UPPER PROVIDENCE — Chris DiFabio is only 34, but he says he has been cooking for 20 years.

“My first job was cooking at our local swim club the summer of eighth grade — hot dogs,” the Springfield resident fondly recalled.

Today, DiFabio’s whipping up a lot more than hot dogs as the owner of DiFabio’s Specialty Foods at 1032 N. Providence Road. He now does his cooking in a spacious kitchen in the basement of his take-out food and catering establishment.

He stresses his store is not a deli.

“We don’t slice lunch meat,” he explained.

One look at the artistically presented food platters in the store’s glass cases gives new meaning to the term “specialty foods.”

There’s teriyaki glazed salmon, chicken alla vodka, pan-seared crab cakes, coconut shrimp and pistachio chicken salad. That’s a far cry from your basic turkey and cheese hoagie.

“Everything is prepared from scratch,” DiFabio said. “Our bread comes from Italian bakeries and our cookies are imported from Brooklyn.

“My uncle lives in Brooklyn and he delivers these delicious Italian cookies twice a week After the attack in New York I had to put a sign in the window telling customers we wouldn’t be able to get the cookies for a while. But they’re back now.”

Cookies that get crumbled on the way to Media are available for customers to sample.

Working with DiFabio in creating and preparing the specialty dishes are chef Jeff Schrey of Upper Darby and assistant chef Mike Mandell of Newtown Township.

Staples that many customers count on for take-out dinners include cheese lasagna, eggplant parmesan, meatballs and baked ziti.

But it is the specialty foods that catch your eye as you come in the door. On a recent afternoon, customers were lined up to take home stuffed portabello mushrooms, broccoli rabe, sausage scaloppini. roasted potatoes and grilled vegetables. Take-out orders are packaged in microwavable containers.

“We have some Italian guys who come in regularly for bread, roasted peppers and provolone,” said DiFabio, a Cardinal O’Hara High School graduate.

The years when DiFabio worked in various restaurants as a cook didn’t quite prepare him for the grueling schedule he keeps as the owner of his own business.

“Some days I start at 4 or 5 a.m. when I go into Philadelphia to the produce markets. The chefs come in between 7 and 8 and we are open every day but Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. But there are days I put in 20 hours because we do full-service catering.”

DiFabio said he does a brisk lunch business because he offers a variety of wraps, cold and hot sandwiches and salads.

“And we will deliver lunch,” he said.

A woman and her daughter walked into the store around 4 p.m. to pick up that night’s dinner.

“I love this store,” the woman commented to her daughter.

“Absolutely unsolicited,” DiFabio said laughingly.