Happy #famiDee
Meet the Dees, through Beng Dee, one half of the power couple behind one of Manila’s largest F&B groups, Foodee Global Concepts, where she is EVP and COO. What she and her husband, Rikki Dee, the CEO, started as a small restaurant in the late ‘80s is now an empire of a careful selection of restaurant concepts, but more than successful entrepreneurs, they are powerhouse parents and members of a big, happy family—children, grandchildren, children-in-laws, even parents and parents-in-law included. Theirs is a family that eats together and therefore stays together in every sense people can stay together. No wonder, most of the restaurants in their roster are the family type.
On social media, Beng’s is maybe the most consistently positive. Each of her posts is a ray of light, a dose of sunshine, or a comforting shade if it’s too bright outside. No matter the weather, regardless of the circumstances, she always has a big serving of happiness and positivity—and almost always, it’s about the family or, as her now famous hashtag has established, the #famidee.
How does Beng keep it going? Here are a few tidbits from our chat because I wanted to know the secret.
What is happiness at a time like this when there is so much loss, worry, anxiety, sickness, and grief?
Personally, my greatest fear is anyone of us in my family getting sick. I feel sad and terrified just by the thought of it. That is why I’m so grateful and always on guard to avoid any one of us getting it. Family is my source of happiness and to be together 24/7 with my whole family, that means happiness to me.
My happiness overpowers whatever sadness I feel… It is wrong to focus on sadness, when there is so much to be thankful for.
‘Our favorite restaurants are always the family style, where there are no dress codes, just honest-to-goodness pig-out kind of food.’
The hashtag #famidee is a constant in your heartwarming, inspiring posts and shares. What is it like to be a member of the Dee family?
Rikki and I, we have four children and three of them are already married with kids. Pre-pandemic, we really lived together in one home until we needed to renovate and temporarily moved to three condo units in the same building. It was a good set up because we had our own space and privacy, and we just met every weekend for meals. Of course, since we all worked together, our schedules are also intertwined, which means we saw each other even on weekdays. Aside from that, we had our two or three family trips every year too. When the pandemic came, the truth is nothing much has changed. We are kind of used to being with each other 24/7 anyway. The only difference maybe is that we all work at home and now all meals are together and, later on, due to this prolonged quarantine, we decided we needed a break from condo living for the sake of my grandchildren, and moved to a beach house, where we continue to work at home but with more space and activities for our grandchildren. As for camaraderie, we do most things together as a #famidee.
Between you and Rikki, how is the responsibility of raising the family shared? Do you have specific roles when it comes to discipline or rewards or incentives?
When the kids were not married, flashback, I was kind of a tiger mom and Rikki liked doing bad cop, good cop, him being the latter, but now that three of the kids are married and with only one single daughter left, I have to say I am more relaxed and staying on the sideline. I believe that the foundation is already in place, so I let them live their lives while Rikki, since our children are working with him, continues to instill in them the values of hard work. He is a dad who has turned into a tough, demanding boss (laughs).
Who mediates fights, if ever?
We dread that day, should it come, but for now, we continue to guide them and put in place some ground rules, hoping they will help us avoid such a situation. We try to do a quarterly family forum, where we discuss past, present, future plans etc., sort of an open discussion about life, business, difficulties, stress, goals, and happiness. And this has helped us have a much healthier relationship.
What is your advice to people who are in search of equilibrium, or comfort, or stronger family ties, especially in this pandemic?
I believe it all has to be done from the beginning. How you raise your family, the values, the foundation, everything starts from day one. As they say, you reap what you sow.
When all this is over, how will you celebrate as a family and personally?
Staying positive, I say that life on its own is a reason to celebrate every day. As long as we are safe and healthy, there is nothing I want more. But of course, we do miss traveling as a family, so that will probably be the first thing we will do to celebrate when the pandemic is over. I’m positive it will be soon.
Let’s look at some of the shareable aspects of your family life…what is your favorite family time together?
Always, our conversations over meals. We learn something about each other every time.
…what is your favorite food on special occasions?
My mother-in-law’s Chinese specialties. She is a great cook and our biggest influence, by the way. My mother-in-law has also been living with us, even before my father-in-law passed away. My children are lucky to live and have their grandparents around, too. That is another bonus.
Also, my son (Eric Thomas Dee) has been the star chef this pandemic! Pre-pandemic, he never had the time to explore his love for cooking, except when we were on our family vacation in the US, but because the pandemic had us locked up in our home, we got to try all his experiments and might I say, we are lucky to have him with us during the pandemic, for his better-than-restaurant-quality food (or maybe I’m just being a mom) but of course we all also blame him for our pandemic weight gain (laughs).
…what is favorite time of the year?
Summer break and Christmas break, when we spend most of our free time in our second home in Los Angeles.
..what are the movies you have seen over and over as a family?
I can only recall Home Alone 1 and 2, maybe because we can totally relate to how chaotic it can be to travel as a big family, or maybe it could have influenced us too in a way, the family part. Hope it never happens, though, that one of the kids gets left behind.
…what is favorite vacation place in the Philippines?
Right now, it will be Nasugbu. It’s a favorite to the point we decided to build a home there too.
…what is your favorite vacation place in the world?
Los Angeles is our second home. The table scene in LA has exponentially leveled up so we are always excited to try all the new spots. It’s also for research and development because, you know, we are in the business. Of course, it is theme park heaven for our growing apos, which is a plus!
We also absolutely love Japan, the food, the culture, and even the people.
Next will be Hong Kong. We just wish to see it again the way it was before all the uncertainties.
…what is the most family-oriented restaurant in your roster?
Our favorite restaurants are always the family style, where there are no dress codes, just honest-to-goodness pig-out kind of food.
I don’t want to sound like I love my own, but Mesa is our go-to when we want to pig out Filipino style. Tim Ho Wan is one we can have every day for comfort food. And of course, Kam’s Roast. If you want to share honest-to-goodness food in the comfort of your home, the roast selections are best even for takeout or delivery.
What’s your advice on sharing family moments on social media?
I personally don’t think much about what I post. What you see is what you get, no filter. If it inspires anyone, I’m happy, but really, it’s all accidental to me. I kind of do this for my file, so I can remember them, like sort of a diary.