Suppito has been one of the best soup addresses in Vienna for years. In the pretty manufactory in the sixth district, they cook according to the five elements of traditional Chinese medicine: the soups, cakes, crackers, muesli/granola and compotes are varied depending on the season and available ingredients and are gluten-, lactose- and yeast-free.
We asked Cordula, the managing director of Suppito, how they started and how endurance has influenced their path throughout their story.
#1 What’s the story of Suppito? Why do we need it?
Suppito was more or less born out of a necessity. My mother had suffered from severe coeliac disease since childhood, which was only discovered in her 40s after endless hearing loss and colics. Although she immediately avoided all gluten-containing foods, the loss of hearing continued to occur at regular intervals. Desperate that conventional medicine was unable to help her, she consulted a doctor in traditional Chinese medicine, who successfully treated her hearing loss with acupuncture. In order to get her health complaints under control and learn even more about Chinese medicine, she looked for answers in the five element diet.
Her life and her diet were turned upside down in a flash. She started eating soups, rice congee, cooked fruit, yin-enhancing foods, lots of spices and hot water. Her health improved dramatically. She no longer had hearing problems, was full of energy and her complaints disappeared. Thanks to the right advice and diet, my mother finally had a life that she enjoyed again.
This experience made her rethink. After training in nutritional counseling, she opened her own nutrition practice to help other people get healthy with nutrition.
#2 What were the most significant challenges you faced when deciding to focus on the 5-Element Cuisine? How did you master them?
When Suppito was founded, knowledge of the 5 elements of the traditional Chinese medicine cuisine was not yet widespread. This automatically gave it an unknown touch, which it didn’t deserve, as nothing new had been invented. And on top of that, many of the products had the reputation from the start that “healthy” food usually doesn’t taste good.
Introducing people to something they don’t know is always a challenge. At the time, tasting clearly helped others to experience that healthy food is good for you AND can also taste very good.
#3 If you were to design a meal or dish that symbolizes endurance, what ingredients would you include and why?
No new invention is needed here either: For me, this is clearly a soup that is cooked over two days with high-quality ingredients, strengthens the center and gives strength. Broth, a beef broth, is ideal for this.
#4 Endurance often requires pushing oneself to the limits. Can you recall a time when you felt you had reached your limit in terms of endurance? How did you push past it or cope with it?
Corona was, like many of us, an incredible experience. From one second to the next, the business had to be closed and no more customers were allowed to be served directly. Suddenly we had orders on a scale that was completely out of the ordinary and turned the previous cooking process completely upside down. We were forced to produce significantly more and reorganize our logistics, stick to a very strict schedule and, of course, the team had to stay healthy so that everything could work as planned. Looking back, it was a really exciting and challenging time that I could only manage with such a great and well-coordinated team.
#5 Based on your experience, what would you recommend to increase endurance?
If you can back an idea 100% out of conviction, it increases your endurance enormously. So my recommendation is to do something that you put your heart and soul into and surround yourself with likeminded team.
Girardigasse 9 (Ecke Lehargasse)
1060 Wien, Österreich / Austria
info@suppito.at | +43 664 213 91 09
shop & go: Mo – Do: 8 – 18 Uhr
lunch & go: Mo – Do: 11:30 – 14:30 Uhr
