In this new series, Lifestyle Asia speaks with individuals who were bit with the food business bug during the early days of Enhanced Community Quarantine and how their passions led them to cooking, baking and selling in the middle of a pandemic.
When Timi Doe moved back to Manila, she found herself back in the kitchen. As a trade-qualified chef in Australia, it was only a matter of time before she delved back into her passion for cookery. As soon as her family was settled, she started cooking and creating. “I was initially just catering for the expats working in the hotel/resort casinos,” she says. It quickly became a full-time small business effort.
When the lockdown started, she was already selling food for three to five days a week, mostly dinner meals to her neighbors within their village. “During the ECQ period, my 10-20 serves of dishes dramatically increased to 30-60 orders, so I catered for the demand,” says Timi.
Timi’s offerings are mostly non-Filipino food, which is the market she pursued and became her area of expertise. She noticed the shift in palates, with people becoming more receptive to different cuisines. “I suppose it was a very good time for me,” she says. In time, Timi took the opportunity to delve into local dishes and start selling that as well.
Because Timi bases her menu on the freshest produce available, no selection is the same and she wasn’t plagued with ingredient shortages. Offering two to three dishes per menu cycle, each week she tries to offer different cuisines. As for delivery logistics, she uses Grab and Lalamove.
Anyone who works with food knows the tendency of people to eat with their eyes before their mouths. Knowing this, Timi makes sure to stir appetites to make people want to sample what they see. “I try to always give my clients dishes that are as authentic as they can be and take them to whichever country that food originated from,” she says.
Timi counts herself as one of the lucky few to have found her calling and be able to say that her job is her passion. “Cooking has always been my passion and will continue to be until the end, whether as a business or not. As long as people eat, I will cook,” she says. Despite the detours in her life, she has landed exactly where she should be. Because of that, she plans to continue cooking, even as the need might lessen. “I will continue what I have started with or without the pandemic,” she says.
For the full menu and orders, please visit @filoz_fine_foods or call 09188367203
