REFINING FLAVORS CLOSE TO HOME
The three-hectare estate of Palacio de Memoria provided the perfect backdrop to this handsome pair of successful entrepreneurs, while the sunlit clouds drifting across a clear blue sky enhanced the scene. It was a relatively warm morning. The day’s dignified personages, Rikki and Beng Dee, visionaries behind Foodee Global Concepts, begin by inviting the entire Lifestyle Asia team to join them in a fantastic brunch feast set up by their catering team. On the buffet menu, was a variety of appetizing textures and flavors—among many things, a local take on paella that makes use of adobo rice, fried egg, and tapa; succulent steamed fish; huge servings of prawn thermidor; and a selection of sophisticated Pinoy delicacies for dessert. Inside the gentrified pre-war mansion amongst rare and exquisite antiquities, paintings, and objets d’arts, the conversation started over everyone’s growing fear of that morning’s biggest newsmaker, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The previous evening, tensions rose as the government prepared for a lockdown. Beng expresses her genuine sympathies to those who will be deeply affected by the huge impact of the necessary mandate. “A lot of employees [from many local businesses] reside outside Manila,” she states. Rikki shares his wife’s sentiments, explaining the ominous repercussions of such a move to the national economy and the general welfare of the country’s citizens. Every now and then, you’d see the couple talking to their team, checking on their situation and offering sound advice. Even with a large empire such as theirs, the sense of belonging and the sincere compassion to the plight of the workforce gives the impression that the two regard their massive team as integral parts of their family.
Earlier on, as each of the crew members of the day’s shoot arrived, instead of handshakes were one-meter distant air kisses, with handy bottles of alcohol and sanitizers on everyone’s pocket used after touching any surface. The waiters wore masks and gloves while serving, and the term was frequently injected in many a conversation throughout the entire duration of the day. But not to dampen the mood and never to waste a great opportunity, and with us enraptured by the lovely weather outside and surrounded by poetic beauty that harkens from a by-gone era, we push through
