GOING green is the new trend. People are now craving for organic and healthy food. Because of this, restaurants all over Cebu are trying their best to serve healthier items on the menu. Of all these restaurants, one sprouted quite differently than the others.
My Farm Café and Restaurant is a concept that was born out of love and an advocacy to help. The restaurant, originally from Leyte, just recently opened a branch in Cebu.
“My wife, Necitas, graduated with a degree in hotel and restaurant management. I would often tell her as a joke that I married her because she had a hotel, a restaurant and is good with management. The management part was taken care of because she had to manage the household. But the problem was, at that time, we didn’t have a restaurant nor a hotel,” said Rey Calooy.
While starting a family, Rey created his own business now known as RNC Marketing Philippines. He succeeded in building his own brand, but his wife wanted to have her own business as well in the form of a restaurant because of her passion for cooking.
“Before we opened the restaurant, we had this dream board at home where we placed printed photos of our dreams. She would print pictures of the soon-to-be restaurant and placed it there and also in places around the house like on the mirror in the bathroom or on the ceiling above our beds so that we could see them all the time,” said Rey.
The concept behind the restaurant came from Rey inspired by his roots being the son of a farmer in Leyte.
“I’ve always liked having an impact to the community—like doing a social enterprise. I connected the restaurant to the advocacy in promoting agri-business. We source our ingredients directly from the farmers in Leyte and buy them at the price that they dictate,” said Rey.
The restaurant in Lagtang, Talisay City, Cebu offers a getaway from the rushed city life. There is a feel of the farm life with homecooked meals prepared by Necitas Calooy herself. The ingredients used are fresh from the produce of farmers in Leyte, free from harmful chemicals and insecticides.
The restaurant is also known for its different turkey dishes such as turkey halang-halang, and calderetang turkey. The restaurant also serves bahalina which is also known as coconut wine.
With their advocacy, the family has created various products from the produce of farmers such as Golden Stick Pancit Canton, developed by eldest daughter Rhea Noemi. These are noodles infused with different vegetables like squash, ampalaya, carrots, malunggay, mushroom and turmeric.
As a family business, Rhea helps her parents in handling the accounting of the restaurant. She is also an advocate for a greener and more agriculturally centered Philippines.
“My grandfather was a farmer and he was able to support six children. If the government supported our farmers, we will become a self-sustaining country and we wouldn’t need to import,” said Rhea.