By Carlo P. Mallo Photo by Wrap Meting
Dabawenyos now enjoy sausages with names anyone can hardly pronounce like they have enjoyed it all their lives. They enjoy it too much that its no longer served exclusively during breakfast, like its distant relative, the redder than red hotdog. Even guests who come to the city search for this deli on both ends of town to horde their favorite cold cuts or indulge in an, err, sausage fest.
But that wasn’t the case a couple of decades ago. Bratwurst, franfurters, breakfast sausages, and what not were names that only those who have embarked on European trips or have reached a level of pretensiousness as to use the term. There was nothing like that in Davao or in its neighboring environs.
It was way back in 1997 when theater actress Rochelle and her husband Romano Venuti, decided to embark on introducing authentic European sausages to the Davao market.
“It was originally a collaboration, but eventually we decided to go our separate ways. It took a while to introduce it to the market but once it started, it just kept on going,” Rochelle said.
While a lot of people have yet to appreciate or even taste what they would refer to as humungous hotdogs, the number of Dabawenyos who have fallen in love with the wide array that Swiss Deli offers continues to grow.
“Looking back at where we started, I can say that we have really come a long way. Now, we have lots of followers and ‘suki’,” Rochelle added.
But what made their products stand out in the market is the process involved in making it.
“Romano knows the recipes by heart and how it should taste like. We started the business to give Dabawenyos the opportunity to taste what the real sausages in Europe taste like. That’s why we try to make the sausages in the most authentic manner possible, as close as it could possibly get to the original. And we don’t put preservatives in it,” Rochelle said. “We are making a name for the company by the products that we have. We want our name to be synonymous with quality, and our products convey that message well.”
Now, Swiss Deli products are available as far as Pampanga and Manila in Luzon, Cebu, Bacolod, Boracay, Iloilo, and Bohol in the Visayas, and throughout the whole of Mindanao.
“It is very challenging to run a business, and to grow the business. It is very important that you have people who will help you take care of it. It is impossible to run a company without you taking care of your own people,” Rochelle said.
Aside from the deli products, Swiss Deli has also two restaurants now in Davao City.
“We continue to learn as we grow. There is always room for growth, and one cannot be too learned,” Rochelle said.
And if you are wondering which of the many sausages they have that she likes best, it’s the schublig. “It’s fat and juicy.”
