Teresita “Mama Sita” Reyes a stalwart in Filipino cuisine learned invaluable lessons in cooking from her mother Doña Engracia Asiang Reyes, who is today regarded as the “Grand Dame of Philippine Cuisine.”
Through her dealings with vendors, cooks and kitchen helpers, she learned and mastered the art of cooking and food preparation. Mama Sita would detain herself in the kitchen to conduct her cooking experiments and practice her extraordinary skill in baking steaming breads and delicacies such as banana cake and her own version of hopia.
Through the years, Mama Sita traveled to different countries and observed how Filipinos longed for food prepared and cooked the Filipino way. This inspired here to collaborate with her son-in-law Bart Lapus, a biologist to create a line of sauces and mixes that would bring the taste of the Philippines to Filipinos abroad.
To keep her memories alive and promote her vision of bringing taste of Philippine cuisine to the world, a Foundation bearing her name was created.
Honoring the 100th anniversary of the nation’s culinary icon figure, Teresita “Mama Sita” Reyes, the foundation recently donated commemorative stamps and cookbooks to the Cebu City library.
Ruth Chua, chief librarian of Cebu City Public Library, received the stamps and cookbooks in a turn over ceremony which was led by Mama Sita Foundation delegate Chinggay Utzurrum.
Source: Honey Jarque Loop, The Philippine Star, September 2, 2017
