Rediscovering “old tastes“ in a new way

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Rediscovering “old tastes“ in a new way

Thomas Beckschäfer and Christa Tscheikow © dolce e piccante

Interview with Thomas Beckschäfer, owner of the delicatessen store ”dolce e piccante“

The delicatessen store “dolce e piccante“ in Bonn, Germany, specializes in regional products from Tuscany, Italy. In addition, the store offers local products from Germany’s Rhineland region. That’s why alongside of Tuscan wild boar from Tuscany you can also find wild game delicacies from Germany’s Eifel region. In our interview, Thomas Beckschäfer talks about the importance of direct sales for the customer and emphasizes the manufacturing character of his merchandise.

What do you consider to be a delicatessen or fine food and what foods does this include?

For me this includes all foods that are manufactured with special care and consist of selected and great ingredients. So predominately they originate from small craftsman shops. Preferably, the food should be made without any preservatives and also based on old recipes. This way the customers have a chance to rediscover the “old tastes“ in a new way.

What do customers who enter your store anticipate?

Predominantly, they expect products/delicacies from Italy. The customers expect something special that they cannot buy anywhere else. Many times they enjoyed something delicious in Italy and are now searching for it here.

How do your “delicatessen“ differ from delicacies offered at the large food store chains?

The emphases of our range of items are products from Tuscany which we directly import ourselves and thus don’t go through wholesale. This way we are able to offer products that are in parts not even produced until after we placed our order, such as for instance Cantuccini (14 varieties) with no preservatives. This is why they only last for about 3 months, but they have the unmistakable flavor just like in Italy. At the supermarket you only find “ready-made“ merchandise with a long shelf life and also tastes like the items you can get at any other supermarket.
All these products can only be obtained through us in Germany. They are made in small, craftsman shops based on traditional, Italian recipes and with exclusive ingredients. They are also produced in very different amounts (no mass production).

Bocconcini alla Mandorla

The simple life at a higher level with pasta, wild boar sauce and wine

The products are fresh produced and processed traditionally.

TrufflePasta, savory bruschetta with truffle or truffle candy. Buon appetito!

The exterior of the store looks like a mom- and pup-shop

Which products are your customers primarily interested in and then also buy them?

In parts, customers enter our store with a clear picture in their mind. They also get information on the Internet prior to coming in and then make their specific purchases. Many of our products may be sampled. These products are then usually being purchased, since the customer now knows exactly what he/she is buying. The emphasis is on wild game meat delicacies from Tuscany like for instance wild boar crostini (with or without truffles), Cantuccini and pastry specialties from Tuscany as well as good oils and aceto balsamic vinegar.

Do you sell local products from Germany? What does the marketplace look like for this and are customers interested in the origin of the merchandise?

Yes we also sell products from our surrounding areas. We carry many different mustard brands from the historic Monschau mustard mill. In addition we offer chutneys and pesto sauces from “Kölner Weckzeit“, a factory that produces its products made of fresh fruits and ingredients without preservatives. Seasonally limited we offer wild game delicacies from the Eifel area again in the fall. Our customers are very interested in where the products are coming from. This is true for all of our products.

In the past few years the delicatessen segment was able to boast a growth rate of almost 20 percent. Can you attest to this development and if so, what delicacies are affected by this development?

dolce e piccante did not open until mid-November of last year. Based on that, we cannot say much on this subject. We only notice that we have many regular customers that love to keep coming back and that they are getting to be more and more each day. I think that the consumer wants something unique for his/her money and then is also willing to treat himself to something ”good“.

Ingrid Spicker, InterMopro.de