If you think good wines are made from grapes only, think again. A dear friend gave me a bottle of Federico’s Island Wine made from Duhat as a Christmas gift last year. I was surprised to find that the fruit wine was made in Victorias City, Negros Occidental. I’m not a wine connoisseur but the fruit wine tastes good and has a distinct flavor from the usual grape wines.

Federico’s Island Wine is owned by the couple Federico and Aurora Barredo. They were already featured in local and national newspaper for their family business. Winemaking is a hobby of Federico, a research plant pathologist/microbiologist. Then in 2004, Federico made the wine as giveaways for thier son’s wedding. The guests loved it and urged the couple to make it into a business.

The fruit wines are made from hand-picked fruits of local fruits Duhat (Lumboy) and Bignay (Bugnay), processed fresh and naturally fermented. Without chemical preservatives and artificial color, Duhat and Bignay have only 12% and 13% alcohol contents, respectively, from natural fermentation.

Duhat and Bignay grow wild and the couple get their supply from 30 fruit tree owners who assured them of steady supply.  The couple also came up with Piña (pineapple) wine since these are also locally grown in Negros Occidental. Piña wine is now available in the market.

If you are still looking for a gift to a loved one this season, try fruit wine from Federico’s Island Wine. Or better yet, get yourself a bottle to celebrate the new year with. The fruit wine is also an excellent gift for Negrenses abroad. Each bottle will remind them of the Negros countryside and bring back happy memories.

Federico’s Island Wine is available at

Merci’s Pasalubong at SM City Bacolod

Fresh Start at 1oth St. Bacolod City (beside Sweet Greens)

or you may contact Federico or Aurora Barredo at 399-3610.

I watched Namets! last night and was lucky enough to have a glimpse of Angel Jacob and Christian Vasquez who were sitting on the row in front of me. They played the role of Cassie Labayen and Jacko Teves, respectively, the two former lovers whose lives got intertwined through their love for food.

Namets is a story about food with romance as a side dish. Negrense cuisine takes center stage through Namets. I doubt if there was somebody in the audience who was not craving for food after watching the movie. Prepare for a gastronomic ride on what makes Negrense food unique.

The use of Hiligaynon as the movie’s language proved to be a wise decision. I couldn’t imagine Namets to be in any other language. Get a load of your typical Ilonggo expressions, Bords, Parts, Yuga, Tikalon,  and don’t forget the Gid, the Te and the Eh.

Aside from Christian Vasquez, the cast are mostly Negrenses and they are not just starlets, mind you. Peque Gallaga, Dwight Gaston, and Monsour del Rosario, with the special participation of Joel Torre and Ronnie Lazaro. Top caliber actors, homegrown Negrenses.

Angel Jacob is not an Ilongga but I laud her for doing her homework. Her accent can pass up for an Ilongga’s except that I think she was a little high pitched in some parts of the movie. In my book, she passed the role of a Bacolod girl with flying colors.

I also like the humor of the movie and the interesting characters. Peque Gallaga as Boss Dolpo reminds me of Marlon Brando in The Godfather. He did nothing else but munch on his food and talks gibberish. Dwight Gaston did a brilliant job as his assistant/right hand.

There’s also Joel Torre as a caveman who happens to discover fire and what do you know, chicken inasal. Ronnie Lazaro plays the farmer who’s starving to eat meat and planned on cooking his son’s pet chicken, goat and dog. His family ended up eating noodles after his son told him that if he kills his pets, his father might as well kill him.

I encourage everyone to watch and support the movie. If you’re an Ilonggo, all the more reasons to watch Namets, because it’s about you and your culture. You can still catch the Bacolod screening until Sunday, November 30. DVDs and VCDs will be available this December so grab yourself a copy as I am also planning to buy one. The proceeds from the Visayas Caravan will be for the benefit of Tapulanga Foundation.

Namets! is showing exclusively at the following venues:

• SM Bacolod:  November 24 –30, 2008 SM Cinema 3
• SM Iloilo:  December  1-6, 2008  SM Cinema 7
• Ayala Center Cebu: December 6, 8-10, 2008 Ayala Cinema 4

For reservations, please call:

• Bacolod: (034) 495-0936 / Rhea Sol – 0919-744-7706
  
• Iloilo: Eden – 0929-777-0734 Cebu: Tina – 0908-987-473
• Cebu: Tina – 0908-987-4731
  

I have nothing but praise for the people behind Namets! I am no movie critic but I love the movie and I’m giving it my two thumbs up. I’m sure all those who watched it felt the same way. Kudos to the people who made Namets! possible.

