Meet Cristal Estudiante | Chef

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cristal Estudiante and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cristal, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I actually started my business The Birria Plug due to necessity. I also own a baking business (Sugar and Pipe) and when 2020 came along and the amount of accessibility to people and places was limited I ended up having to return a lot of deposits for birthday parties, weddings, and quinceaneras. This put me in hustle mode to come up with the money I was having to return. I’ve always loved to cook and Birria Taco videos were all over Tiktok so I watched a few videos and learned how to make my own version and started selling. The amount of support was unreal! I continued to sell weekly making over 30lbs of Birria meat at a time some days. Its been 2 years and thankfully I’m still going strong.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What sets me apart is I offer a little bit of everything. Though my name says The Birria Plug I also make and offer Chicken dinner cupcakes (cornbread base, mashed potato “frosting”, homemade gravy, and a golden brown chicken nugget on top), Chicken Tettrazinni plates, Thanksgiving Meal plates, and full holiday dinners, Italian with scratch-made sauces, loaded salads, Tamales. Pozole/Caldos, Chili. Everything! got to where I am today by pushing myself to not give up on my dream to do just a little bit more every single time!

This whole process was so far from easy and it takes every bit of blood sweat and tears but is so incredibly worth it!

I’ve learned to take constructive criticism and use it in growing my business for the better.

Im just one person in a kitchen doing what I absolutely love and am still just starting out! I cant wait to see what the future has in store!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would start with a good breakfast spot Buiscut Bar is one of my favorite brunch spots. Lunch pretty much anywhere with a patio in Deep Ellum but my favorite is Cane Rossos because everything about a brick oven pizza is amazing. Dinner at Sky Blossom. Greendoor for drinks and latenight snacks. I enjoy going to a good comedy show or a museum.
I have so many vendor friends that are involved in pop up events during the week and would have to get my friends out to try some of the best small business food/treats in the DFW.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My 10 year old son Eli is my biggest fan and my most honest critic and I don’t know what I would do without him. If the food passes the Eli check it’s got a certified stamp of approval! He really has been my biggest cheerleader saying “you’re going to be famous one day because of your food Mom!” after I’ve made him breakfast, lunch, or dinner. He is always there to say “you got this mom!”. I couldn’t ask for a better son!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBirriaPlugGarland