EARLY MEMORIES OF BEING A FOODIE

Food has always been a part of my life as far as I can remember.  Growing up in the 80's meant making incursions into the kitchens of my Lolas on both sides to observe the plethora of food being prepared and sniffing the aroma of home-cooked meals. Both my grandmothers were excellent cooks, my paternal grandmother a pure Kapampangan, my maternal grandmother a native of Bataan. My grandparents on my father side were entrepreneurs and from 1947 to 1954, their main business was restaurants, with my grandmother in charge of the kitchens. While both Lolas cooked Filipino dishes very well, they prepared our favorite dishes when we came to visit. We visited my Dad's parents on Saturdays and my Mom's parents on Sundays. 

I remember my excitement as well as those of my sisters over our coming visit to my Dad's parents at 235 Reposo, Bel-Air Village  as my Lola Luding always prepared our favorites: chicken terriyaki, braised lengua in mushroom sauce, torta (ground pork sauteed in sweet-sour tomato sauce), and barbecue of thick chunks of pork.  The last item is a specialty of my Aunt Leila, older sister of my Dad.  It was the most popular item in her restaurant called The Summit in Dagupan City and the recipe remains closely guarded even if the restaurant has long been closed.  As I love to cook and as she knew I want to be a chef, Aunt Leila gave me the recipe but she made me vow to keep it a secret.  But the one dish we liked best of Lola Luding's cooking was the one made of thinly sliced pork cutlets dipped in a simple batter then deep-fried and served with my Lola's homemade sweet n' sour sauce.  Lola Luding called it pekwat.  That was what the Chinese cook, from whom my Lola learned it, of my grandparents' restaurant in downtown Manila called it.  While my Lola varied the menu, pekwat was served every Saturday for she knew we wanted it among the dishes when we came to visit.  

My Lola Lily on the other hand had her own specialties.  Her pancit luglug and the pork spareribs slowly braised in 7-Up were enough reason for the entire family to have our traditional family Sunday lunches at 19 Canopus St., Bel-Air Village Makati for 20 years.  Like my Lola Luding, Lola Lily had her own specialties - her paella Valenciana which was served every time in an orange paellera (again, I am fortunate enough to own a copy of this recipe) and her kare kare which was so good that when my Tito Butch, younger brother of my Mom, lived in San Francisco, he would call Lola Lily and ask her to visit him so she could cook kare kare for him.  Lola Lily  obliged. But good food did not stop here.  Most of my childhood and  teen years were spent accompanying my Lola Lily and Lolo Pacifico Saturday evenings scouting for new and good places to eat at - from restaurants of first class hotels to the food court in the basement of The Landmark.  Ambassador Chinese Restaurant, Shinjuku Ramen House, Rickshaw, Peking Garden, Sing Ya, Via Mare, and Italian Village were the places the entire Pacifico-Lily family regularly went but it was Luk Yuen Noodle House that was a clear winner.  The family gathered at Don Bosco Church for the Saturday anticipated Mass.  The family would go on a lengthy debate after Mass as to where we would eat that evening.  The often compromise was Luk Yuen.

What about my own Mom ? I do admit that even if my Mom's repertoire of dishes was not as varied as those of my two Lolas, I do consider her my number one source of inspiration and reason why I went to culinary school. Why? it was her simple cooking whether it be her minestrone soup, beef stroganoff or chicken cacciatore that I have grown to love for 26 years.

Home-cooked weekend lunches and Saturday night dinners - these weren't the only reasons as to why I am a foodie.  My Mom's family was also in the food business.  The family members were major stockholders of Seamark Enterprises, producers of Mr. Juicy Orange Juice, Coney Island Ice Cream and Sorbetero Ice Cream., and owners of Coco Banana Ice Cream in California. I was born at the time the family had just gone into the fresh orange juice business.  So, my nickname of Ojay, derived from the first letters of my baptismal name of Oscar Jude, was also derived from the new business of the family - Orange Juice.  On my 3rd birthday, the family explored the ice cream business. And to answer everyone's question which I am still asked to this day,  - CONEY ISLAND ICE CREAM WAS NOT A FRANCHISE FROM THE STATES.  While the company imported the milk and the flavoring materials and engaged as consultants American ice cream experts, the brand was developed by the family.  My Dad and  Tito Butch went to the US, England, and Mexico to observe the ice cream business there, with Tito Butch studying the production aspect, my Dad the marketing aspect. My Dad has been a practicing Marketing consultant and Marketing professor since 1970..  

In their trips, they learned that ice cream sold in England, Mexico, and the Philippines could not be called ice cream in the US because the US Food and Drug Administration regulations require that the mix must have a minimum of 12% butterfat to be called ice cream.  Otherwise it can only be called frozen delight. The "American" character was emphasized by Dayvilles in England and by Daneza in Mexico. So, my Dad decided to give it the family's brand of ice cream an American personality - the name, logo, type font, colors, store design, and names of flavors have to suggest an American personality.  He chose the name Coney Island as it symbolizes America and is suggestive of fun, as my Dad wanted the stores to be known as fun places. That is why the carousel in the logo.  He added the line "The All-American Ice Cream," not in the sense that the ice cream is imported from the US but in the sense  that it is made according to the American formula of a minimum of 12% butterfat. Just as the best college football players and the best college basketball players were called the All-America Selection, the menu of ice cream flavors was also called All-America Selection. The big take-out pack was called big leaguer and the small pack minor leaguer. That's the sports fan my Dad is.  The family owned all the stores. My Tito Bob, Tita Sonjie, siblings of my Mom, and my Mom herself, were involved full-time in the operations of the  stores.  The other members of the family helped in whatever way they could - the women manning the cash registers when the hired personnel were busy serving the customers.  We cousins pitched in too.

And owning an ice cream business had it's perks.  Me and my cousins were the guinea pigs, us tasting countless new ice cream flavors and new products since Coney Island was not all about Ice Cream. Most kids who grew up in the 80's would know what an Eskimo Roll, Coney Island Cotton Candy and  Coney Island German Franks are. When a sandwich-ice cream store was opened, we had our fill tasting Army-Navy Club sandwich, Salisbury Steak, and baked macaroni.  And not to forget the flavors which up to this day are much-missed like bubblegum, pistacchio, mint, rum raisin, French vanilla, New York New York,Royal Mandarin Orange, German chocolate crunch, and butterscotch. 

My only regret, was that, when all of these were happening in my life, I never thought of becoming  a chef.  But now that I have graduated from culinary school, this is my challenge - to duplicate and even improve and to keep up with current food trends as to what has been started.