Angel Thoughts
This week, the second Sunday of Advent, let’s hear it from my dear colleague and “partner,” the associate editor of this paper, book author, and editor, Jullie Yap Daza with her tribute for the “First Gentleman” in our media forum, Bulong Pulungan (which lasted 36 years at Sofitel) Frank Evaristo!
“Dear darling Frank,
If life begins at 40, you’re on your way to your second spring! Hep hep hooray! Frank, you deserve the biggest double dose of our birthday wishes ‘cuz nobody but nobody can ever, ever replace you as our First Gentleman in the Bulong Pulungan cabal. You’re too young to change, and that’s how we want you to stay, sweet as you are, kind and charming and generous with your time escorting us, supporting us in our youth and old age, and just being yourself.
When your next birthday comes around, where will the party be? Missing you, our Bulong sisterhood, and our Bulong moments with you. Keep safe, strong, and simpatico, always!—Julie”
Frank Evaristo, is chalking up 80 years on Dec. 18. He is an entrepreneur, civic leader, writer, and most of all, a dedicated father to Jun Jun, Caroline, Amy, Carlo, Lorraine, and a doting grandfather to Anton, Arsee, Angel, and Allie. Soft-spoken, humble but a doer, Frank is well-liked in his circles.
A renowned civic leader, he has been the president of the Alay Lakad Foundation for 20 years, where he has helped raise funds for thousands of out-of-school youths while walking for a cause. He was the president of the Rotary Club Manila in Rotary Year 2014-2015. In addition, he was the 1980 National president of the Philippine Jaycees as well as a past president of the Philippine British Association. In recent times, he has become part of the Eucharistic Ministry where he serves during masses at the Rockwell Makati Community.
For his 80th birthday, we ask what he is most grateful for and he replies that he would like to thank everyone for all the love and blessings he has received from his friends and family, most especially, from the Lord, the gift of possessing good health at a seasoned age.
His kids and grandkids love him to the moon and back with the kind of sweetness expressed in these messages that follow.
“Your 80th birthday is the time
To reveal the secret to your vitality
It is time to spill the beans on what
Makes you so hale and hearty
Exercising, eating well, or being happy
Please tell us what it is that you do
To be as glowing as you are
Happy 80th birthday to you
When you turn a hundred
We will have a grand party
This is just a lead up
To all that festivity
Eighty is the beginning
Of the good times to come
You are truly blessed
Happy 80th birthday!”
In the culinary field, celebrity chef Tatung Sarthou is set to release two new books. Chef Tatung Sarthou rings in the holiday season bearing gifts for everyone as the author-restaurateur is releasing not one but two follow-ups to his bestseller, Simpol The Cookbook.
First in the back-to-back release is Simpol Kitchen Secrets, a guidebook on cooking skills and techniques. Here, Chef Tatung breaks down the fundamentals of culinary arts for everyone’s easy reference. It is told through over 100 recipes, 200 kitchen tips, as well as 600 colored photos and artwork.
The second is Baking Simpol, a cookbook with 100 recipes for desserts, bread, and pastries. Chef Tatung, who has earned praises for his innovative takes on dessert classics such as bibingka cheesecake, Tsok-Nut cake, and pichi-pichi with torched queso de bola topping, lays down the art, crumb by crumb, to satisfy your sweet tooth any time, any day.
So, for those who are looking to elevate their Christmas feast or are just in search of the perfect Secret Santa gift, Chef Tatung has you covered just in time.
Simpol Kitchen Secrets is available now. Baking Simpol will follow two weeks later. Both books will be available locally and abroad through Lazada, Shopee, Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Amazon SG, and eBay. The two titles are published under Vertikal Books, a boutique press specializing in the creative nonfiction genre, specifically culinary content.
Simpol Kitchen Secrets and Baking Simpol are the fifth and sixth books penned by Chef Tatung. His previous works have won the prestigious World Gourmand Awards in Paris, France. Last October, two of his bestselling books, Rice to the Occasion: Kanin to Kakanin and Simpol: The Cookbook, were also featured in the Frankfurt Book Fair, one of the largest and oldest trade fairs for books and content in the world.