To say that Jun Sy is a committed foodie would be an understatement.
Other people would go abroad to savor the taste of various cuisines—whether it’s souvlaki straight off the skewer in Greece, otoro sashimi inside a fish market in Japan, or puttanesca from a nonna’s table in Italy.
Sy took it a notch higher: He brought the proverbial culinary mountain to the Philippines—in Makati in 2022 and in San Juan just this month, to be exact.
“When I started cooking, my biggest pain point was getting the ingredients for a particular dish. So I thought — what if I created a space where we gather all the ingredients and where foodies, professionals, amateurs, and even weekend cooks can have this experience of having everything within reach?” he told Manila Standard Cravings in an interview.
“Food became my therapy, but since I was a stickler for recipe and could not cook oudio, I had to go to different stores to get the ingredients I need — spices for a Mediterranean dish or finishing salt that I had to source from Amazon,” he said.
He turned his frustration into One World Deli, a specialty food market that offers a curated selection of artisanal ingredients ranging from imported meat, seafood, spices, wines, and chocolates, among others.
The San Juan branch at The Corner House, the biggest branch yet, is a testament to the elasticity of the market, he said.
“We learned from our Makati branch experience that a bigger space would give us a better way to deliver our story. Our customers come for our exceptional ingredients, but they also want to hear about the history of a certain product or how this seafood is sourced ethically,” Sy said.
“By accident, people were looking at our ingredients and started asking if this can be cooked this way. So we now have live cooking stations as well,” he added.
Located at the center of the deli are its main stations — the Meat Anton counter, which features items such as John Stone Beef dry-aged meats from Ireland, black angus beef by Braveheart in the US, Red Duroc pork from Dingley Dell in the UK, and Satsuma Fukunaga wagyu from Japan; and the Seafood Bar, which has an oyster shower, ethically caught live fish and shellfish, as well as frozen premium seafood.
The Farm Fresh area has a mix of local and imported organic fruits and vegetables, as well as towers of hydroponically grown greens.
The Cellar houses a mix of old and new world wines, while the Top Tipples bar pours out choice wines and spirits.
The café area serves thoughtfully crafted meals using ingredients available at the deli, while the bakery features bread baked daily by The Tattooed Baker.
“I am convinced I am on the right track. We have that demographic sweet spot where we have more young people with more discerning, more complex palette, and who are more open to discovery of things,” he said.
“The goal is not to dominate the market. We simply wanted a place that can be trusted — that when we say this product is from this source, this is organic, you can be sure we do not sugarcoat and we take no shortcuts,” Sy added.
More importantly, Sy said One World Deli is a place where food shopping can be fun and pleasurable.
“Here you can talk to the butcher, talk to the chef or to the specialist. You can eat while doing your shopping, and then shop some more,” he said.
And if the proof of the pudding is in the eating, Sy is set to open in the latter part of the year an even bigger One World Deli branch in the Ortigas area.
“Our next branch will be a culinary experience for kids as well. They can learn how food is made how they should care about values of sustainability and traceability when it comes to ingredients. It will be place to shop and eat and learn,” Sy said.