Guisell Osorio
Owner of Sabores del Sur

At eight years old, Chilean-born Guisell Osorio did not appear to be destined for her mastery of cooking. She was more likely to be found in the kitchen organizing cilantro or playing with a piece of dough while her grandmother, a meticulous and well-experienced cook, prepared delicious meals for the family. Even so, she enjoyed paying attention to her elders' cookery and often plagued them with questions of why they added certain ingredients.

In 2002, Guisell, now a thirty-something entrepreneur, launched a South American cuisine catering company called Sabores del Sur (flavors from the South, in Spanish). These days, she is renowned for her alfajores­—shortbread cookies filled with dulce de leche carameland topped with powdered sugar—and is fulfilling orders around the clock. Her daily operations include checking email, conversing with clients, preparing dishes, making deliveries, attending meetings, writing and sending proposals and teaching classes on food preparation. She works seven days a week and occasionally does a few
24 hour days when her adrenaline is high and she is excited about what she is doing. Although her schedule is hectic, she makes it a point to take long morning walks with her German Sheppard.

Although Guisell is successful at her craft and offers catering services for birthdays, office and home parties, anniversaries, and weddings, she did not really start cooking until her early thirties.
Before then, she humbly admitted to burning boiling water, "I've ruined more than one teapot because I just forgot about it." However, her biggest challenge was her role as a salesperson for her business.
Although she earned a brown belt in judo, she expressed that she is not aggressive in seeking to win people over. She would rather "stay with the pots and pans, cooking and preparing the treats, rather than be out selling."

Guisell credits Women's Initiative with assisting her to overcome challenges and reach her goal of business ownership. Guisell graduated from the Women's Initiative business management training course taught in Spanish, Alternativas para Latinas en Autosuficiencia (ALAS), in 2004. After that, her business doubled and then later tripled in quantity. She remains active with Women's Initiative and is affiliated with the Graduate Leadership Council. She has also received many referrals and new clients through her listing in the Women's Initiative Business Directory. In the last 20 years that the institution has been operative there have been over 16,000 women served by the agency--women vying to start a business. Says Guisell, "The word for 'wings' in Spanish is 'alas', and the Women's Initiative ALAS program helped me by providing me with huge wings! The program was a great opportunity for me, and I took full advantage of it!"

For more information on Guisell's business and menu selection, go to http://www.saborsur.com.

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