M’CHIGEENG—Located on Hwy 551 in their bright red building, the Saucy Signoras opened its doors a year ago March. That’s the building and the business, but the Saucy Signoras are two amazing women—Ladeanne Debassige and Sury Zuniga—who followed a passion and a dream (Ladeanne’s) and brought it to fruition with determination and hard work.
It was not quite 10 in the morning. The takeout service opens at noon and preparations were well underway for the day ahead. While Ladeanne Debassige (her given name pronounced Lady-Anne) was busy in the kitchen, Ms. Zuniga explained how it all began. “I helped Ladeanne open this up, because it’s always been her dream to have some type of establishment.” Ms. Debassige wanted to do something with food. Her father was Anishinaabe, from M’Chigeeng, and her mother was Italian, from Italy. From the time she was a little girl she learned about food and cooking from her Italian grandmother. “Italian is just one of her many gifts as a cook.” Ms. Zuniga said. It took close to two years to realize this dream, from building to opening.
When Ms. Debassige joined the conversation, she explained that she was trained as a teacher and worked in that profession for 20 years, but she always wanted to cook and couldn’t shake that desire. She loves cooking all types of food, “Both sides of my family—Anishinaabe and Italian—are strong foodies.” Coming to M’Chigeeng she didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes, she wanted to blaze her own trail. Italian became the chosen route to follow. “And it’s been a learning process from the beginning, with refinement and adjustments and changes. For example, Sury made all the railings here,” Ms. Debassige said, indicating the exterior of the building. “She taught herself, she did it all. Find your passion, find your interest and do it.” Not empty words from this determined woman who has seen her dream become a reality.
They moved from Toronto to Manitoulin Island seven years ago. Both were working at Kenjgewin Teg in different capacities. Once their jobs concluded, it gave them the opportunity to decide what would come next, what would be the next chapter of their lives. “This is Indigenous owned and operated,” Ms. Debassige pointed out. “Sury is also Indigenous, from Guatemala. She’s Mayan and I’m Anishinaabe on my dad’s side, from M’Chigeeng. So, that was also very important to us, coming back here to establish, and Kenjgewin Teg led us back to the Island.”
“We knew that the Island was a special place,” Ms. Debassige continued. “We’ve been coming up in the summers for the past 20 years, and me my whole life. You can’t beat the nature, you can’t beat the people, you can’t beat any of this. In terms of food, it’s unique in its offerings, and we wanted to add to that uniqueness.”
“There’s a lot of prep that goes into every day,” Ms. Zuniga explained. “We started off with our paninis, and we’ve expanded from there, but our paninis are what’s popular and we try to put fresh, tasty ingredients in everything we do.” Their success comes from their many homemade touches and their fresh, premium ingredients. “We slice, we grate, we do everything ourselves. I will roast those peppers, and I will peal them for you. And it will be time consuming because I know you can taste it. Quality is paramount,” Ms. Debassige said.
“And people recognize that,” Ms. Zuniga said. Through social media and word of mouth, people are coming, and they say, ‘We’ve heard about you; we’ve heard good things about you.’ “We’re always happy to hear that,” she said. “Maybe people don’t expect that from a trailer. They don’t expect that from a takeout establishment, and in a way, at the beginning, or into the middle, that impeded our growth, because people don’t expect that. But once they taste it, they know.” Ms. Zuniga said.
“We’ve been honoured to have Island chefs come to us,” Ms. Debassige said, “and I’m not a chef. I’m a teacher, so I’m self-taught, family taught, but I’m not a chef. I’m not trained that way. So, I have real chefs that come and eat here and give us compliments, that to me is a very high honour. Another high honour is when people tell me, ‘This tastes like home, this tastes like grandma used to make.’ Those are the things that make my day and push me further forward.”
Comments made about the Saucy Signoras on social media abound and here are just a few: “I am now a “sandwich” person! This was amazing!”
“Absolutely delightful experience from the moment you walk to the takeout window! The staff is incredibly friendly and attentive, truly embodying the spirit of Italian hospitality. The paninis are out of this world—each one a delicious showcase of different flavours and high-quality ingredients.”
“Truly fantastic time at The Saucy Signoras! The sandwiches are SOOOO good! So many great options, and the potato salad was super yummy! The owners are very friendly, funny and kind. All around amazing experience.”
“We visited a few weeks ago and I’m just writing my review now because I literally have not stopped thinking about these sandwiches—and that says a lot coming from someone who is Celiac. While they couldn’t 100 percent guarantee no cross contamination, they assured me they take as many precautions as possible and even let me take a look inside to double check! All gluten free stuff is stored separately and sealed until use, and they make it on a separate clean surface and open fresh ingredients! I tried The Lucy Loo and even went back a second time for The Little Big Bird and they were easily the best sandwiches I’ve ever had!”
“The pizza—whoa! Hands down, best pizza on Manitoulin. Slices available on weekends. Check their Facebook Page for updates. They are good people.”
Ms. Debassige has the last word, “We’re different and unique, so come check us out, because we could surprise you with just a ‘sandwich’.” The Saucy Signoras will delight your tastebuds from Wednesday to Sunday, 12 to 6 pm. Do check them out!
by Margery Frisch
