This Woman's Work

There’s A Story Behind Every Name. And For Each Of These Four Successful Food Brands, It Involves An Inspiring Woman, A Novel Idea, And A Deliciously Good Impression.

- Dianne Sibal

MAMA SITA SAUCES AND MIXES: MODERN CONVENIENCE AS INNOVATION

She was born into a family of what some people may call food royalty, with her grandmother Doña Engracia Reyes hailed as one of the pillars of local cuisine and the founder of beloved Filipino restaurant Aristocrat.

While Clara Reyes-Lapus has thousands of fond memories of family members bustling about in the kitchen, she remembers her mother, Teresita Reyes, also known as Mama Sita, the most. This dynamic lady inherited Doña Engracia’s devotion to Filipino food and would often spend hours writing down heirloom family recipes and precious tips on cooking when she wasn’t experimenting in front of the stove.

“She was always curious, and liked to read and research. She tried different cuisines and sought out unusual ingredients,” Clara recalls. “When food processors came out, she was very interested in them because she always liked finding ways to make things easier in the kitchen.”

But what Mama Sita loved most was sharing what she learned from her research and travels. One day, she came home from an extended trip to the United States and asked a favor from her son-in-law, Bart Lapus. “My husband is a biologist who was also into experimenting with different things. She actually called him a henyo,” Clara laughs. “She asked him to experiment with the sampaloc and find a way to preserve it so that she can take it with her during her travels.”

Apparently, Mama Sita had been cooking sinigang and other Filipino dishes for her relatives abroad because she was worried about them consuming burgers, hotdogs, and supermarket food all the time. “She always cooked containers of ulam for them and stocked them in the freezer when she visited, but what about those times when she wasn’t around?”