4 Dads In F&B Share The Valuable Life Lessons They Pass On To Their Children
This Father’s Day, we honor the relationships—and dishes—cultivated between dads and their children as they cook and eat together
It is often said that food is a universal language — it’s able to bring together even the most different individuals. Sharing food with a loved one and bonding over it with someone important to us, then, localizes this language and makes it more intimate, more familiar, more special. For four dads in the F&B industry, food has brought them closer to their kids.
In celebration of Father’s Day, we seek to honor the relationships cultivated between dads and their children over food and dining, so we spoke to David Pardo de Ayala, current general manager of Discovery Primea; Jutes Templo, owner of Gino’s Brick Oven Pizza and Tyler's Café; Kalel Demetrio, Liquido Maestro and owner of Agimat Bar; and Robert Francisco, Director of Education at UCC Coffee Academy, Philippines, about how they bond with their kids over food and what their favorite dishes are.
Food moments with Dad
Food moments with Dad
David Pardo de Ayala and Sofia
“Sofia and I share a love for food," says David Pardo de Ayala, General Manager of Discovery Primea. Formerly the corporate chef of the Discovery Group, it was natural to bond with his daughter over a shared passion for food. Sofia was still a little girl when her father started helping her broaden her palate by exposing her to new cuisines and restaurants. And for a time, the father-daughter duo even co-hosted a cooking show that ran for a season!
Food as a journey of discovery
"Both cooking and eating together is one of our favorite ways to spend time as a family. Ever since she was a little girl she has enjoyed exploring new flavors, and I love sharing with her my knowledge of food and experiences as a chef for many years. The thrill of discovering a delicious new ingredient, or experimenting together a brand new technique in the kitchen is something that we find ourselves talking about often and many years later.”
You learn essential life lessons in the kitchen
“It encourages her to explore beyond what is familiar, and to take small risks in the kitchen. These are lessons that can then be applied to many other aspects in life. In addition, the world of international cuisines opens the door to further discussion of cultures, languages and customs, which in turn make us more intellectually curious and worldly. You can go around the planet from your very kitchen nowadays.”
Jutes Templo with Gino, Tyler and Andre
“The pandemic has given us a lot of time to do things together – cooking is one of them," says Jutes Templo, the owner of Gino's Brick Oven and Tyler's Café. His wife, Cello, runs Cello's Doughnuts & Dips, and together they have three kids: Gino, 11, and Tyler, 9, and Andre. "They assist me in the kitchen. They help me make fresh pasta and pizza when we’re experimenting at home. They love tasting all the ingredients we use, most especially the fresh mozzarella and burratas. They’ve always enjoyed eating but now they appreciate the food more when they help cook and help in preparing the meal.”
Learn from your mistakes
“We’ve been doing a lot of R&D over the pandemic and making mistakes is at the very essence of R&D. Our kids have eaten their fair share of our not-so-successful pizza experiments. As we eat together, we discuss what’s wrong with it and the adjustments we’ll make for the next batch. You will always make a mistake the first few times you do something. Many times, they’ve made mistakes measuring ingredients for their bread and cupcakes. We still ate them! What’s important is that they learned that they should be more careful next time.”
Life will never be perfect, but it's important to keep trying
“Kids will make a lot of mistakes until they are adults. In fact, even as adults, people still make mistakes. Understanding that mistakes are part of the journey will lessen their anxiety (which has bugged me all my life) and hopefully help them bounce from one road bump to the next. When we were experimenting and creating the pizza for Gino’s, our first child, Gino, was still a baby. This time, during the pandemic, all three of our kids have witnessed how long it took us to finalize the new pizza for Tyler’s Café. They witnessed us laugh, get frustrated, or celebrate whenever a new batch comes out of the oven. Experiencing ups and downs with your kids can help them realize that life will never be perfect, but the most important thing is to keep trying.” And then there are the wins and rewards too, like this beautiful cake that daughter Tyler made for Mother's Day. "She made the cake," says Jutes with pride. "I just helped put the fruit on top." And that just makes it taste sweeter.
Robert Francisco and Santi
“Santi and I would bake pizzas," says UCC Coffee Academy's Director of Education Robert Francisco, of how he bonds with his son Santi, 8. "Our signature [baked product] is Rosemary Brioche Loaf, and Bagetzel (bagel–pretzel). He loves eating, from chips to tuna sashimi, to juicy burgers to meaty steaks. But this also includes enjoying his veggies.”
The value of quality time
“We are like close buddies. He is only 8 and bonds with me with ease in almost all things we do. Even before the pandemic, I made sure I had quality time through every free moment I had. This does also include my wife Christine, she equally dedicates all her free time. I would drive him to school, hang out in the office, attend every soccer training he has, and drive home together. I did not have to sacrifice hobbies or sports time. Nor did I have to compromise time with friends.”
Kids get exposed to many new experiences
“Santi found everything I did amusing, including my work and career in coffee—from coffee brewing to teaching at the UCC Coffee Academy. That’s because I am the Director of Education of UCC Coffee Academy Philippines. Santi is a very obedient and respectful little boy making parenting very easy. This past year during the pandemic, the situation has made our bond more evident and stronger. Work has been reduced, giving me more time with Santiago. Our bonding moments include woodcraft, fishing, snorkelling, trekking and gardening with mommy, or kitchen time.”
Kalel Demetrio and KaLel, Ashton and Jurel
“My kids love pizza and chicken, and I love it, too. So on weekends, the ritual is that after they do their chores — washing dishes and cleaning their room — then we'll have pizza time!" says Kalel Demetrio, mixologist and owner of Agimat Bar and Liquido Maestro, of his favorite food bonding moments with his three sons, KaLel, Ashton and Jurel.
Rewarding hard work with pizza
The pizza is usually Elbert's Pizza, which is a family favorite. Kalel says having a reward system for the kids (aka pizza) is a strategy he learned from his mom. "I explain [the value] of good accomplishments, so every time they do their chores, they get their reward. We talk about how good of a job they’ve done and in the process, makes me feel rewarded because I had the chance to spend priceless time with them.I want my sons to carry [these memories with] them when they grow up.”
The value of family
Kalel says there's a lot of lessons shared in their "food rituals," but more than that it's rewarding time because they spend time together as a family. "The kids will not be young forever so I cherish time with them. It's a treasure for all of us," he says.
Photos courtesy of David Ayala, Jutes Templo, Robert Francisco and Kalel Demetrio
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