Casa DiLisio, Mt. Kisco
While the Casa DiLisio brand of Italian frozen sauces is well known among the world’s best hotels, cruise lines and restaurants, its creators, Lou and Lucy DiLisio, are as humble today as they were in 1973 when they first created their signature French-style scampi sauce.
Lou DiLisio, now 84, comes to work every day with his daughter, Linda, and a host of dedicated employees. The office where he and Linda share a common space is an extension of the small 3,000-square-foot factory on Lexington Avenue where the renowned sauces are created, including that original scampi sauce, which is now called Sauce Provencal.
It’s where you’ll see workers washing the top leaves of fresh basil, which arrives from Florida twice a week, then meticulously making the company’s gluten-free sauces, combining the finest olive oil, pine nuts and freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese.
The DiLisios have earned numerous awards in recognition of their specialty sauces, including the pesto sauce, a no-nut basil pesto sauce, vegan basil pesto, sun-dried tomato basil pesto, fire-roasted (chipotle) red pepper pesto, cilantro pesto, roasted garlic pesto, Alfredo sauce and more.
The sauces can be used in a variety of ways, Linda DiLisio explained. For example, the roasted garlic pesto sauce is a good addition to mashed potatoes and pasta, or on sandwiches, seafood, chicken and pizza. It can also be used for dips and spreads. Recipe suggestions come with each sauce, adding to their versatility.
All of the Casa DiLisio sauces are made in small quantities and frozen to preserve their delicate, unique flavor and consistency, Linda DiLisio said. They are also trans fat free, low in sodium and suitable for vegans.
A former IBM employee, she remembers when she first joined the family business in the 1980s, then unaware of the complexities of the food industry. Today, Linda DiLisio pretty much runs the office with the help of two office clerks, although she quickly adds that her father is still in charge.
The DiLisios insist that customers taste the sauces, not simply hear about them.
“All of the advertising in the world won’t help unless you taste the sauce,” said Lou DiLisio, who is also a talented musician, having played clarinet during the 1970s for the Westchester Pops Orchestra and saxophone with the Yonkers Philharmonic, and leading his own band, called Lou DiLisio and the Sophisticates, for a time.
Early on, when DiLisio managed the original family business, DiLisio Body Shop, upstairs, the family would conduct tastings at local food stores and markets and look to friends and family for suggestions.
They admit the business was a tough sell at first, especially since pesto was unknown to many, even Italian-Americans. But more than 40 years later much has changed and the company now produces about 750 tons of basil pesto annually.
While the company name is a staple in the food service industry, the DiLisios still attend close to 35 food shows a year, knowing that if prospective customers taste any of their 14 sauces, they’ll have an excellent chance of selling to them later, Lou DiLisio said.
His perseverance in finding new distributors for the signature sauces over the company’s 42-year history has paid off, said his daughter. That’s evident in all of the photographs and well wishes that line the walls and cabinets of their small office. The family is pictured with an assortment of prominent chefs, the head of a well-known cruise line and many others, a testament to the respect they’ve gained over the years, Linda DiLisio said.
The company’s line of products are available through national and independent distributors and can be found throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean. Locally, the products can be purchased at Sgaglio’s Marketplace in Katonah, Mt. Kisco Seafood and Chappaqua Village Market.
To learn more about Casa DiLisio and its many products, visit www.casadilisio.com.
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