I’ve certainly had days of slurping down cups of noodles and remembering the piping hot delicious dinners my mom used to whip up in our kitchen when I was younger. Like everyone else, I have a soft spot for all-natural fresh food and I relish any opportunity to indulge in it. From cakes made from scratch, to spaghetti sauce from actual crushed fresh tomatoes, to ice cream churned right at home there’s something undeniably good about food that comes straight from your own kitchen.
These days though food of that caliber is hard to find. People at home have no time to actually cook and rely heavily on instant soup, instant mix, instant everything (I’m guilty as charged) and when the microwave is on the blitz there’s always 30-minute delivery services of all your fast food desires. It’s a fast paced world and one can hardly blame anyone for snapping open a ready mix that’ll make a meal in 20 minutes when it used to take hours. Then again, even with all these shortcuts people still long for the days when food was made from scratch with fresh ingredients and traditional cooking methods.
Indeed while some people just kiss the days of homemade goodbye, some people still understand the importance of preserving natural cuisine in our fast food era. One such person is Jonathon Go, Nat to his friends, a 23-year-old food lover who realized that burgers, fries, and mass produced dessert products weren’t enough to satiate the sweet tooth inside. This Management Engineering graduate from the Ateneo University decided to make a stand and bring back the glory days of his favorite sweet delight – ice cream – an idea he picked up from a former officemate whose family tried making homemade ice cream and came up with delicious results.
Leaving his steady job at a foreign investment bank, Nat set out to begin a business venture on homemade ice cream churned by his own hand and tested by his own taste buds (yum!). He researched ice cream making techniques and although he quickly discovered what a long and tedious process it was he didn’t allow himself to be daunted and quickly began procuring all the necessary materials he would need to produce his first batch of homemade frozen delights.
"It wasn’t easy starting the business," Nat relays with a smile. "After I got the churning machine from the US, I still had to experiment on making the ice cream just right. I only use fresh ingredients like fresh milk and cream from a dairy farm in Laguna and fresh fruits in season. I think the taste of the ice cream relies heavily on the ingredients you use," this corporate-slave-turned-entrepreneur adds.
Armed with fresh ingredients and top-of-the-line equipment, Nat set out to produce his first batch of homemade ice cream. "I came out with my first batch last December," he relates. "It was really exciting. I wanted to give people an in-between option on high-end ice cream like Haagen Dazs and our own local sellers Magnolia and Selecta. I think homemade ice cream is the way to go. The way I make my product is straight out of the 1800s. No artificial flavoring, stabilizers, emulsifiers, or preservatives. It’s all natural."
To be sure, this all-natural sweet treat instantly became a hit with Nat’s first set of customers back in December. From the moment his ice cream hit the tongues of discriminating ice cream lovers around Manila word spread like wildfire about this homemade delight and before he knew what was happening orders for his delicious products began pouring in. "I was really happy with the outcome," Nat says. "I just relied on word-of-mouth for a long time but people were really happy with my product and that made me happy. That’s why I deliver the ice cream personally. I enjoy nothing more than seeing a person take that first bite and falling in love."
This love for his work makes it easy to understand why everything about the business is all Nat. From personally taking care of making the ice cream (a two-day process) to taking orders to experimenting on new flavors to actual ice cream delivery the Philippines’ version of Ben & Jerry does everything himself. "When I started the business I knew that I wanted to personally handle everything. It’s hard sometimes because I really have to multi-task but personal involvement meant a lot to me. When I expand in the future I will eventually have to hire more people to help out but for now I enjoy making the ice cream myself and delivering it myself."
Nat has come a long way since his first batch of frozen goodness last year. Some of his flavors have already become staples in households all over the city. When asked about his personal favorites he answers that he enjoys the Mango Cream Pie and the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip flavors but other bestsellers on his roster include Dark Chocolate made from Belgian chocolate, Chocnut, Nutella, Cherry Chocolate Chip, and Dulce de Leche. He even accepts custom-made ice cream and is willing to experiment on any flavor a client might suggest (Kitkat was one such custom flavor). And within the next few months ice cream clients can look forward to new flavors Nat’s been working on. "I love adding new flavors to my list," he says. "It gives me the freedom to explore new and exciting possibilities."
So even while the food industry is still booming with new and exciting restaurant choices blossoming all over the city like flowers, it’s always good to know that you can still come home to something natural.