Meet The Deliciouser Team
Our story starts in the heart of the Midwest with these key ingredients: years of combined experience in the food industry; fostering relationships with community partners; and traveling the globe. Our vision is to bring exceptional spices, herbs, and culinary products into every kitchen and to invite cooks from all walks of life to share in the joy of creating delicious food with Deliciouser blends.
We like to refer to ourselves as a blended family, not just because we are in the business of blending spices, but because we really are a family. The Deliciouser family is Patrick, Marcia, Michelle, and Anne. To break it down, Marcia and Patrick were previously married. Patrick is now married to Michelle. As a blended family, we each bring to the table a unique talent and love for food.
Patrick grew up on the southside of Milwaukee, dominated by corner bars, supper clubs, fish frys, and frozen custard - Patrick has always been a foodie. No matter where he is in the world, he is always on the hunt for the best bite in town. He has dedicated his life to sharing his passion for local, seasonal, and delicious food.
Marcia’s love of cooking and entertaining began at an early age, experimenting with her Suzy Homemaker Oven and The Lucky Cookbook for Boys and Girls. She still treasures both of these gems to this day. Once she mastered cinnamon toast (p.g 8), she threw her first tea party. From that point on, she has been perpetually planning her next gathering. Marcia is happiest when her house is full of friends and family.
Patrick and Marcia met in the mid-90s in Milwaukee, WI behind the stove of an upscale catering company. After getting married and exploring their culinary dreams, they moved to Madison in ‘98. Attracted by the vibrant Madison culinary scene, anchored by the famous Dane County Farmers Market, they started their own catering company and eventually bought an old spaghetti house, Lombardino’s Italian Restaurant and Bar. Although they later divorced, they are still friends, co-parents and culinary collaborators.
At her core, Shelly is a world traveler. All she needs is her passport, and she’s off and running. And while she’s travelled the globe, Wisconsin has always been home. Patrick and Shelly bonded over their passion for all things spicy. Shelly always jokes that she taught Patrick two things about food. The first one is always asking servers to share their favorite dish on the menu. The second is learning to savor the last flavor. We can all recall times after a delicious meal when Shelly has put down her fork and proclaimed, “That’s it, this is the last taste I want on my tongue.”
In March of 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of all restaurants in Dane County in accordance with the “Safer at Home” mandate. Fast forward several months, restaurants and bars are still not able to operate at full capacity due to the spread of the virus. Our restaurants have been our lives and our livelihood, so the inability to open our doors to our cherished customers was devastating both financially and emotionally. This crisis has affected our friends’ restaurants and bars, our farmers, local vendors and the entire community. With time on our hands and a craving for normalcy, we did what most restaurant families do: we gathered in the kitchen.
We found ourselves cooking together, making dishes that reminded us of places we’ve traveled and sharing our desire to travel again. For us, a big part of travel is searching out local dishes. We love the taco stands as much (maybe more) as the multi-course, fine dining restaurants. We have found great pleasure in immersing ourselves in other cultures and have developed a great appreciation for each and every mom and pop stand along the way.
