Sunday, April 16, 2006
Uni Chefs carrying on the passion for cooking for 30 years
DESPITE the growing economic downturns in the country, hospitality still burns high among Filipinos.
Families, in all economic strata, find cause for celebration at every turn of their lives such as weddings, birthdays, baptisms, graduation and victory parties.
With the convenience provided by the food catering companies accessible in most places, celebrations are a breeze to prepare now for the rich and the not so rich.
A top favorite of notable Kapampangan families and businesses in "off premise" food caterers is Angeles City-based Uni-Chefs Catering.
Kay Marquez, Uni-Chefs sales and marketing manager, said that Uni-Chefs focuses its strength on food, assuring the clientele of the best value for their money.
Uni-Chefs is now one of the most acclaimed catering or "off-premise" companies, offering at least 700 dishes, ranging from Kapampangan, Filipino, Japanese, Thai and European cuisine.
Blesilda Arceo Wilkerson's 30 years of experience in cooking and food service includes 18 years in the "off premise" catering business in Union City, California and prior to that, she worked several years in the nutrition department of the Philippine Heart Center.
Flying back to retire in the country, Wilkerson could not resist the passion for cooking handed down to her by her mother and gave in to insistent requests from close friends to whip up parties for their families' very special occasions.
Her family's Sweet Sensations Bakeshop in Union City specialized in Pinoy food.
She again started Uni-Chefs in 1996 in Manila, carrying on the business with two container vans of cooking and catering equipment.
Sharing Wilkerson's love for cooking, the bakeshop run by her daughter has also carved a respectable reputation in the industry with its special wedding cakes made of whipped cream.
In 2001, Wilkerson opened the Teresa Hall, providing a venue for clients' functions such as social occasions, seminars, for 25 to 10,000 people.
Since her return to the country, Wilkerson has catered parties hosted by leading families in the country not to mention President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's.
Uni-Chefs was commissioned to prepare food for thousands of her kabalens and her official family and well-wishers in Lubao where she attends mass for her birthdays.
Even before Arroyo became President, Wilkerson has also catered to parties tendered by the Arroyos in their home in La Vista, Quezon City and served in business and social functions of the families of Architect Nestor Mangio's of Lakeshore, and Levi Laus of Laus Group of Companies.
Uni-Chefs won the Most Outstanding Catering Services Award (Luzon Awards) in 2005 given at the Philippine Plaza last Feb. 26, 2006 by the Philippine Marketing Excellence Awards of the Philippines, Marketing Excellence Awards Institute, Asian Institute of Marketing and Entrepreneurship Insights Magazine.
In ceremonies held at the Hotel Intercon in Makati City last January 30, Uni-Chefs also won the Most Outstanding Truly Asian Cuisine Catering Services (Luzon Awards) from the Philippine Quality Board for Business Excellence and the Philippine Business World Quality Class chaired by Dean Antonio Tupaz of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) College of Law.
In 2003, the National Shoppers Choice Annual Awards selected Uni-Chefs Catering as the No. 1 Caterer (Pampanga).
The awards were based on surveys conducted by the Asia Pacific Shoppers Choice Institute, Shoppers Choice Magazine, Essence Privilege Card, Heinz Ketchup Mktg. Inc., and the Asia Pacific Association of Marketing Professionals.
Despite the recognition heaped upon her company, Wilkerson said that Uni-Chefs is firm on its vow to religiously serve its clients.
Wilkerson has run her business with the concept of dishing out five-star food catering in off-premise venues.
Uni-Chefs' buffet lunch or dinner menus range from P260 to P915 per head, with the higher end menu complete with appetizers, salads, soup, carving stations, on the spot cooking, hot entrees, dessert and beverages.
The company also offers P75,000 for 200 persons serving four dishes including dessert. (DMF)
(April 16, 2006 issue)
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