• Negros Trade Fair •

Ading’s Gourmet Tuyo is not your ordinary gourmet tuyo. Chef April shared the story behind the first shredded gourmet tuyo I have tried. She said that her Lola has always been very hands-on. When they were still little, every time they would harvest watermelons in their farm, her Lola would take out the seeds for them so that they can eat at ease. The same thing goes when they eat tuyo. It was originally her Lola’s recipe and it was always present in their family gatherings. Since her mom loves capers and olives, Chef April tried to add the said ingredients to her Lola’s recipe. Eventually, her friends told her “Why not put it in a bottle and sell it?” That gave birth to Ading’s Gourmet Tuyo. She worked on the product’s packaging and treats that as her main contribution for the coming about of Ading’s Gourmet Tuyo. Chef April is confident enough to say that it doesn’t contain any preservatives.

Being both a Lacson and a Gonzaga, Chef April confessed to be a certified foodie. She owns restaurants where she displays her products. She’s very proud to say that all her products are authentic family recipes. Her latest is the Chorizo de Gonzaga which is her Tita’s recipe.

Ading’s Gourmet Tuyo is now on its 3rd year. You can choose between regular and spicy variants. Chef April suggested ways on how customers can enjoy her Gourmet Tuyo. She said that it’s actually good with pasta, salad, and toasted crostini. However, she still thinks that it’s best with rice – the most Pinoy way of eating it. Ading’s Gourmet Tuyo can also serve as an appetizer. Chef April said that you can spread it on French bread and add kesong puti for it to be like a Pinoy Canapé.

This is Chef April’s 2nd year in The Negros Trade Fair. She’s very proud of her Gourmet Tuyo which has already won 2 awards. It won the Savor Negrense Award at the Panaad sa Negros Festival 2015 where 19 municipalities and 13 cities joined and only one winner was declared and that is Ading’s Gourmet Tuyo. It was also acknowledged as the grand winner for the deli category of the 26th Bulawan Awards of the Association of Negros Producers in August 2016.

31st Negros Trade Fair "One Sweet Spot"

September 14-16, 2016,

Glorietta Mall, Makati

AIDA'S MANOKAN

31st Negros Trade Fair "One Sweet Spot"

September 14-16, 2016,

Glorietta Mall, Makati

26 HERB GARDEN

31st Negros Trade Fair "One Sweet Spot"

September 14-16, 2016,

Glorietta Mall, Makati

SARSA KITCHEN + BAR

31st Negros Trade Fair "One Sweet Spot"

September 14-16, 2016,

Glorietta Mall, Makati

INASALAN SA DALAN

31st Negros Trade Fair "One Sweet Spot"

September 14-16, 2016,

Glorietta Mall, Makati

The most sought-after maker of Clara’s Goat’s Milk Barquillos

A lot of people are stuck in the daily grind of employment because that had been instilled to most of the middle class. Study hard and get a good job, we were told. But after her early forced retirement from the defunct company Nivico following the People Power Revolution, Cecilia Plotena didn’t want to end up jobless and without a source of income.

Married and with three kids, Cecilia turned to making fresh breads because of her interest in baking. After all, her mother Clara influenced her so much. With P3000 in 1987 as start-up capital and used drums heated with firewood as her improvised oven, Cecilia made different kinds of breads from two sacks of flour daily.

But it seems that Cecilia and fresh breads were a mismatch as a business. Though she made good breads, she said that the profit margin was not that big and the returns as well as the collectibles were unbearable. She thought of a way to maximize her profit with the work that her family puts in. So after two years, she diverted her efforts in making specialty products.

Cecilia also said that she is fortunate to have found a baker who was good at making different baked products so they were able to produce barquillos, banadas, and the like. Instead of peddling, they also started supplying their goods on consignment in groceries and supermarkets. That resulted in an overwhelming increase in profits because pasalubong products do not require a lot of flour to make, have a longer shelf life so they can be sold in big stores, and they can be pricier because they have more premium.

Eventually, Cecilia joined the Association of Negros Producers. She is thankful to the association because not only was she able to display her products at the showroom and get more exposure and sales, she is motivated to innovate because of the Bulawan Awards. She said that although she didn’t win an award, she is still fortunate because one of the products that she entered, which was the Goat’s Milk Barquillos, is now her signature best-selling product. It is sought-after product that is being sold in premier establishments like Virgie’s Pasalubong, Pendy’s. andRowenas’s in Tagaytay.

Producer/Member - Cecilia Plotena (5th from left)

One of the reasons behind Clara’s Food Products is Cecilia’s willingness to innovate. She was also the first one to come up with the flavoured barquillos. But while it was a hit and was also emulated, she stopped production because she didn’t feel comfortable about adding food colors to her products. She wanted to make them as natural as possible.

