Josey Chu: Madame Chu’s Southeast Asian Delicacies

The desire for comfort food and the flavors of childhood is a universal experience. When our paths take us thousands of miles from home, that craving takes on a different flavor and recreating the taste of home becomes a way both to hold on to culture and identity while drawing others into a deeper understanding of where we come from.

For Josey Chu, who founded Madame Chu with her husband Ben in 2017, the flavors and the values that have shaped her life are deeply intertwined.

"I am from Singapore,” Josey says, “and this cuisine is very specific to Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. It is not Thai, not Cambodian, not Vietnamese. They are recipes from my grandmother.”

As often happens, the impulse to create something new was sparked in seeking connection after a loss. "When my mom passed on, we went back for the funeral and of all the valuables that my mom left for us, I only wanted her cookbooks,” Josey says. “We brought them back to Wisconsin, and as my husband and I were browsing through […] out from the cookbook itself fell leaflets with my grandma's handwriting."

Understanding these hand-written recipes came down to understanding her grandmother's culture and how she lived and cooked. The cup that her grandmother used to measure ingredients was not the standardized measuring cup found in any kitchen today, and when she listed ingredients by weight she wasn’t using grams on a kitchen scale but stones on a balance beam. “It’s like ‘one kati, two kati,’ meaning you put one stone on a balance beam [and the ingredient on the other side] until it evens out.” Josey laughs with deep fondness as she recalls the process of interpreting recipes that are so deeply rooted in her family and her culture. "My grandmother doesn't go to school, but she was able to write down all of that for us.” And when her mother slipped those recipes between pages of her commercial cookbooks, this invaluable family history was preserved.

"My husband, born and raised in Wisconsin, was the one who actually looked at the recipe and said, ‘Oh, this looks interesting, let me make this.’" The first dish he made was peanut sauce with noodles. He followed the recipe to the letter – or the kati – and it turned out wonderfully. The more they branched out, getting rave reviews for each new dish at gatherings with family and friends and boy scout events, the more people told them they ought to go into business.

And so, knowing nothing about business but trusting to the quality of their product, they did. In 2017 they began cooking at FEED Kitchen, crafting sauces and condiments that form the base of traditional Southeast Asian dishes. In Peranakan (mixed Chinese and Malay/Indonesian heritage) culture, women are addressed as Nyonya, which translates to madame, and gives Josey the name of her business: "Madame is in respect to my grandmother." Madame Chu’s Handmade Southeast Asian Delicacies was born.

The descriptions of her sauces are mouth-watering: “Madame Chu’s Satay Peanut Nyonya strikes a balance between the heat of the peppers and the richness of peanuts. A total of 14 ingredients come together offering a sweet, hot and sophisticated flavor. This condiment goes well on its own with grilled chicken, fish, tofu; or can be mixed with coconut milk for a creamier consistency.”

Customers can order directly from madame-chu.com, or find their products on the shelves of local grocers including Willy Street Co-Op, Metcalfe’s at Hilldale, Brennan’s, The Conscious Carnivore, the Viroqua Food Co-Op and Oshkosh Food Co-Op. The best part? Visit the recipes page where you’ll be inspired by the same recipes that inspired Josey and her husband. They encourage you to branch out and really make these flavors and dishes your own.

Each Madame Chu delicacy “[uses] natural ingredients and is prepared using time-honored techniques passed from generation to generation. It is considered slow food and can take many hours or days to arrive at just the right flavor.” This commitment to neither rushing the process nor using chemicals – instead using natural preservatives like tamarind – means that their products are quite labor-intensive, and the question of how to scale up without sacrificing their values is a question that’s been on their minds.

"We would like to get a team together," she says, but that is still in the future. "It is not in my culture or my husband's goal for the business to be in debt. And for that reason we are growing slowly."

The ethic with which Josey and Ben approach their business is deeply aligned with how they approach the creation of their products – slowly and without compromise. "We don’t cut short our products with additives, preservatives. [For] our product, we really have to take the time."

She was supported in this ethic by the folks at UpStart, where the goal is always to help everyone who comes through the program to develop a business that is in line with their values, and learn to manage it sustainably.

Speaking about where they are today after seven years in business, Josey remarks, “[Our products] are not in every grocery store, and you know what? It is okay. My goal is, I want to bring the taste of Singapore, of the Peranakan culture, to as many people as I can. [...] We are not trying to catch every fish in the pond, we are just trying to get the product out for people to enjoy, to let people know that there are other options out there."

When asked what she feels is the essence of her business, what keeps her going, Josey says, “The most important aspect of it is that we are a small business, and we enjoy meeting people, sharing our culture. It is an inclusive product. It is an inclusive business. Anybody can enjoy the product, anybody is welcome to try the product.”

Connect with Madame Chu via their website: madame-chu.com

And Facebook: www.facebook.com/madamechudelicacies