PRODUCTION STAFF

Exec. Producer/Director: Jay Abello

Screenplay: Vicente Garcia Groyon

Line Producer: Heather Europa

Cinematography: Anne Monzon

Production Design: RJ Lacson

Editing: Fiona Borres

Music: Vince de Jesus

Sound Design: Raffy Magsaysay

Production Manager: Ryan Diño

Associate Director: Borgy Torre

2nd Asst. Director: Praise Rufin

CAST

Jacko Teves: Christian Vazquez

Cassie Labayen: Angel Jacob

Boss Dolpo: Peque Gallaga

Oscar: Dwight Gaston

Rodrigo Labayen: Louie Zabaljauregui

Imelda Teves: Michelle Gallaga

Nena Teves: Marivic Lacson

Babyboy Labayen: Monsour del Rosario

Farmer: Ronnie Lazaro

Namets is slang for Hiligaynon word “namit” meaning yummy so expect to salivate from all the delicious food which are featured in Namets! directed by Negrense Jay Abello and screenplay by Vicente Garcia Groyon. Namets was a finalist to the Cinemalaya 2008.

Much can be gleaned about our culture from our local cuisine – our abundant resources, our eating habits, our traditions and a lot more.  Every region in the Philippines has a cuisine unique to it and you’ll know the regional affiliation of a person from the food on his table.

Know more about Negrense life and culture through independent film Namets! which will be showing exclusively on selected cinemas in key Visayan Cities starting November 24. Filmed entirely in Negros Occidental with more than 70 percent of its cast and crew are Negrenses, it’s as Negrense as your chicken inasal.

I was really disappointed to have missed this movie when it was first screened here in Bacolod so definitely, I will not miss it this time. The movie is mouth-watering, no I’m not referring to Christian Vasquez but the food that’s the main character of the movie. I’m sure it will be loaded with delicacies and dishes that are a staple in every Negrense dining table. Those who are diabetic and hypertensive should be warned, the movie can be lethal if you can’t control your appetite after watching it.

Namets! is showing exclusively at the following venues:

* SM Bacolod: November 24 –30, 2008 SM Cinema 3
* SM Iloilo: December 1-6, 2008 SM Cinema 7
* Ayala Center Cebu: December 6, 8-10, 2008 Ayala Cinema 4

For reservations, please call:

* Bacolod: (034) 495-0936 / Rhea Sol – 0919-744-7706
* Iloilo: Eden – 0929-777-0734
* Cebu: Tina – 0908-987-4731

For more info, visit: Namets! Official Website, Namets! Multiply Site

NAMETS teaser from fiona borres on Vimeo.

Namets! Behind the Scenes from Never Say Nunca on Vimeo.

Humble Beginnings …

“What I am now and how people, especially my customers viewed Virgie’s Homemade Products is a product of the interdependency of all elements in life, but most of all, God’s Divine Providence subsumed them all”, Mrs. Virginia O. Chua, the owner quips.

It all started from a mere hobby 34 years ago. Mrs. Chua loved to cook and enjoyed baking at home for family and friends. Once these “regular customers” tasted her baked products, they kept on asking, if she would accept orders. At first, the owner thought that it could be a better idea to have an extra income at home. With that motivation, she started accepting orders from relatives and friends. Fortunately, friends and acquaintances of her “first customers” also like the concoction she prepared for them. The rest was history but everything commenced there for sure. She never expected that her unfounded vision grew in a sizeable venture that was beyond what her mind can conceive then.

“The only dream I have when I was just starting is to own a small store but I was blessed by a bigger one”, said Virgie. The year was 1974 when Virgie officially opened and registered her business with the support of NACIDA, which later evolved into DTI. With a meager amount of P3,000.00 as initial capital and with only two (2) helpers, one of whom was the yaya of her only son the proprietorship just took off.

Climbing the Ladder of Success

As the demands increased, customers suggested to have a ready supply of her baked products, especially the Pastillas de Manga, which became a hit among customers and friends. This made the owner decide to put a small store in a vacant space, right beside her house. That small store spawned an unexpected vast of opportunities for Virgie’s, which she added a lot of varieties of products the customers’ needs.

Her joining in NACIDA activities in the early 70s, allowed her to appreciate more the real business experience, especially in participating in product display during festivals, like Masskara, in Bacolod City. In the later year, she became a member of the Association of Negros Producers (ANP), an organization of the Negrense manufacturers in gifts, toys, and housewares (GTH), furniture and furnishings, and processed food sectors that aimed to alleviate the poverty in the Province brought about by the sugar crises in the 80s. The ANP has had a leveraging influence in the growth of Virgie’s. As members, they’ve been encouraged to attend to a lot of seminars like Costing and Pricing, Marketing, How to Join Trade Fairs, Negotiation with the Foreign Buyers, Productivity-related seminars, among others.

