Pinoy pig meets Peking duck

When Charlie Esguerra first broached the idea of the fried whole suckling pig to friends while caught in a traffic gridlock, everybody laughed at the joke.

"Why fry the pig when you can roast it? Why reinvent the lechon? That was the initial reaction. And then, some friends began to ask, ‘Why not?’," said Esguerra. "Then my wife, Dina, dreamt of her mother, who told her to serve our fried lechon the way Peking duck is served in Chinese restaurants."

Encouraged in part by that dream and in part by pure gut feel that they had an unusual product to sell, the Esguerras and friends put up Pritchon Corp. in 2000. A year later, the Esguerras bought out their partners.

Clients

The company’s core product, which is branded Charlie’s Pritchon, is regular fare in major parties hosted by the Department of Tourism for foreign guests.

The pritchon or whole fried suckling pig is delivered in a basket and is served on a hand-woven pandan mat by specially trained cutter-servers. Pieces of pritchon are wrapped in 60 pieces of assorted flavored pita wedges with spring onions and sliced cucumber. Seven sauces, including the traditional liver sauce for lechon and the hoisin sauce for Peking duck, are served with the dish.

"Orders must be made at least 24 hours ahead of the delivery date because we still have to prepare the pig (which must be no more than three days old and must have a cooked weight of five to seven kilos), season it , deep fry it, drain the oil, and then prepare the sauces and pita wedges. One order is good for 20 people but some clients place two orders to make sure the product will be tasted by all their guests," said Esguerra.

Each order of pritchon costs P3,850, inclusive of the cutter-servers.

Aside from the DoT, Pritchon’s clients are homeowners in upscale subdivisions such as Ayala Alabang, Makati, and Quezon City.

"We have had clients as far north as Pampanga, and as far south as Laguna. One time, someone from Hong Kong placed an order, took the flight to Manila to pick up the chopped and wrapped pritchon and then returned to Hong Kong," said Esguerra. "These days, there seems to be a trend in the A-B market to shun away from big parties and to hold their small gatherings at home."

To date, Pritchon’s biggest single order was 20 pritchons for a wedding celebration in Makati that had 900 guests.

Innovation

In an effort to provide its clients with more variety, the company last year introduced the pritchopabo or fried whole turkey.

"We first tried fried chicken but shifted to imported turkey because chicken is too small while local turkey is too tough and has so much fiber," said Dina Esguerra.

Priced at P3,950 per order, pritchopabo includes 60 pieces of whole white pita wedges with cabbage strips and sauces that range from the traditional cranberry to more contemporary sauces such as salsa and curry.

Also launched last year was the pritchon salad, which is basically pritchon strips mixed with lettuce, fried noodles, orange and crabsticks topped with a home-made salad dressing. The price of the pritchon salad is P2,150 inclusive of delivery and chopping service.

Progress

The company has visibly done well for itself since the Esguerras invested P200,000 in the business and used their own car for deliveries to clients.

"We still use our own cars and those of our friends, relatives and classmates of our children, who end up trying to learn how to serve and get themselves employed part time," said Dina Esguerra.

This time around, business is brisk enough for the company to expand its initial four-man workforce (including the Esguerras) to 17 full-time workers based in the company’s office/commissary in Quezon City and a pool of part-timers.