At present, Clara’s Food Products is enjoying stable business. She does not really have plans for expansion, as she is already happy with her achievements and she is not getting younger. Her son Chris Noel is now helping her out with logistics. Cecilia is now happy and content as her goals have already been achieved.

31st Negros Trade Fair "One Sweet Spot"

September 14-16, 2016,

Glorietta Mall, Makati

For almost nine decades, the Mercado family of Bacolod has been making native delicacies that have since been collectively known as Bacolod pasalubong.

For travellers to and from Bacolod, it seems always a must to bring pasalubong of piaya and barquillos. Despite the proliferation of similar products in the market during the past several decades, nothing beats the popularity of these two. It seems that all the rest are just add-ons to these all-time favorite Bacolod pasalubong.

Many pasalubong houses have developed their own versions of piaya and ibarquillos but only one name can lay claim to being the origin of these two—Sugarlandia by Tia Dami.

Damiana Mercado, or more popularly known back then as Tia Dami, is the family matriarch of Sugarlandia. She started the business in the 1930s, which was a period of peace in the province of Negros Occidental, because she wanted to be able to send her children to good schools. It was not surprising that she started this endeavour because she came from a long line of bakers from Molo, Iloilo.

Tia Dami, which literally translated to Aunt Dami, would sell her food stuff everywhere she passed by and to those who ordered but she would most especially sell them at the Central Market. She coined the name Sugarlandia, a very catchy name for her business, because the province of Negros is known for as the largest producer of sugar in the country. Tia Dami grew the business with the help of her family, adding more products along the way.

When she passed away, one of her children, Medalla Engallado, took over the business and ran it single-handedly for more than 30 years. At present, Sugarlandia is managed by the Engallado siblings, third generation heirs of Tia Dami. At their store at Yulo St. where the family compound and Sugarlandia production area are located, they sell not only piaya and barquillos but a host of other baked goodies as well as meringue, pinasugbo, candied fruits, and many more. Some of the products sold there are made by individual family members, making it a truly family enterprise.

The secret to making Sugarlandia survive the times is strict compliance to the recipes set by Tia Dami. The new generation has innovated, including the development of new products like the barquirice that uses organic rice instead of flour, but they have maintained the quality of their main products.

Sugarlandia products are available at their store at Yulo St., Bacolod City and at the Negros Showroom branches at 9th-Lacson Streets and Robinsons Place Bacolod.

31st Negros Trade Fair "One Sweet Spot"

September 14-16, 2016,

Glorietta Mall, Makati

Here is one very good example of how a hobby became a booming business. Virgie Chua started baking for friends and family and soon her culinary talent became more evident when those who have tasted her goods would ask if she could sell them some. And she did to the delight of her eager customers that just grew and grew in number. In 1974, she finally put up a store to fill the request of customers to have immediate access to her delicious pastries and cakes the most popular of which are the pastillas de manga or mango tarts, and sans rival, respectively.

The store of Virgie’s Homemade Products has prospered through the decades starting from being a small space in the Chuas’ rented house. The wooden rented house had long been bought by the hardworking renters themselves and converted into a homey glass-wrapped store that is now a favorite of visitors to Sugar Country Negros Occidental. The mango tarts and wedding cakes had long been joined by caramel tarts, cheese tarts and macapuno tarts and other products that make up the 37 items the kitchen churns out every day.

A visit to the kitchen will show an orderly, airy, hygienic workplace where quality control is practiced - each piece of food item that leaves the oven undergoes meticulous inspection. The nimble fingers of the workers mix, knead, weigh, cook, bake, wrap and pack thousands of goodies each day just so we may have our tarts and eat them, too. Virgie’s bakers make about 2,600 caramel tarts by hand per day, but they make more of the mango tarts, their number one selling item. So, just imagine that volume of goodies that assure those with a sweet tooth that happy days are here to stay.

Virgie’s Homemade Products’ success comes not only from tickling the palates of its adoring fans. A systematic, even, scientific, approach to handling its business is the key ingredient in going strong after over four decades. As an Association of Negros Producers member, Virgie attended seminars where she learned the rudiments of pricing, costing, and marketing her products with the help of the Department of Science and Technology, and the Department of Trade and Industry. Joining trade fairs also honed her nose to what can bring the most satisfaction to her prospective buyers. This not only keeps her on her toes where quality is concerned but also encourages her to come up with new products.

Virgie’s Treasures and Camias Twirls are proud winners of the prestigious Bulawan Award. Both are geared for the select market niche and make appropriate gifts for even jaded palates. There seems to be something for everyone. From the familiar piaya, barquillos, barquiron, polvoron, galletas and napoleones to the crisp, layered and dainty argellanas that can heighten one’s coffee experience, to the diabetic-friendly Cheese Twist that’s sugar-free and made from a delightful combination of parmesan and cayenne pepper.

Innovation is important in business and Virgie’s Homemade Products gives us more than we ask for.

VIRGIE'S HOMEMADE PRODUCTS

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