When it comes to cooking, moms know best

MANILA, Philippines - Who’s the best cook in the world? Why it’s Mom, of course! And that’s because whatever she cooks (whether it’s fried egg or fabada) she never fails to infuse it with her not-so-secret ingredient: Tender Loving Care (TLC) — lots and lots of it!

Indeed, whatever Mom puts on the table speaks volumes of her love for her children. And our empty plates  and burps of approval show how much we love Mom and her cooking.

Luigi Muhlach grew up amid the aroma of good gourmet food cooking in his mom’s kitchen. As a small boy with a big appetite and curiosity, he watched Mom all the time while she gave an award-winning performance in the kitchen. “I remember she used to cook tanigue with garlic and lemon butter sauce for me that tasted so good, it wasn’t malansa at all. She knows kasi that I find it hard to enjoy cooked seafood because of this certain taste that I don’t like.”

One day, Luigi woke up and realized he wanted to be a good cook just like Mom. “So, I guess I can say that she inspired me to become a chef,” he says with stars in his eyes.

Drama in the kitchen

Of course, we all know Luigi’s mom — she’s none other than seasoned drama actress Janice de Belen. And now, she and Luigi star in their own kitchen dramas.

“I learned how to cook when my mom started hiding all the canned goods and junk food in her room’s fridge because she was trying to help me lose weight,” Luigi confesses. “All that was left in our kitchen was frozen stuff so I had to learn how to make food from scratch to satisfy my hourly cravings.”

And what was the first dish this budding chef ever cooked?

“Gnocchi!” he exclaims. “We had a pictorial for a magazine and we all had to make one dish, so that was what I made. I bet it didn’t taste that good though because I was just starting out as a chef that time.”

Does he get cooking tips from his mom?

“Nope, she gets tips from me,” he says with a chuckle. “Kidding aside, yes, I always call her to ask where to buy good and hard-to-find ingredients.”

The son and mom who cook together

Has he cooked anything special for Mom?

“Not really, but we enjoy cooking together every time I visit,” Luigi declares. “We love making buffalo wings with blue cheese sauce, cheese bread, and chocolate chip cookies. When she tried my restaurant’s food for the first time, I made sure I was the one who cooked for her. And she loved it naman. Her favorites were the adobo flakes pasta and pandesal with adobo flakes and kesong puti.”

Both hearty eaters, Luigi and Janice love lechon cooked in patis. But if there’s something Luigi did not inherit from his mom, it’s her sweet tooth. “My mom loves sweets, but ako naman, I can live without dessert.”

And now, meet the mother-and-daughter culinary team of Martita Reyes and Sari Reyes-Jorge. This family shares a passion for cooking and eating. “I remember growing up in a family compound with a big family that celebrates each other’s birthdays, graduations, and anniversaries,” Sari fondly relates. “We had parties almost every day and everyone loves to cook! My grandmother, who is the family matriarch, always made sure that an abundant spread of good food was served in all these gatherings. There wasn’t a single dish that wasn’t delicious!”

Dreamy, creamy chicken pastel

You can say Sari grew up on her mom’s chicken pastel. This time-cherished recipe her mom has passed on to Sari who has passed it on to her own children and her other “children” — her students at her cooking class at 25 Mushrooms Kitchen located in Valle Verde 5, Pasig City and Merville Park, Parañaque. There, Sari teaches kids as young as four years old how to cook. “They ask the funniest and silliest questions which make me laugh even when I’m already tired,” she’s delighted to share. Sari herself started cooking at eight or 10 years old, and then got a more comprehensive and formal culinary education.

“My cooking idols are my dad Ariel Reyes who can cook amazing dishes without following any recipe, my grandmother Candelaria Areopagita whose heirloom recipes were luckily passed on to our generation, and chef Reggie Aspiras who taught me how to cook more sophisticated dishes.”

One heirloom recipe she relishes to remember is her mom’s favorite dish called Quezo de Italia (Italian meatloaf), which has been passed on to Sari and her sisters. But still a favorite family recipe is the chicken pastel, a special dish that’s a staple on the table when the family marks special occasions. “This is comfort food for me,” Sari gushes. “And we always cook it with Alaska Evap because it gives us the perfect consistency and flavor that we love.”

The first dish Sari tried cooking with her wee hands was a beef mechado. “It was a disaster because I didn’t defrost the meat and it ended up frozen inside when we ate it,” she recalls with a laugh.

Even now that she runs her own cooking school and a catering business, Sari never forgets the precious lessons she learned from her mom. “From Mom, I learned that cooking takes time, I have to be patient. There are no short cuts to cooking.”

For as long as they can, these moms and daughters and sons who cook together will keep creating delicious memories together.