The Fatted Calf: Feasts & Family in a Farmhouse

Though it is near the Mendez Junction known for its fresh beef stalls, The Fatted Calf along the Tagaytay-Nasugbu road has the beef – but also fish, chicken, pork and lots and lots of seed-to-table vegetables.

- JOANNE RAE M. RAMIREZ

It derives its name from the biblical fatted calf, a metaphor for a festive celebration and rejoicing, especially for the family.

But the feasts The Fatted Calf serves include feasting not just for the diners, but also for the farmers who produce their food, by giving them equitable prices for their harvests.

"Whenever possible, we source our ingredients from local farms and micro-entrepreneurs," says chef Jay Jay SyCip, who along with wife Rhea, a pastry chef, owns and runs the restaurant. The sprawling restaurant is a modern farmhouse designed by Sen. Loren Legarda, whose late grandmother Mameng owned the land where it is built.

Typical of Loren’s design aesthetic, the interiors are accented by old wood and antique tiles recycled by Loren from demolished old homes. There are two walls in the restaurant lined with Loren’s own paintings. Yes, the legislator has lyrical brushstrokes!