ECQ Stories: Displaced chefs, drivers come together to create a new food business
In a time of a global pandemic, some people were fortunate that they got to keep their jobs and earn money while others were unfortunately laid off.
No business has been exempted from the onslaught brought by the COVID-19 including hotel chains and their restaurants that were forced to close and bid goodbye to some of its chefs.
Luckily for these displaced workers, they had friends who suffered the same fate but didn't forget to help others in need.
Take inspiration from Sydney Esteban who started a page to help fellow displaced workers get back to work and earn for a living.
Friendship
GMANetwork.com had a chance to interview Sydney, the creator of the page Food PH MNL, along with his friends Giovanni Castigador and Garnet Garcia.
The brains behind Food PH MNL, Sydney Esteban, Giovanni Castigador, and Garnet Garcia
Sydney graduated with a Hotel and Restaurant Management degree from the Trinity University of Asia. He ran his own food business in Maginhawa Street, Quezon City until the COVID-19 pandemic happened, prompting him to close down his food business.
In order to survive and earn money during these trying times, Sydney turned online and created the page Mad Chubs Ph.
But transitioning from a physical restaurant to online selling was challenging, and Mad Chubs Ph was one of the examples of a successful restaurant that failed to bring its magic onto the online world.
Sydney admitted, “Since nung March, 'di ba pinagbawal na mag-open 'yung restaurants, ang ginawa namin is gumawa kami ng page which is 'yung Mad Chubs Ph, para din sa mga empleyado na nagwo-work sa amin.
“Eventually, hindi siya nag-click pero nakita nung friend kong si Gio na gumawa ako ng page. Doon na siya nagsimulang magtanong kung gusto kong tumulong sa mga kapwa na chef and cook.”
Gio worked at an Information Technology company until he was laid off because of the pandemic. Right then and there, they started Food PH MNL with the aim to help fellow displaced workers.
“'Yung mga tenant namin na nakatira sa apartment sa Manila, nagwo-work sila sa iba't ibang restaurants sa SM Manila,” Sydney told.
“Kaibigan ni Gio 'yung isang tenant doon kaya niya tinulungan gumawa ng page, tapos kinuha na namin 'yung ibang tao sa apartment na sumali sa amin.
“Kasi sinisingil sila sa renta, e, hindi na nila mabayaran, kaya humingi na ako ng tulong kay Gio.”
Tale of two chefs
The chefs that Sydney and Gio helped were not from some so-so restaurants. The first two, JR and Garry, were once part of world-class hotels in Metro Manila that served some influential people.
PH MNL chefs JR and Garry, who both have a background in working as a chef in hotels.
JR has a background working as a chef in Japanese, Korean, Western, and Italian cuisine while Garry was working as an assistant chef in a 4-star hotel in Ortigas.
Before the pandemic, JR was earning minimum wage with no work, no pay while Garry was earning as much as PhP 40,000 per month.
Now that they are busy with Food PH MNL, JR and Garry are earning at least PhP 1,000 a day.
When asked if they would still want to go back to work after the pandemic, JR and Garry have opposite answers.
JR said, “Kung papalarin na magkaroon ng sariling resto, mas gugustuhin ko maging isang entrepreneur dahil isa ito sa mga pangarap ko.”
Meanwhile, Garry wanted to go back to his work as an assistant dim sum chef. He said, “Mas gusto ko pa rin bumalik as a chef and then 'pag nakabalik na ako sa work, itutuloy ko pa rin 'yung online business.”
In-house drivers
Since they now run an online store, Sydney and his friends also hired displaced riders.
Meet the in-house riders of Food Ph Mnl, Gerald, Tek-Tek, Michael, and Ian.
The three riders, Ian, Gerald, and Tek-tek, now earn at least PhP 800 per day, compared to their usual monthly salary of PhP 10,000.
Gerald and his family owned a piggery but went bankrupt before the COVID-19 pandemic because of the African Swine Flu in February 2020.
Meanwhile, Ian was one of Sydney's cooks in their food business. Sydney lent him some money to buy a motorcycle to work for a food delivery company, but was unfortunately laid off after a month. Later on, Ian came back to Sydney and joined Food PH MNL as one of their in-house riders.
Lastly, Tek-Tek worked at a transportation company but cannot perform his job because of restrictions.
Now that they are in-house riders for Food PH MNL--which bases its delivery fees on the price of transport services like Grab and Lalamove--Ian, Gerald, and Tek-Tek have different thoughts on whether to continue their job after the pandemic.
For Ian and Tek-Tek, they wanted to stay as Food PH MNL's in-house riders since they are earning more than in their previous job.
Ian said, “Ayaw ko na pong bumalik sa dati kong trabaho. Kung magtutuloy-tuloy po kasi itong ginagawa ko, mas makakapag-provide po ako sa family ko nang maayos.”
For Gerald, although thankful, he sees the danger of being a delivery man and wants to go back to owning a piggery.
He said, “Mahirap po pagiging rider, buwis buhay po. Susubukan ko po ulit magnegosyo muna ng baboy kaso mahal po ngayon ang feeds at biik, kaya mas okay na maging rider muna.”
Sudden realization
What was supposed to be a money-maker during the time of COVID-19 transformed into an advocacy for Sydney and Gio.
Sydney admitted that they suddenly had a realization when the pandemic hit the Philippines and the world seemed to stop for a moment, businesses were forced to close down, and people lost their jobs.
He shared, “Bigla kaming namulat sa katotoohanan na ang daming nahihirapan.
“Since we started, ang dami nang lumapit na gustong mag-trabaho, siyempre nalalaman namin 'yung istorya nila.
“As much as possible, gusto namin makatulong, 'yun 'yung advocacy namin.”
When a country is badly hit by a pandemic of this magnitude, it is easier to be selfish. But Sydney and his friends proved an age-old proverb that “a friend in need is a friend indeed.”
If you want to try Food PH MNL's products, head over to their official Facebook page. They offer a wide variety of dishes like meatballs spaghetti, chicken wings, rice meals, and ribs.