Reaping the Rewards of Hardwork

Her joining to Bulawan Award, a citation given to ANP members for developing new products — a new line or an improvement of the existing one – to exhibit Negrenses’ ingenuity and creativity, encouraged her more to continually develop her products each year. Not long a time since she participated in the said award body and was recognized in 1997 for her Camias Twirl in the Food sector. The same fate followed in 1998. In 2002, she again received Bulawan Award on its 12th year of competition for a new product, the Treasures, a chocolate filled with Pili and camias prunes. In 2005, Virgie’s Homemade Products was awarded by Market Encounter Goes to Manila Foundation, Inc. (MEGMA) at the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) in recognition of her efforts in the promotion of the quality Negros delicacies as well as her contribution to the socio-economic upliftment in the lives of her workers.

Commitment to Continuous Product Development and Customer Satisfaction

True to its mandate in the development and promotion of MSMEs in the country, the DTI has been extending assistance numerously to Mrs. Chua, where the latter likewise recognized duly for the growth of her business. The DTI’s interventions cover the major aspects of business operations, organization/management, marketing, production, and financial. Particularly important was the interventions of the DTI in her trade fair participation. Aside from joining the annual ANP Fair, Virgie’s also participated in the National Trade Fair (NTF) and in the International Food Exposition (IFEX) where she was able to launch properly her products, met new buyers and negotiated with the country’s consolidators.

Resulting from her commitment in satisfying customers with quality products and the fruition of her joining to trade fairs, Virgie’s products now available in several outlets in Manila, Luzon, Cebu, Iloilo, and of course Bacolod City. The products can be bought in Manila – Michelle’s Homemade Putong Ube, Shopwise & Rustans Supermarket, Pinoy Eats, Pioneer Supermarket, Orientways Marketing, and Rowena’s Pasalubong (Tagaytay). In Cebu, the mouthwatering products are on display and for sale at Gaisano Metro, Abaseria Café, and Sally Young. Iloilo City’s Edemar Store was also carrying the products. And in Bacolod City, aside from Virgie’s showroom, Supermarkets, upscale restaurants and café shops proudly carry the local favorites.

For Mocha Sans Rival, Virgie’s is without an equal. You can also find Virgie’s Mango Tarts, Pastillas de Manga, Mango tartlets/bars/pienettes, Cheese Tarts, Langka Tarts, Caramel Tarts, Pineapple Empanaditas, Whole Wheat Bar, Camias Twirl, Galletas, Buttescotch. Lenguas de Gato, Cookies, PIaya, Mini Barquillos, Barquiron, Sans Rival, Sylvannas, Napoleones, Camias Twirl, Assorted Polvoron, and Chocolate Treasures fully a treat. With enough lead time, the owner is also accepting orders for cakes and pastries in special occasions.

Guiding Philosophy

With her gumption, from a makeshift store with two (2) employees when it started 34 years ago, Virgie’s Homemade Products has come a long way. The inauguration of its own building dedicated to St. Jude Thaddeus along San Sebastian Street of this City last 2002 proved this accomplishment. A 3-storey building houses the showroom for Virgie’s food products, its production and administrative areas and two (2) commercial spaces for lease. The enterprise is currently employing 23 regular workers that fully entitled of the benefits (e.g., bonuses, PHILHEALTH, SSS, etc.) due to them. Her love and concern to the people who have been instrumental to the success of her business has consistently been there. She maintains good relations with her people and to her outside customers. “Customers’ commitment first, before profit (and everything will just follow)” is one of her guiding principles. “Give importance to the people that help you and your business and give back to the company, what your company has given you”, she ambivalently said.

Virgie’s trademark as a quality homemade food producer of Bacolod City was earned through the years of continuous product diversification yet adhering to quality and best practices of business management. The proprietor has been open for new ideas on how her products will further improve. She engages in several product development activities tapping the expertise of both private and government technical providers who are known in their respective fields. Relative to this product development, Virgie has been assisted with her nutritional facts analysis, shelf-life testing, barcoding, packaging and labeling development and the like. All these have been done for meeting the ever changing market requirements of Virgie’s customers, whom she recognized as the reasons for her venture’s existence.

Further, to easily outdo the unnecessary concerns (problems) in the workplace, especially concerning the workforce, she consistently treats each worker fairly and with dignity. For the realization of the vision, she craftily weaved her strategy executions with her guiding principles in life. This is why, she lets her workers understand the value of good work, service commitment and dedication to both internal and external customers and the consequences of these conscientious practices. Virgie believes that by communicating what she intends to become – for the people, for the customers, and for the company – understanding such (message) is redolent of the attainment of the aimed vision.

