As the hit GTV drama series The Lost Recipe (TLR) enters its finale week, its lead stars Mikee Quintos and Kelvin Miranda, together with Thea Tolentino and Paul Salas, share how the show made a mark in their lives.
For Mikee, the show taught her the value of trust. “As an artist, natutunan ko sa TLR ang importance ng tiwala sa mga katrabaho mo at sa sarili. Playing Consuelo before the timeline changed, and Apple in the new timeline was challenging--especially sa lock-in taping set up. But trusting my co-actors, Direk Monti (Parungao), and the whole team made things easier for me. In my opinion, ‘yun ‘yung secret sa pagbuo ng magandang show. ‘Yung lahat kayo mahal ninyo ang trabaho ninyo at binibigay n'yo ang mga sarili n'yo nang buong buo para mapaganda ang material,” she shared.
The warm support of the public to the MiKel love team was also overwhelming. “Of course, being paired with Kelvin in this show changed me too. Ang sarap umarte 'pag sinasalo ka ng kaeksena mo parati and ‘yun ‘yung favorite ko sa amin ni Kelvin, ‘di niya ako iniiwan sa ere! Bumalik ulit ‘yung excitement ko sa pag-arte,” she added.
Her co-star, Kelvin, admits TLR greatly helped him in his career. “Mas nabigyang pansin po ako dahil first TV series po ito na ako ang gumanap bilang bida na lalaki,” the Kapuso actor who plays Chef Harvey in the series shared. “Malaking bagay po na nakuha ako sa proyektong ito dahil nagkaroon po ako ng chance ma-experience kung paano maging isang chef. Maraming binago sa akin ang The Lost Recipe gaya ng kumpiyansa ko sa craft ko at paniniwala sa mga bagay-bagay sa industriyang ito.”
As someone portraying the role of a chef, Thea said TLR enabled her to discover her passion in cooking. “The show gave me a push into learning how to cook. I never knew cooking would make me so happy seeing that the people I cook for are happy with my cooking,” she said, adding that Ginger, her character, taught her a lot of lessons in life. “Success and money are not everything. Most of the time, it’s doing what you love and your dreams that’s really important to live a happy life. And that success means nothing too if you have no one to share it with,” she shared.
Thea claims her role in the series changed her as an actor. “From the usual angry characters that I have portrayed, playing the role of Chef Ginger felt like I was brought to life. The Lost Recipe challenged me and helped me get better with my craft. I loved bringing life to Chef Ginger.”
For Paul, TLR made him discover another way to get closer to his mom. “Through helping my mom sa kitchen, ‘dun ko na realize na may masasayang bonding moments pala talaga pag nagluluto sa kitchen with your loved ones. The Lost Recipe gave me a chance to learn basic kitchen skills,” he said revealing his childhood dream, “Dream ko ito nung bata ako, I want to be a chef and start my own restaurant.”
He added that playing the role of Frank, is a dream come true as well. “Goal ko talaga na mapakita ‘yung love kong gawin kapag mag-isa ako sa bahay: ‘yung mag gitara at kumanta! I want to thank the production na ako ang napili nila at nabigyan nila ako ng chance na maisabuhay at maikuwento ang life ni Frank. Minahal ko ang character ko kasi may similarities din kami ni Frank,” he added.
Now that the hit fantasy romance series is down to its last few episodes, the four have only kind words to say to everyone who supported their show since day one.
“Maraming salamat sa support ninyo! Reading your comments and reactions everyday, I can really feel your investment in all our characters,” Mikee enthused. “Sana patuloy ninyo po kaming mahalin! We'll work hard to make you guys proud. Last few episodes na lang kaya ‘wag kayong bibitaw!! We love you!”
“Maraming, maraming salamat po sa pagsuporta ninyo sa amin mula simula. Sana po mas mahalin ninyo pa po ang mga karakter namin sa mas lalo pang tumitinding mga eksena na ihahain namin sa inyo. God bless po sa inyong lahat,” said Kelvin.
Thea is also grateful to all their fans. “Kitang-kita namin ang pagmamahal ninyo sa amin at sa bawat character namin. Sana ay marami rin kayong natutunan at na-inspire namin kayo magluto! At sana matupad ang mga wish ninyo na magkaroon ng Season 2 dahil wish din namin 'yon. Kami ay nae-excite na mapanood n'yo ang mga nalalabing episodes. Mahal namin kayo.”
“Pinaghirapan namin lahat ng cast ang mga eksena at pag-aral sa character namin para maipakita ang ganda ng istorya na ‘to. Sana nabusog, kinilig, at sumaya kayo sa TLR. Maraming salamat sa lahat ng nag-appreciate nitong show na ‘to. We love you!” said Paul.
The best is yet to come as more exciting twists and turns await viewers in The Lost Recipe. Now that they are in the present timeline, how will the lives of Harvey, Apple, Frank, and Ginger intertwine? Will Apple still recognize Harvey and her feelings for him or will it be Frank who will win her heart? Is Harvey really safe after traveling in time? Will Ginger finally get her mother's approval and enjoy her craft as a chef? Is there really a recipe for true love and in making one's dream come true?
Catch the finale of The Lost Recipe on March 31, 8:50 p.m. on GTV with simulcast on the digital channel Heart of Asia.