When it comes to ‘craft,’ it’s not all about beer

Our Cape Region is home to a significant number of small businesses that specialize in unique food products, many of which are not available anywhere else. We have craft breweries, of course. And craft distilleries. Even a couple of craft wineries. Take a closer look at Milton, and you’ll find Krista Scudlark’s Backyard Jams & Jellies. We’ve even got craft hot sauces like Rick Ewing’s Eagle Wingz, Chef Mark Schaeffer’s Murder Sauce and Travis Bowers’ Tatanka Sauce.

Delaware is rife with craft meat producers. In fact, Hughes Delaware Maid Scrapple is prominently featured in Kurt Kolaja’s locally produced film “Scrapple Road – It’s an East Coast Thing.” And of course there’s the ubiquitous Rapa Brand along with Kirby & Holloway’s prepared sausages, breakfast meats and (naturally) scrapple. In nearby Millington, Md., Kimball-Way Beef Jerky has elevated that humble snack to new heights. Eric Williams at Mispillion River Brewing in Milford even teamed up with Kimball-Way and Kirby & Holloway to make beer-infused jerky and brats.

Peter DeFiglio of Fig’s Culinary Creations blends wonderful sausages in small quantities for sale to restaurants, breweries and butcher shops. Some of his one-of-a-kind creations are available at Bethany Blues Express in Lewes. Pete (affectionately known as The Sausage Guy) is from New Jersey, growing up as part of DeFiglio’s Great Valu Supermarket in Ship Bottom. Primarily a purveyor of Italian specialties, the 47-year-old grocery stores planted the seed in young Pete. The family eventually closed the last of the stores, but the food industry can be habit forming. One fateful day, he told his wife he was going out to buy “a little bit of equipment” to play around making brats, hot dogs and sausages.

“A little bit of equipment” soon morphed into a lot of equipment, and Fig’s Culinary Creations was born. Pete was adamant about staying small, and he has accomplished that by working one-on-one with breweries and chefs to create products to fit their concepts. The hickory-smoked andouille sausage and brisket burgers at Bethany Blues in Lewes and in Bethany Beach are just two of Fig’s creations. He even designed a special hot dog to be used in a corn dog recipe for a charity event. He put extra effort and expense into the construction of the dog to ensure that all-important “snap” in the first bite. Now that’s dedication!

Pete’s handmade products are often available on the menu or for sale in Berlin, Md., at J&M Markets and Atlantic Hotel; in Delaware at Brick Works Brewings & Eats, Northeast Seafood Kitchen, Our Harvest, Fat Daddy’s BBQ, Bethany Blues and Crooked Hammock; and in Ocean City at Annabelle’s BBQ & Creamery, Taco Burrito and Liquid Assets.

So we can officially add Pete DeFiglio to our ever-growing list of “craft” this and “craft” that. I like to think of it as just another reason to live and dine here in Delaware’s Cape Region. Hungry yet? See more at FigsCulinaryCreations.com.