FAT Chef, a new cozy restaurant that serves classic Filipino dishes with a twist, has opened its doors to the hungry customers in Cagayan de Oro City Saturday, December 15.
Located along Antonio Luna Street, in front of Goodyear Servitek (near Cagayan Town Center), Fat Chef is a homegrown restaurant in Cagayan de Oro City that combines ingredients and flavors to create a wide variety of comfort food, giving its customers the feeling of having eaten home-cooked meals made with passion and love.
Fat Chef is owned by the Rodriguez siblings: Rhea, Ronald, and Raiza, who are all quite passionate when it comes to cooking.
"Hilig mi tulo, aside sa mokaon, hilig mi magluto. Every Sunday, ga get together mi, akong in laws and family. So kami sa akong brother (Ronald) ang ga cook," Rhea shared, saying that the family tradition of bonding over home-cooked meals every Sunday inspired the creation of the restaurant.
"Kung naa mi sa kitchen, happy gyud mi," Rhea added.
Rhea also shared how the name "Fat Chef" came to be, saying that initially, her brother wanted to name it "Antonio Luna," the street where the restaurant is located, and he wanted a Filipino restaurant.
However, Rhea said she suggested not to push through with the "Antonio Luna" name as they will also be serving non-Filipino dishes such as pastas and steak, and that if they wanted to add more food in their menu, they will be restricted into serving only Filipino food.
As such, the owners coined the name "Fat Chef" to convey the idea that their "food choices will surely fill one's stomach."
Fat Chef offers a variety of Filipino dishes albeit served differently as their main chef, Ronald, incorporated his own twist on the classics.
"Instead of classic Filipino lang, I want something different from the normal Filipino restaurants," Ronald said.
These classic Filipino food with a twist includes: the Talong Kinilaw sa Gata, grilled eggplant with vinegar and gata; Sizzling Sinigang, beef with sauce created from the combination of gravy and sinigang, beans, tomato, garlic and onion; Bulad Bruschetta, soft french bread and bulad flakes with tomato and spices; Chicken Inasal sa Gata; and Pinakbet sa Gata, a dish with shrimps, eggplants, string beans and the sauce made from gata and mashed squash; among others.
As someone who formulated the recipe for these dishes, Ronald was left in charge of training their chefs.
"Ako ang nag formulate sa recipe so ako gyud ang nag train sa ila, hands on," Ronald said.
The restaurant also serves other foods, such as four Cheese Lasagna, Truffle Pasta, Shrimp Mayonesa, Grilled Squid, and others.
Ronald Rodriguez, apart from being a chef, is a civil engineer and also helped in the construction and design of the restaurant.
"Ako gyud ganahan is kanang industrial, nga minimalist kay dili ko ganahan naay theme. Gusto nako simple lang, dili gubot, minimalist, ing ana," Ronald said.
The high ceiling of the restaurant is also his idea, saying that it helps in providing an ambiance of comfort and relaxation to its customers.
"Kay mas luag sya, murag hayahay ang feeling, dili murag naa ka sa cave. So, gusto ko luag, hayahay, relax and cozy. Mao na ang akong gipagawas nga ambiance," Ronald said.
Fat Chef can accommodate more than 100 people. Their dining area has a seat capacity of 60, its ground floor function room can accommodate 30 people and its second floor has a seat capacity of 70. However, at present, the second floor area is still close.
Through consistently offering Kagay-anons a diverse selection of comfort food priced affordably and by proving a cozy site for customers to relax and interact that the Fat Chef envisions to become one of Cagayan de Oro's pride in the food industry, determined to show its dedication in satisfying its clients' hunger and cravings.