working alongside her, learning the recipes and techniques that had been passed down through generations.
The family first started catering, then launched a food truck in 2019.

As the business grew, so did the desire to create a place where people could experience the food his mother had been making for their family for years.

In January 2023, Mi Casa Kitchen opened its doors in Longwood.

The menu features Puerto Rican favorites like mofongo, empanadas, and pernil, but Abdiel says the food is about more than what ends up on the plate.

For him, it is about recreating the feeling of sitting down to a home-cooked meal with family.
"It’s like they're eating a home-cooked meal like they're eating from their grandma's kitchen," he said.

Why Mi Casa?

The name says it all. "Mi Casa" means "my home," and that's exactly how Abdiel wants people to feel when they walk through the doors. 

"We always like people to feel like they're in our home," he said.

For Abdiel, serving his mother's recipes is also a way to keep those family traditions alive while sharing Puerto Rican culture with people across Central Florida. 

What started around his family’s table is now being shared with families throughout the community.

Still side-by-side

Margarita is 89 now, and while she does more of the prep work these days, she still comes into the kitchen and cooks alongside her son.

For Abdiel, having his mother there is a blessing because he gets to watch the recipes she brought from Puerto Rico continue to live on, while also seeing the sacrifices she made for her family come full circle.

There is still one thing they don't agree on, though: who is the better cook?

Margarita says her son learned very well.

"He had a good teacher," she said.

Abdiel laughs and gives her the credit right back.

"Now she says, 'I'm the expert! I'm not the expert,'" he said. "She's the expert!"