By Gabbie Burton
Contributing Writer

Tucked away in the unassuming gray parking lot of BB’s grocery outlet in Oxford is a surprising and colorful taste of Puerto Rico. El Batey Puerto Rican Food Trailer has been serving authentic Puerto Rican food made by owner Noelis Ortiz Marrero since 2024. In order to overcome a language barrier, Ortiz recently shared her story about her food trailer through an email interview with The Chester County Press. 

Ortiz, who was born and raised in Corozol, Puerto Rico, moved to Oxford in 2017 after attending the Central University of Bayamón for nursing. She shared that while she came to Oxford in search of new opportunities she suddenly felt called in a different direction. 

“Although my professional training was always focused on caring for others, about three years ago a new concern was born in me: to take a little bit of Puerto Rico through its gastronomy,” she wrote. “Thus came the idea of creating El Batey.”

After noticing a lack of Puerto Rican food in the community, Ortiz saw a gap she could fill that not only would expose the community to a new culture and cuisine, but also allow Ortiz to connect with her home.

“When I moved to Oxford, I noticed that there were not many authentic Puerto Rican food options in the area, and I felt that need to bring a little bit of my island to this community,” Ortiz wrote. “El Batey was born from a dream but also from passion, faith and the desire to create something of its own that would represent who I am and where I come from.”

Ortiz explained that the trailer was built from scratch, requiring hard work, sacrifice and invaluable help from family and friends along the way. Despite all the effort, Ortiz described the opening of the trailer in June 2024 as a dream come true. 

In the nearly two years since opening, Ortiz described the support she has received from the community, both from those familiar with Puerto Rican culture to those who have never been exposed to it before. 

“From the first day, many people have arrived with curiosity, and then return for the flavor and experience,” Ortiz stated. “I have received a lot of support, both from the Latino community and from people who had never tried Puerto Rican food and now love it. Seeing people enjoy the food, recommend it and become frequent customers is one of the greatest satisfactions.”

El Batey’s menu features Puerto Rican favorites including empanadillas, hand-held pies with meat or cheese fillings, tostones, mofongo and other plantain variants, beans and rice, and a slew of other options in generous portions. Ortiz explained the care she puts into each menu item not only to ensure quality taste but for authenticity as well.

“We strive to carefully select our ingredients and maintain the essence of our cuisine, so that each person who tries our food feels that they are enjoying a little piece of the island,” she wrote.

Though she was never formally taught how to cook, Ortiz explained that her passion for serving others translates to her culinary skills and credits her ancestry and heritage for guiding her cooking. 

“I carry in my blood the seasoning of my grandmothers, who, according to my mother, cooked with an unparalleled flavor,” Ortiz wrote. “That heritage is what I share today with every client who visits us.” 

What Ortiz makes abundantly clear, both through her story and simply in letting her food speak for itself, is the strong connection to Puerto Rican culture and the importance of authentically representing that culture to the community. 

“More than a business, El Batey is a bridge between my homeland and the Oxford community, a place where culture, flavor and passion come together to provide authentic Puerto Rican food to all our customers,” Ortiz wrote. “It is a way to keep my culture and my roots alive, even being far from Puerto Rico. Through El Batey, I not only serve food, but I share a part of my history, my family and my identity. It fills me with pride to see how people from different cultures try our dishes and connect with them. It is a way to unite the community, to educate and to celebrate what we are as Puerto Ricans.”