From 'carinderia' to Republic of Cavite.

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire
 | December 02, 2002 | Copyright
(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Byline: Mei Magsino
TRECE MARTIRES CITY-Spanning three generations of first-rate cooks whose passion for good food transcends time and distance, Town's Delight The Caterer has not just conquered the palate of the entire Cavite province, it has even built its own Republic of Cavite.
"The passion for good food started with Mama Cely, my mother, who, for 30 years has been in the food catering business in Cavite," Andrew Pacumio, Town's Delight manager, said.
"Then I followed her footsteps, and then one of my nieces is now also in the business. The passion for good food is in our blood," he added.
The passion for good food, which is in Pacumio's blood, has its extension in Batangas, as the president of its most sought-after caterer-Juan Carlo-The Caterer-engineer Alex del Rosario, is Andrew's first cousin.
"After 30 years in the business, the Republic of Cavite is the ultimate statement of our legacy of serving the good food that Cavitenos have enjoyed for so long now," Pacumio said. "Building this is a combination of three decades of hard work while loving that work, passion for food, and the family's aspiration to come out with the best service in the food catering business."
At the recent opening of the Republic of Cavite, the three generations of chefs, along with the late President Emilio Aguinaldo's descendants and the province's top brass, waved the Philippine flag in front of the masses of
people like a scene from history books.
The only difference is, instead of attacking a Spanish garrison, the people attacked the buffet table, where a festive breakfast awaits.
Carinderia
Town's Delight The Caterer started as a small carinderia in Tanza town in 1972 with Cecilia del Rosario-Pacumio, known in town as Mama Cely, as its cook, marketer and manager.
Mama Cely, a teacher by profession, admitted that her first love is cooking, not teaching.
"First love never dies," she said. "So I decided to concentrate on cooking."
Her husband Josefino Pacumio, who was working abroad at that time, financed her small business.
The small carinderia gained popularity with its good food and artistic presentation and in no time, became a household name in town. In less than five years, it expanded to include catering business and a bakeshop.
Jardin de San Antonio, with a seating capacity of 250 people, was established in Tanza town; followed by Gardenia Cecilia in Naic town, with a seating capacity of 500 people. It was followed by another Gardenia Cecilia in Trece Martires City, with a capacity of 180 people.
On Nov. 18, the Republic of Cavite, with an Aguinaldo ancestral home-inspired design, was inaugurated at the back of the city hall, right at the heart of the city.
"People have always asked me why we put up the Republic of Cavite in Trece Martires City," Pacumio said. "I would always tell them that this city is the heart of Cavite, and its booming now."
Hardwork
But being a manager of the province's biggest catering business is not a piece of cake for Andrew, whose first job was as a social worker in the Smokey Mountain for six years.
An AB Economics graduate from San Beda College and loaded with a master's degree from UP Diliman, he also served as an instructor in Bataan. But like his mother, his first love was also cooking.
"Ten years ago, I decided to manage the business," Pacumio said.
"Like every economist, I treat every project like a mathematical equation. That helped a lot, coupled with hard work, good food and service, the people never forgot the name and by word of mouth, we got free advertisements and referrals," he added.
When Pacumio started managing the business 10 years ago, it boomed to conquer the entire Cavite province and even the greater Manila area.
Pacumio is a two-term director of the Food Caterers Association of the Philippines.
Town's Delight now has a monthly television appearance in a morning show's portion to promote the catering business.
Recently, it catered to the Miss Earth International Costume Competition held at the Casino Filipino in Tagaytay City.
Juggling a booming catering business, Pacumio still conducts lectures on the food service industry to many colleges and universities in Cavite.
"I never got over my fondness for teaching," he said. "I even took my lectures to Town's Delight and trained our people. It's better to get new people to train and mold as it develops employee loyalty. Most of our bakeshop workers and employees have been with us for as long as the Town's Delight lives."
With over 300 workers trained by the human resources department, which Pacumio himself set up to develop the skills of his people, the teacher in him was utilized even in the food business.
But for Pacumio, the best training starts with the family.
"My wife and my mother are both chefs. My father is our consultant. A close cousin is also in the business, and the next generation is also showing good signs of getting into the industry. We're a family of chefs whose biggest
clients are the Cavitenos and the greater Manila area."
Republic of Cavite
"If there is a Republic of the Philippines, and a Republic of Malate, why shouldn't there be a Republic of Cavite?" Pacumio said. "This is actually one of Town's Delight's biggest dream-to make a landmark in Cavite."
According to architect Richie Corcuera who designed the building, the concept of the Republic of Cavite building was to capture the Aguinaldo shrine and to turn the restaurant into a landmark in Cavite's capital city.
The two-story building is patterned after the Aguinaldo mansion in Kawit, Cavite, where the proclamation of Philippine independence took place on June 12, 1898.