Joel Cruz recounts how this homemade Pinoy side dish by his mom started
Like any proud son, “Lord of the Scents” Joel Cruz shares with Manila Bulletin Lifestyle how his mom Milagros “Milagring” Santos-Cruz has been busy with this lockdown. Fondly called Nanay by her children, this 91-year-old grandmother is a homemaker and a retired businesswoman. She used to own a party chairs and rentals business while her husband had a trucking business. They would talk about their daily operations over family dinners, and this is where the then-young Joel learned about running a company.Joel adds that before the lockdown his mom would visit Blumentritt market every day for fresh produce. “She cooks every day and does gardening and sewing. She is quite the perfectionist being a Virgo.” Milagring managed to work around the lockdown. She has been just as busy. “She continues to be a homemaker. She cooks but does not go to the market, delegating it to the household help since she is not allowed as a senior citizen.”
One thing that has kept her productive is her homemade atchara. “She's been making this delicious atchara ever since, and I am proud of this. On her 90th birthday two years ago, since the theme was Filipino, we thought of her homemade atchara as giveaways and it was wrapped in a small native basket. It was such a hit among our guests, and people were asking if they could buy it. That sparked the idea that this could be serious business. That's how it started,” says Joel who also revealed that her mom’s culinary skills hail from Bulacan.
Being over 90 years old, she needed help. So Joel’s youngest sibling Michael became her assistant. Joel adds, “He knows how it’s made while she is hands on in making every batch. The household help also assists her. My sister-in-law, nephews, and nieces help in selling it to mostly friends and online. It’s really a family affair.” They make about 150 bottles a week, which gets sold out right away. Each bottle is priced at P180 and, if you buy 12 bottles, the price goes down to P160 each.
While some might be apprehensive in letting their senior-citizen parents work in the kitchen, Joel gives his full support to his mom. Joel shares, “I think this is good for Nanay. It’s sort of therapeutic to keep her active and busy while in quarantine. And it gives us earnings. I totally support her, and I take care of marketing it.”
Nanay is also turning 92 years old on Sept. 14. With every year a milestone to celebrate, Joel shares that “It will be a simple celebration with the implemented restrictions. It will be with our immediate family in the house. She will prepare homecooked meals, and we will communicate with our siblings in the States via video call. I’m thankful that she is still healthy and active at 92.”
Prior to this, Joel surprised his mom with the renovation of their ancestral home. “She will always be my great mother and the grandmother of my eight children. We live in the same house which we named after her ‘Chateau de Milagros.’ It’s our own little castle in the heart of Sampaloc, Manila. It was my gift to her on my 50th birthday.”
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