Tradition and family are two words that summarize the character of Edna Bispo de Santana. Her connection with food comes from her family and begins with her grandmother, who was a great liquor maker in the Garcia neighborhood, downtown Salvador. Everyone in the neighborhood knew her delicious drink. Her aunt, a “mãe de santo” (a priestess in Afro-Brazilian religions), had religious obligations in the kitchen. Observing her, Edna learned everything about Candomblé cuisine, but her mother taught her the sewing profession, which was the start of her professional life in 1999. She worked in some factories, but then decided to open her own business: a subcontracted clothing company that served a large brand located in a shopping center. By that time, she already had her first child, Jeferson, who learned how to sew from his mother: “He’s good, but he doesn’t like it when I say that,” she says proudly of her son. She tells that the sales were good, but the defaults were the crucial factor that made her give up the profession. In the playful atmosphere at home, where friends and relatives praised her cooking, the idea of selling on the street arose: “everyone said my food was good to me.” In 2003, she embarked on a new challenge: with a thermos of juice and a plastic container of snacks, Dona Edna sold snacks in front of Faculdade da Cidade, located in the Comércio neighborhood. Her son accompanied her in transportation and sales. Edna then developed a baked hot dog: “When I made this snack, none was left, and the students even complained to Jeferson because he didn’t save one for them.” Every Friday, there was intense movement of students who stayed in the square after classes, which motivated Edna to do something different to increase her income. She decided to put a pot of beans next to the snacks, and since the students drank a lot and the snacks didn’t go well with beer, beans were the right choice. However, the authorities arrived and prohibited the sale of snacks and beans, but she persisted in her spot. Edna then moved to another street near the square, where there was also a lot of people due to a collection company, and there she decided to sell acarajé. She formalized herself as a “baiana” (a Bahian acarajé seller) while her son, Jeferson, continued with the snack sales in the square. To this day, Dona Edna maintains her “baiana” cart from Monday to Friday in the Comércio neighborhood, but she no longer sells snacks. Her son started working as a waiter at a bar in Largo do Rosário. In conversations with bar colleagues, owners, and soccer friends, he promoted his mother and came up with the idea of inviting her to sell beans at the place. Edna found support from bar owners in Largo do Rosário to keep the business going. On Saturday mornings, she takes a break and, in the afternoon, goes to her son’s house, located in the 2 de Julho neighborhood near the sales point, where she prepares beans, “mocotó” (a traditional Brazilian dish), and “rabada” (oxtail). She makes a point of buying all the ingredients in her neighborhood: “Here in Fazenda Grande do Retiro, I ask the butcher to set aside the best cuts of meat, then I go to my son’s house and do the rest of the shopping at the local markets. I really enjoy bargaining!”