I was born on April 24, 2000.
Five years later, I began my journey through fastfood.
I grew up in the care of my grandparents and as their apo (grandson), they would always treat me to a burger steak meal at Jollibee.
Jollibee became a big part of my life, one reason being that my grandfather’s last meal before he died was a Yum Cheeseburger with fries and Coke Float combo.
After his death Goony (Grandmother) continued her Jollibee devotion. She eats breakfast there after hearing the daily Mass.
My grandparents’ loyalty to Jollibee was very firm.
Until the Coronavirus and quarantine sparked a “revolution.”
Enhanced Community Quarantine caught us by surprise.
All of a sudden my Goony couldn’t hear Daily Mass in Church and have her Jollibee breakfast.
The challenge now was on me.
The apo, a master in cooking instant noodles but a novice in cooking real food faced the challenge.
Head on. With face mask.
Since Jollibee isn’t an option now, I grabbed my tote bag, wore my face mask and went to our talipapa or neighborhood wet market.
I went to the talipapa drooling after seeing a lot of colorful vegetables with names I was not really familiar with.
Nevertheless I know the Kalabasa, Okra and Gata. I went home and proceeded to our small home kitchen and decided that I am going to cook my first linutik.
I started to prepare the Ingredients when suddenly an unexplainable force stopped me for several seconds and enlightened me that The Revolution has begun, The Revolution in the Kitchen has begun.
With the stroke of the ladle and the divine Providence guiding me, my Grandmother loved the Linutik. I felt ebullient and explored different Vegetable Recipes like Pinakbet, Bas-oy, Pickled Amorgoso and many more.
With limited food and meal options I was introduced to a Revolution, a Revolution that brought color to my colorless cuisine.
When we hear the word Revolution we usually think of Power Struggle, Coup d’état etc..
We also oftentimes visualize the process of Revolution as people arching in the street, Civil War etc…. If that is Revolution, does it always have to start in the streets?
My answer is No, because my Revolution started in the Kitchen.
As I end the story of my Revolution; I leave with you questions to ponder on.
What is your Ration for Living?
What is the Spice that gives flavor to your Life? What is your Recipe for Success?
The Shift from Jollibee to veggie and The Revolution that did not start from the Street but in a small home kitchen. The Wok and Ladle did what Guns and Swords can’t; that is to start a Revolution in the Kitchen.
” Not all Revolutionaries Fight and March, Some are in the Kitchen Cooking for Change.”
