On food and family

It was Tatay’s unbreakable rule that everybody was present at the dining table for lunch and dinner no matter what. And it was obvious if I was guilty of anything because I would be struggling quiet during meal time. Otherwise, I looked forward to meals with the whole family.

Monde Nissin recently launched Famealy Matters: 50-Plus Stories of Everyday Intimacy at the Family Dining Table, a book compilation featuring well-known personalities and their delightful stories about sharing memorable meal time moments with their families. In 2007, Monde Nissin started Kainang Pamilya Mahalaga, an advocacy that reminds Filipino families of the importance of having shared meals together.

“Meal times provide opportunities for members of the family to sit around one table, share the same food, and listen to each other’s stories. And because many Filipino families today are guilty of taking such moments for granted, we at Monde Nissin wish to remind them of the joys that come with sharing meals together through Famealy Matters,” says Gen Aquino, Monde Nissin media and public relations manager.

The book contains more than 50 personal meal time stories of prominent personalities from various industries. From the outrageous topics they talk about with their children to the exotic dishes they’ve tried and tasted together, these personalities share what goes on at their dinner tables. While some would choose to prepare the meals themselves, others would prefer to take their children out to different places and experience new cuisines together.

I was invited to be one of the contributors to Famealy Matters. In the article, Celebrating the Blessings of Food and Family, I shared that mealtimes were joyous gatherings in our household when our family had to be together even during awkward moments like when Tatay and Nanay would have a misunderstanding or when I committed a misdemeanor. I still fondly recall one of the funniest mealtime memories in our family which we dubbed the “payong and sapatos episode” and Tatay’s “best actor” performance.    

Tatay and Nanay once had a petty disagreement because of the brand-new pair of shoes and an umbrella which Nanay bought by borrowing money from a co-teacher. Tatay couldn’t show his anger because we had a visitor who was with us at the dining table. He just smiled and laughed along with us the entire time. By the time the visitor left, Tatay’s anger had already subsided.

It is my opinion that families must stay — and even have meals — together through good and bad times. I am an advocate of engagement — of celebrating not just the blessings of food on the table but also the relationships that are built in the process. In doing so, you seal the family bond. As I have shared in the book, I would rather have a peanut butter sandwich with my family than eat caviar alone. 

Other contributors include Vice President Jejomar Binay (A Time for Togetherness), Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez (FUN and Spirited — That’s What Mealtimes Should Be), ABS-CBN CEO Gabby Lopez (Nothing Nourishes the Soul Like a Family Meal), Archbishop Antonio Tagle (The Family That Eats Together, Stays Together), Bro. Armin Luistro (Two Families, Two Dining Experiences), Sharon Cuneta (What Family is All About), Kris Aquino (Meals and Memories), Tintin Bersola-Babao (Hearty Meals and Lessons in Gratitude), Sarah Geronimo (Thank Goodness for Sunday Dinners), John Lloyd Cruz (Never Far Away From Home), Billy Crawford (Family Meals That Made Me) and Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez (Joyful Times and Healing Moments), among others.

A lot of us contributors admit that with our frenzied schedules, sharing meals together with our families becomes quite difficult to achieve. Most families have working parents while their children are busy with school and extracurricular activities resulting in each family member having to eat in their own time. But whatever it is they do to make their meal time moments more special, these parents make the necessary effort and take time to dine with their children because to them, shared meals are opportunities to reconnect, laugh together and offer support to each other. It provides the daily solidification of the family unit where each person is recognized and validated.

“At the end of it all, it’s nice to know that even these well-known celebrities and personalities go out of their way just to be able to gather their families together and sit down at the dining table. Famealy Matters is a touching collection of personal narratives that make us realize how the gratification and benefits we get from sharing meals with the family is worth it,” shares Famealy Matters publisher Francis Kong.

(Famealy Matters: 50-Plus Stories of Everyday Intimacy at the Family Dining Table is available at National Book Store, Powerbooks, or through Anne Cristobal of Success Options Inc. For details, call 727-0291, 0920-9253348 or email at [email protected]).