Vontavon

“The butcher’s profession is a wonderful job,” says Paul Vontavon. ”You feed people, and produce high-quality foods.” As he speaks, you can see that producing speck is a life’s passion for Paul Vontavon. Even as a young boy he worked in his father’s company, and at 12 years old he already knew a lot of the tricks of the trade. Paul Vontavon is a true early bird: He’s always at the company by 5am to take care of the incoming goods and check the raw materials. At 7am the staff arrive and the machinery is switched on, after which he monitors every phase of production.

All of this remains feasible only because the company, despite constant expansion since its founding days, has maintained manageable dimensions. The Vontavon butcher’s was founded by Paul’s parents in 1957. At that time, the family produced speck on their own farm in Feldthurns/Velturno in winter. Today, only a small amount of speck is stored on the farm. The new production facility in Brixen/Bressanone was kitted out with all the requisite technology to expand their reach to year-round production, and to monitor it closely during every phase. Paul Vontavon guards his father’s family recipe close to his heart, and the seasonings he uses have remained unchanged over the years. This is of great importance to him because, as he says, it is the recipe and seasonings that express the company’s bond with their homeland. Every part of South Tyrol has its own traditions, which means that every speck bears the distinctive flavour of its origins.

One of the Vontavon’s own family creations is the Hay Speck which they have been making since 2004 and which they season with the hay from their own farm in Villnöss/Val di Funes. This speck has proved extremely popular with consumers. A large part of the company’s hay-speck production is sold to Germany, and is instantly recognisable by its labelling and packaging: It is packaged in no less than Villnöss hay.