A business inspired by the taste of his childhood

Juan Carlos Helmstedt said chorizo was the taste of his childhood.

Helmstedt, who was born in Madrid, Spain, and calls chorizo the brat of Spain, said its flavor was ingrained in his senses from the time he was a child.

It was the thing he missed the most after he moved to the United States in 1991, Helmstedt said.

Today, Helmstedt lives in Port Washington and runs Tia Paquita, a company that makes fresh, smoked and bulk chorizo that is sold at a number of markets in Wisconsin, including Sendik’s and Outpost Markets, and used by restaurants in the area, among them Tello’s in Port, BoMallies Restaurant in Sheboygan and Braise and La Merenda Restaurant in Milwaukee.

The company began in 2001, after Helmstedt worked with John Salchert, then the owner of Bernie’s Fine Meats, to replicate his aunt’s chorizo.

“Her chorizo was absolutely the best I’ve ever eaten in Spain or anywhere,” Helmstedt said.

He was well acquainted with her chorizo because every summer after he turned 8 his mother would send him to spend time with his aunt and uncle on their farm to, as she said, “become a man.”

The farm was good for him, Helmstedt said.

“You had to do a lot of things. I used to drive tractors, ride on the horse at full speed. We took care of the animals.”

And he ate chorizo, the pork sausage that Helmstedt said is the national sausage of Spain.

His aunt’s chorizo was the best, he said, because of the pigs they used.

“The pigs ate the leftovers from the meal each day,” he said. “Their meat was excellent.

“I fell in love with the flavor (of the chorizo). I cannot match that.”

Helmstedt went on to earn his law degree at Alcalá de Henares in Madrid, where he met his wife Catherine DeMerit, a Port native studying abroad.

They married and spent years living in Spain, but Helmstedt said he quickly learned he didn’t enjoy the law as much as he thought he would.

So they decided to move to the United States with their daughter Paula and start again.

He planned to practice international law, but language was a barrier.

“I couldn’t speak a word of English,” Helmstedt said. He learned English not by studying the language but by reading and using a dictionary to translate words.

After a few years, he went to Marquette University and then to Milwaukee Area Technical College, and eventually began teaching Spanish to adults for Berlitz International Academy of Languages.

“I enjoyed it,” he said, so much so that he pivoted and began working as a Spanish teacher. He spent about 18 months working for Milwaukee Public Schools, then went to the Sheboygan School District, where he taught middle and high-schoolers for 25 years, retiring six years ago at age 60.

His wife, who taught Spanish for the Port Washington-Saukville School District, retired two years earlier.

One thing that was a constant through the years, Helmstedt said, was a longing for a taste of home — chorizo.

He had tried Mexican chorizo, but that’s not the same thing.

“They use different spices, a lot of fat,” he said. “It’s not good. That’s my opinion.”

He approached Salchert, and after a few tries they came up with a chorizo that came close to the one made by Helmstedt’s aunt.

“He made it for Christmas for me and my friends, my Spanish friends,” Helmstedt said.

One friend gave some to another, and eventually the owner of Don Quijote restaurant in Milwaukee, who was from Spain, asked if Helmstedt could make the chorizo for her. She suggested he also sell the sausage through Sendik’s, and the grocer agreed.

Salchert couldn’t handle the needs of his growing business — he could produce fresh chorizo but not the frozen items Tia Paquita sells — Helmstedt said, so he worked with Kewaskum Frozen Foods. When that company closed two years ago, he moved production to Quality Cut Meats in Cascade.

He named the company Tia Paquita for his aunt, a decision he said brought tears to her eyes.

“I tried to reach that standard,” he said. “I came very close. But I cannot get the same pork. I cannot go to a farmer and say, ‘Can you feed this like you feed your son?’”

It took some time to educate people about chorizo, Helmstedt said, noting that for years he would do demonstrations and give samples out at stores.

“It sells itself,” he said. “This is the first authentic chorizo made in Wisconsin.

“I think people like the product because it has no preservatives. We use the best Spanish paprika. It has a special sweetness in combination with the garlic. It’s intense.”

Chorizo, he said, can be eaten hot or at room temperature. It’s delicious in all sorts of dishes

Helmstedt said he had “ideas of making this huge,” but over time he realized that would take more work than he was willing to spend and more of an investment than he wanted to make.

“I don’t need a big headache. I’m a happy man,” he said. “I want to stay that way.”

He sells his chorizo in Wisconsin, primarily in the southeastern portion of the state, with his son Carlos handling about half the accounts.

“It’s good to be your own boss,” Helmstedt said, adding his products are available at about 30 stores. He only deals with people he enjoys.

“If the chemistry isn’t right with the owner, I’m not interested,” he said. “Life’s too short for grumpy people.

“I don’t make tons of money with the chorizo, but I’m happy. It’s a small company but I’m happy with the results. I’m happy people like it. Life is good.”

Recipes featuring Tia Paquita chorizo can be found on page 4C.