What is even more adoring about this sexagenarian is her humbleness and submissiveness to the Divine Creator. Despite her stature, Virgie though would not admit that she is already successful. Nevertheless, she is ever been grateful for these provisions in her life and with her loved ones, unceasingly.

Product Outlets:

In Visayas

Virgie’s Homemade Products
#59 San Sebastian Street, Bacolod City
Tel. Nos. (034) 434-1788, 434-1588
Fax No. (034) 434-6188

• Edemar Store- Iloilo City
• Gaisano Metro – Cebu CityAbaseria Café – Cebu City
• Sally Young – Cebu City
• Other Major Supermarkets and Upscale Restaurants & Cafes

In Metro Manila & Luzon

• Michelle’s Homemade Putong Ube
• Shopwise & Rustans Supermarket
• Pinoy Eats Pioneer Supermarket
• Orientways Marketing
• Rowena’s Pasalubong (Tagaytay).

Text by Romel Amihan (Posted with Permission)
Photos courtesy of Virgie’s Homemade Products

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Association of Negros Occidental Food Processors (ANOFP), Inc. will be holding a Lifestyle Baking Training in Bacolod City. The 2-day training will provide an intensive course for beginners, homebakers, food enthusiasts, coffeeshop owners, etc. who would like to learn about the techniques and theories in baking. The participants will be introduced to the fundamental mixing methods needed to bake cakes, cookies, pies and other delicious pastries like, Moist Chocolate Cake, Carrot-Walnut Cake with Creamcheese Frosting, Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies, Mocha Cake, Caramel Cake, Special Rum Butter Cake, French Apple Pie, Pecan Pie, and Quiche Lorraine, just to name a few.

The invited  trainer/resource speaker from Manila was trained in The Culinary Institute of America, The Institute of Culinary Education, The French Culinary Institute all based in New York, USA; the French Pastry School in Chicago, Illinois, USA; International Baking Institute of Bangkok in Bangkok, Thailand; Heny Sison School of Cake Decorating and Baking; and Sylvia Reynoso Culinary Studio in Manila. The trainer used to work also with known businesses in the hotel and food industry, like Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Ritz Carlton Hotel, Mandarin Hotel, among others. At present, the expert trainer owns and manages KG’s Kitchen Pastry Shop supplying cakes and pastries to various restaurants, coffeeshops, and grocery stores in Metro Manila; and also a Consultant/Chef Instructor at the Technological Research Center doing formulation and baking demonstrations for a multi-national food service brand.

Lastly, the organizers are inviting interested parties to attend this training to be held on 24-25 September 2008, 8:30am – 5:00pm at Planta Hotel, Araneta St., Singcang, Bacolod City. Each participant will be charged a modest participation fee of P1,500.00 only for two days inclusive of meals, snacks, training hand-outs and certificate. Since the number of participants is limited, reservation/confirmation is on a first-come, first-served basis. Please call DTI staff, Romel Amihan at tel. nos. 433-0250, 434-7920 or 708-2423.

Update: Training was rescheduled. Please visit this site for further updates.

Bacolod Chicken House…the local legend
by lloydtronco

If ever there was any reason why Bacolod chicken inasal became the legendary Bacolod delicacy it is now known to be, it can all be traced back to Architect Joe Cajili’s Chicken House. Currently known as Bacolod Chicken House, the real Chicken House started as a hole-in-the-wall at San Sebastian Street, catering to everyday passers-by.  Later on, it opened as a  small restaurant just across Colegio de San Agustin along North Drive (B.S. Aquino Drive today).

It’s humble beginnings as a restaurant included an al fresco (back in the days it was just called “open-air”) section which one was able to access through the sidewalk and that small street leading to the back of the Redemptorist Church. Long before there was a Manokan country at Bacolod’s reclamation area, Chicken House had already set up shop. Joe Cajili’s initial patrons were also his golfing buddies at the nearby Marapara club (Negros Occ. Golf and Country Club)

Bacolod Chicken House, East Block (Photo courtesy of Tony Manso)

Chicken House’s next branches were located at the downtown area along San Juan street (across the current location of Sylvia Manor) and at Mandalagan where it still serves its mouth watering roasted delights to this day. In the days when Chicken House was at San Juan, which was around the mid 1980s, I would only have to cross the Bacolod Public Plaza with my classmates from La Consolacion College to get to the little haven of chicken barbecue.  There, we would while away some time before catching up with one last class at 6:30 p.m.

Many other chicken houses or “inasalans” have followed the path led by Joe Cajili’s local legend of a resto. One thing is sure though. One cannot claim to have been in Bacolod if he or she hasn’t eaten at the real and only Bacolod Chicken House.

Bacolod Chicken House South, Singcang