The fatted calf's backstory is a delicious as the food
The origin story of The Fatted Calf in Tagaytay revolves around something irreplaceable getting lost and then being found again. Similar to a really good pot roast, all the elements are in place.
The husband-and-wife duo behind The Fatted Calf in Tagaytay — chefs Jay Jay and Rhea SyCip — were classmates in third grade. They lost touch after elementary school. Twelve years later, they bumped into each other. Jay Jay’s upbringing centered on food: his dad would have night caps of cognac paired with blue cheese, while his mom cooked her morcon or cabbage rolls with her son beside her. In short, that love for food got ensconced in his system; thus, he dreamt of being a chef one day. And as for Rhea, well, she became a culinary artist before Jay Jay did.
He points out how passionate she is about her craft. “Rhea makes the best cakes, bar none — and I am not only saying this because I’m her husband.”
When Jay Jay was working as an executive chef in Tagaytay and Rhea was employed as the F&B director of a hotel, they decided to get their own place in Tagaytay. They found a property in Silang, Cavite, that was for lease: it was the very same property they chanced upon 10 years ago because of an accidental detour and had liked instantly.
Their dream of having their own restaurant was realized in July 2019 with The Fatted Calf Farmhouse Kitchen, its name lifted from the parable of the Prodigal Son. (“The Fatted Calf represents feasts and celebrations,” explains Chef Jay Jay, as every meal is an opportunity to bring people together.) The restaurant steadily built a solid reputation with its no-frills, farm-to-table approach: “Dining becomes an experience, and every dish tells a story.”
Then came a series of setbacks. Six months after the restaurant opened, Taal Volcano erupted. Two months after the pandemic struck, chef Jay Jay caught the virus and was in the ICU for 23 days, all in all spending 27 days in the hospital. He recovered from COVID, but the ECQ implementation was brutal to the restaurant industry. The Fatted Calf was badly hit. The couple got news that their lease was not going to be renewed by their landlord, who needed the property back.
“We thought it was the end of The Fatted Calf,” laments chef Jay Jay. “Before we closed down (in January 2023), we had guests tell us that they were happy that they came across our restaurant.” He was thinking of working in a hotel again and she was going to focus on their online bakery called Flour Pot Manila, which opened during the lockdowns to capitalize on her expertise with sweets. But when all seemed lost, the couple found a helping hand.
In 2022, Rhea sent a direct message to Senator President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda on Instagram; the chef wanted to make a special Mother’s Day cake for the senator.
“So, I brought my 90-year-old father and 89-year-old yaya-‘nanay’ to The Fatted Calf in Silang — and the food was so good,” remembers Senator Loren, who raves about the osso buco, roast chicken with mashed potatoes, as well as the salads. “Chef Rhea and Chef Jay Jay told me about their advocacy of sustainability and slow food; how they buy from smallholder farms, local farmers and micro enterprises. All of those were the focus of my laws and my advocacies, too.”
The senator found out the restaurant was closing down and that the couple had no place to go. “They are such talented chefs and seemed like a very nice couple. I felt that I wanted to help them.”
Senator Legarda had an ancestral lot along the Tagaytay-Nasugbu Highway that had been there since the ’60s; it was her grandmother’s (Carmen Gella Bautista). Being so busy with work, the senator never knew what to do with it. Her goal was clear, though: the lot must be occupied by independent stores; micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises; sustainable business. “I told the chefs I could build a simple farmhouse kitchen for them from my old yakal posts that I’d collected; red tiles from a demolished structure in Manila; and some antique woodcarvings stored in my bodega.”
And she did. Her ideas on adaptive reuse were realized: she had rainwater catchment installed, so that rain could be reused in watering plants, as well as a traditional pitcher pump. She intends to put up solar panels on the roof to reduce electricity costs and environmental impact.
“I counted every tree and told the couple that not one tree can be cut, but they can be balled and replanted. So, all my trees have been catalogued and with IDs (laughs).”
Senator Legarda was determined that her laws must be followed, especially the ecological solid waste-management law. “Pinag-seminar ko pa sila. I even built a material recovery facility, a compost pit, as well as a greenhouse — so that the herbs are fresh. Lola Mameng must have planted the coffee trees, so I named a coffee after her. I hope to serve it there at the restaurant.”
Chefs Jay Jay and Rhea could not believe the unexpected blessing that came their way. Their friends could not imagine how someone would build an entire farmhouse for them. “I like to help small businesses,” explains the senator. “I like to empower good souls who share my advocacies. I also love building simple structures that use my old, recycled things. With me, there is no such thing as waste. Even the old grilles in the chicken coop in my farm; I took them out and had them installed as grilles in the restaurant. Walang sayang.”
Rainwater is collected and reused. Food waste is made into organic compost for the vegetables. And the entire design and architecture of the restaurant are based on repurposing, adaptive reuse and upcycling.
There is a magical confluence in The Fatted Calf, which reopened in its Tagaytay location on June 1.
Like the senator, championing what’s local is also foremost in the hearts of the SyCips. Take, for example, everyone’s favorite: the red curry beef pot roast. “All of the ingredients in the dish are sourced locally,” informs chef Jay Jay. “The Benguet potatoes, local eggplants, grass-fed local beef, all of the vegetables and spices for the curry paste are ordered directly from our partner-farm Lucciole in Amadeo, plus local, fresh coconut milk and farm-fresh cilantro. Our osso buco uses farm-fresh tomatoes and white onions for the sauce, parsley from local farmers, grass-fed local beef, Benguet sweet potatoes and local organic butter.”
The chef often sits down with farmers and producers to talk to them, know what they have and find ways to help them.
“And then I create a menu around their produce,” he concludes. “We look at ingredients and really find the best medium to give honor to the Maker of all things, to the soil, and to the farmer.”
Hearing the continuing story of The Fatted Calf leaves us full, nourished, renewed. And we’ve barely talked about the food.
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The Fatted Calf is located along the Tagaytay-Nasugbu Highway in Barangay Neogan, Tagaytay City. Reservations for breakfast, lunch, and dinner are accepted. Call or SMS 0977-6437477 or 0917-7892352, or send a direct message on Instagram @thefattedcalf_ph. Follow The Fatted Calf PH on social media.
